The #TorontoStrong Fund, established by the City of Toronto and the Toronto Foundation after the Yonge St. van attack in April, has given out $3.5 million raised for the victims of the rampage.The payments come six months after a white van mounted the sidewalk on Yonge near Finch Finch Ave., killing 10 people and injuring 16 others. Alek Minassian has been charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder.“Allocating these funds has involved many difficult discussions and decisions,” said Barbara Hall, the fund’s administrator and the former mayor of Toronto. “There is no perfect way to understand all the long-term impacts these families and survivors will face. Meeting with them and other key stakeholders helped us develop a framework to disburse all the funds to survivors and families in a way that we believe will support their recovery and healing.”An initial $500,000 was disbursed in May to the families to cover funeral expenses, travel and accommodation, among other costs. One of the families declined the money at the time. The remaining money was given out following guidance from a steering committee.In a news release, the City of Toronto said the review process of distributing the funds “took into account the short- and long-term physical and psychological injuries sustained by survivors, as well as the loss of life on families left behind.”Read more:Beverly Smith lost both her legs in the van attack. ‘I just want to be as normal as I can,’ she says‘Everything was there’: Widow remembers husband killed in van rampage‘He will answer to me,’ says Yonge St. van rampage victim from her hospital bedTwenty-five per cent of the donations were distributed among the 26 victims equally. The remaining 75 per cent were distributed based on factors such as the “severity of impact and other mental and physical care needs.”Fund recipients were offered ...
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