Incidents of mass violence and terrorism – bombings, mass riots and shootings, hijackings, bioterrorism attacks, and other human-caused disasters – present unique challenges to the communities in which they occur. These incidents require a coordinated, cross-sector approach among federal, state, local, and tribal governments; private entities; and nonprofit organizations to drive an effective response.
The Office for Victims of Crime (OVC) has developed the “Helping Victims of Mass Violence & Terrorism: Planning, Response, Recovery, and Resources Toolkit” to help communities prepare for and respond to victims of mass violence and terrorism in the most timely, effective and compassionate manner possible.
Lessons learned from past incidents indicate that, through advanced planning and by developing and maintaining multidisciplinary partnerships, communities are better prepared to ensure that each victim’s needs are met. This toolkit also contains materials which will aid communities’ responses to victims even if they have not planned for an incident.
The Web training series highlights the importance of communities, states and regions planning a response to incidents of mass violence and terrorism using the OVC Toolkit resource. This webinar provides a detailed overview of how to use the Toolkit. Customized technical assistance is available to city, county and state level organizations to help implement the Toolkit. If you would like to request mass violence and terrorism customized technical assistance, please contact the OVC by E-mail at TTAC@ovcttac.org, or go to www.ovc.gov/pubs/mvt-toolkit/index.html