Former U.S. District Court Judge Alan H. Nevas will join two Newtown residents on a committee to decide how survivors and victims of the Dec. 14 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting will be compensated. After the tragedy, an outpouring of national sympathy and generosity created more than $11.1 million in donations through dozens of separate charities. The largest of these is the United Way of Western Connecticut.
Most of the money is being directed to the families of the victims, wounded teachers, and pupils who escaped but were traumatized. The rest is being distributed by the United Way, for community purposes in Newtown. In the aftermath of the Sept. 11 attacks and more recent tragedies, charitable organizations have been under pressure to distribute funds directly to the immediate survivors and victims, and to do so quickly. Controversy has developed in past distribution efforts, with the charities favoring slower distribution to a wider range of recipients.
