BUFFALO, N.Y. — They chanted "survivors can't wait, New York state must compensate," on Jefferson Avenue on Wednesday morning.
Crime victims and survivors want the governor of New York to sign the Fair Access to Victim Compensation Act. It has already received bipartisan support in the state legislature.
The compensation funds are comprised of federal and state dollars. The money can help victims and their families with anything linked to their suffering, including therapy and funeral costs. More importantly, according to many victims it is money to help them heal and deal with trauma.
Zeneta Everhart, mother of a Tops shooting victim, said "this last year has been hell is an understatement."
She added: "As his mother, I don't know what to do. This is new territory for me. It's new territory for him, and it's new territory for all victims of gun violence. No one understands the way they're supposed to go, and the way they're supposed to get through trauma.
"For me it's about our city, our state, our county, coming together to figure out how we best help victims like Zaire, because there are thousands and thousands of victims like Zaire, and it's it's not going to be easy. I understand that everyone's not going to agree because that's just not the world that we live in, but what we can agree on is that victims are hurting and they're in pain, and they need help."
Mercedes Wright doesn't want children of violence to be forgotten.
"No one really talks about the children that were affected by 5/14. There were children at Tops. There were children in that parking lot. They have to do live with that for the rest of their lives, everybody doesn't have health insurance," Wright said.
A barrier for many victims is a requirement to tell police about their harm to get the money.
Tanvier Peart, director of policy for Common Justice, said that "when you force people who are reliving a trauma, to go through one source to see if they're even eligible for compensation, that's not a trauma-informed approach."
Under the bill, instead of going to police, a statement from a victim service provider or a court order of protection would suffice.
Victims can file claims up to three years after a crime under the act, currently they only have one year.
Assemblyman Demond Meeks who represents Rochester is a main sponsor of the bill.
"We're not here asking the governor," Meeks said. "We've done the work, the people voted, the representatives of the people have voted. The legislation must be signed into law. We're really demanding that the governor sign this legislation into law."