Forever Strong license plate funds crucial Oct. 1 survivor support
Five years after the deadliest mass shooting in modern American history, thousands of motorists are showing their continued support for those impacted by the tragedy via their license plates.
As of Aug. 31, there are 3,265 active registrations of the Forever Strong Nevada specialty license plate, according to Nevada Department of Motor Vehicle data.
Each plate generates funds for the Vegas Strong Resiliency Center — $25 for the initial registration and $20 annually from renewals. The center uses those funds to assist those impacted by the shooting at the Route 91 Harvest festival on the Las Vegas Strip, which left 60 dead and over 800 wounded. The center also helps connect those in need to a variety of services, including legal services, and has recently expanded its service to aid victims of any violent crime.
Resiliency center Director Tennille Pereira said those funds, which amount to around $16,000 or $17,000 each quarter, are of great benefit and go directly to those in need of assistance and are not used for administrative purposes.
“That money allows us to fund our emergency financial assistance program for the survivors of Route 91,” Pereira said. “It has been incredibly helpful to plug those small emergency issues they encounter, which can then connect them to longer-term resources.”
Those requests for assistance increased during the pandemic and subsequent shutdown seen in most states, including in Nevada and California where a large number of Route 91 attendees hailed from.
“This was an already traumatized population, so they struggled even more,” Pereira said. “It (the fund) was a lifeline to a number of them.”
Although the calls for service have decreased some as the years progress, there still are those who reach out in need of help. Pereira said those will likely continue for the foreseeable future.
“The requests are still there,” Pereira said. “Based on our research of other mass violence incidence and what we should expect, those requests are never going to fully go away. There are still a number of people who have never reached out that are going to have to process that trauma in some way. So we do anticipate that we will continue to hear from people that need assistance.”
The license plate was first made available in 2019 on the two-year anniversary of the shooting. The amount of registrations at the DMV for the license plate has grown by 1,826 plates since August 2020.
Still, the number of registrations for the Forever Strong plates is small compared to some of the other popular plates available at the DMV. The Las Vegas Commemorative plate has over 80,000 active registrations, the Golden Knights plate has over 63,000, while the Raiders plate is up to 32,365.
Pereira hopes the Forever Strong plate will see an uptick in registrations, not only to help generate more funds for the resiliency center, but to also keep the victims’ memories alive as time moves forward.
“I would absolutely advocate for more people to get the plate,” Pereira said. “I have three of them myself, personally because I believe in the program. I also think that the visual unites the community because of what happened. Our community really bonded together and I think that the further away we get from an event like that, we have a tendency to forget. I think when you see it visually, it reminds you and helps us to stay connected.”
Contact Mick Akers at makers@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2920. Follow @mickakers on Twitter.