Officials announce opening of Family Assistance Center for Uvalde residents affected by school shooting

Center will provide various resources, will be open until June 1 from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Uvalde County Fairplex

UVALDE, Texas – Gov. Greg Abbott joined local and state officials on Friday to announce the opening of a Family Assistance Center that will provide information, support, and resources to residents directly affected by the Robb Elementary School shooting.

The center will be open until from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at the Uvalde County Fairplex until June 1, District Attorney Christina Mitchell said.

Family members of the slain students and teachers, those suffering physical and emotional injuries, Robb Elementary School faculty, staff, students, and others directly impacted can receive services, Mitchell said. The services include crime victim services, consulate services, death benefits, counseling and spiritual care, funeral services, childcare and family services, transportation and language translation.

Each family will be assigned an advocate to walk them through the vast amount of resources available to meet their needs, such as flights for victims’ families offered through American Airlines and United Airlines, officials said.

All relevant state agencies are sending representatives to the Family Assistance Center to offer additional services.

The Texas Health and Human Services Commission will have personnel on-hand to assist families in finding health and human benefits for which they are eligible, such as Medicaid, CHIP, SNAP, Healthy Texas Women and others. Caseworkers from the Texas Department of Insurance, Teacher Retirement System of Texas, and Employees Retirement System of Texas are working with health plans to ensure employees can easily access all available benefits, including workers’ compensation.

The Texas Workforce Commission is also providing caseworkers to help families needing help with childcare and unemployment, as well as assistance to local business owners affected by the tragedy. The Texas Division of Emergency Management is working to meet any unmet needs raised by the community.

“As the victims’ families and entire Uvalde community begin the unimaginable process of piecing their lives back together from this devastating tragedy, the State of Texas will provide every resource available to support them through this painful time,” Abbott said.

The governor said that anyone in Uvalde seeking mental health resources can receive help by calling 888-690-0799, a hotline that is open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

The OneStar Foundation has created a webpage for donations to support the victims’ families, teachers and the Uvalde community. All donations submitted through the OneStar Foundation site will be funneled to the Robb School Memorial Fund established by First State Bank of Uvalde.

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David Ibañez has been managing editor of KSAT.com since the website's launch in October 2000.