Foundation distributes $5.8 million to Highland Park shooting victims, nonprofits

A Highland Park nonprofit has announced that it will distribute $5.8 million it raised to victims of the July 4th mass shooting, with the families of the nine people who were killed or catastrophically injured receiving $365,000 each.

The Highland Park Community Foundation also said 10 people injured in the shooting received $36,006 for each night they spent in the hospital, and 47 people who were injured but not hospitalized received $19 $066 each.

The foundation split the final $580,025 among 17 nonprofits that serve people who are not physically harmed but are still traumatized. These groups include Family Focus Highland Park, Highwood Public Library and Community Center and North Suburban Legal Aid Clinic.

Betsy Brint, the group’s chairwoman, said the foundation would later share a report on its cash and in-kind donations. Some of them have already received a lot of publicity, including a benefit concert organized by Smashing Pumpkins frontman Billy Corgan.

“Donations have come from all over the country and close to home,” Brint said. “We distribute 100% of the money received to the victims and the organizations that serve them.”

Authorities say Robert Crimea III opened fire from a rooftop in suburban Lake County during the annual Independence Day parade, killing seven people and injuring dozens. He has been charged with more than 100 crimes and is being held without bail.

The Highland Park Community Foundation has decided not to award grants directly to people who have not been physically harmed, a decision that has become a burning issue for those who say they are struggling financially because of the psychological trauma they have experienced.

An outside group called Victims First, which has advised other communities on how to raise and distribute money after mass shootings, said such victims also deserve money.

“We always encourage community nonprofits to establish a separate victims’ fund where 100% of the proceeds go directly to victims of mass shootings and include bystander and line-of-fire survivors,” the group said in a statement to the Tribune.

“Survivors who witness the unthinkable are often left with severe post-traumatic stress disorder, which can affect their ability to work and provide for their families. Denying this group of survivors direct financial assistance in their time of greatest need – and funding nonprofits instead – could have disastrous consequences for survivors of mass shootings and their communities.”

Fund representatives said in an email that after consulting with victims and experts, they have waived cash rewards for everyone.

“Given the extent of the mental health of the population, the large number of physical injuries and the expected limited funds, the committee decided that it would be difficult to consider individual claims for mental health services and decided on the community. approach,” they said.

“Funds distributed to nonprofit organizations that directly serve the mental health needs of victims and community members would maximize our resources and impact.”

The nonprofits that won the awards must report how they spent the money by the end of the year, the foundation said.

The foundation’s awards come in addition to fundraising through platforms like GoFundMe, where donations sometimes reach seven figures.

The family of Irina and Kevin McCarthy, both killed in the parade, have raised more than $3 million to help care for the couple’s orphaned son. Donors also gave more than $2 million to Cooper Roberts, the 8-year-old paralyzed in the shooting.

The foundation said it has set up another fund to pay for mental health services and other needs, and has raised just over $100,000 so far.

jkeilman@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @JohnKeilman