Boulder County has set up a Victim Assistance Center, or VAC, to provide on-site support for victims and others impacted by last week’s mass shooting at the King Soopers on Table Mesa Drive on March 22. County officials, Tuesday, also threw their support behind several policy initiatives directed at firearms safety.
Those measures include safe storage of firearms; reporting of lost or stolen firearms; increased mental health services; a ban on assault-style weapons; and the ability of local governments to enact stronger firearms safety ordinances than state of Colorado laws, according to a new release sent out by Jeff Zayach, executive director, of Boulder County Public Health and Boulder County Commissioners Matt Jones, Marta Loachamin and Claire Levy.
The VAC is providing behavioral health support — with access to long-term support — comforting survivors of the attack, consoling loved ones of those lost, coordinating with the FBI and local law enforcement on returning personal belongings to families and providing victim advocate services, according to the news release.
The county’s Housing and Human Services, Community Services, Boulder OEM emergency support personnel and District Attorney’s staff have been working continuously behind the scenes to set up the VAC, the news release states. The county is also getting help from numerous non-profit partners — American Red Cross, BOCOVA, Medical Reserve Corps, Mental Health Partners, Salvation Army, Veterans Affairs, VIA and others, the new release said.
King Soopers staff is also on-site to offer Human Resources and other support to employees and community, the news release states.
A list of resources can be found on this Boulder County webpage and BCPH’s social media.
People can also call the Boulder County Call Center at 720-776-0822.
