Southern Nevada trauma group takes record number of calls in 2014
A Las Vegas Valley crisis response organization had its busiest year on record in 2014, due in part to the slaying of two Metro officers in June.
Volunteers with the nonprofit Trauma Intervention Program of Southern Nevada responded to 1,244 calls for “emotional and practical support” last year, the organization said in a news release. It reached out to 5,728 Clark County residents.
Volunteers explain police protocol, answer logistical questions and help those affected by trauma connect with family after homicides or fatal car crashes.
The previous record of 1,217 calls for service was set in 2013.
“Unfortunately there was more tragedy last year,” Jill Bernacki, Trauma Intervention Program CEO, told the Review-Journal this week.
The organization’s busiest day in 2014 came June 8, Bernacki said, when Metro officers Alyn Beck and Igor Soldo and a bystander were slain in a shooting rampage. Husband and wife Jerad and Amanda Miller executed Beck and Soldo at a North Nellis Boulevard Cici’s Pizza before walking into a nearby Wal-Mart and killing Joseph Robert Wilcox, who confronted them. In a shootout with responding police, Amanda Miller fatally shot her husband then killed herself.
Trauma Intervention Program volunteers went to University Medical Center, Wal-Mart and Cici’s to speak with officers, staff and the public affected by the shooting.
Founded in 1994, the Trauma Intervention Program consists of 70 Clark County volunteers and three full-time employees. Its partners include the fire and police departments in Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, Henderson and Boulder City, which also fund most of its expenses.
Contact reporter Chris Kudialis at ckudialis@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0283. Follow him on Twitter @kudialisrj.
