LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Kneeling under the crime scene tape at a Las Vegas shooting, a member of a little-known group works toward finding a solution for a problem both police and reporters can’t touch. Their goal is to avoid attention but let victims know—someone sees them.
In 2024, the Trauma Intervention Program of Southern Nevada (TIP) picked up the phone approximately 2,000 times when emergency service dispatchers called, averaging to a call for service five times a day.
“They call into their communication center or dispatch center and simply say, ‘Send TIP,’” Jill Roberts, the non-profit organization’s CEO, said. “When our volunteers respond to a scene, they’re going to check in with a first responder who’s on that scene to say, ‘I’m here, where do you need me?’”
When TIP volunteers arrive at a crime scene one of their goals is to avoid contact with media and focus on supporting victims. Roberts said their volunteers are trained to not supply much information to reporters who ask, “Who are you, and what are you doing?”
“It is not about us when we are on a scene,” Roberts said. “Our volunteers do not give last names. They’re not they’re promoting our organization. Sometimes the people who they’re there to be with never know what organization our volunteers are even with.”
Roberts said what’s important at a time of tragedy is for victims, families, friends, witnesses, bystanders and anyone in crisis to receive support. The support their volunteers offer is also to find someone they call a “source of strength.”
“That is going to be what helps this person get through the next 10 minutes, the next two hours, the next day,” she said. “Eventually all the emergency responders are going to go home, the TIP volunteer is going to go home, and this family or this person or this witness or bystander is going to be by themselves. What are they going to have to hold on to when we all leave? That is one of the important aspects of being there.”
In the moments during the 1 October attack, Roberts said their team received calls from emergency responders to send everyone.
“We were told, ‘We don’t know what’s going on, but we know it’s big, and we need everyone you’ve got,’” she said. “Within 45 minutes, we had about 50 of our volunteers dispatched out to various locations, all of the hospitals that were involved the scene, Metro headquarters and we provided constant support for probably 10 days thereafter.”
The 80 TIP volunteers are from all careers and backgrounds, many of whom learn about the program from word of mouth, according to Roberts.
“We have college students, we have retired folks, we have everything in between,” she said. “It is a big commitment, and it’s not easy work to be able to sit with someone in their worst moment and be able to provide that support. It’s not always easy, but it is so rewarding.”
The non-profit organization has three paid staff members who assist in making sure volunteers are available 24 hours a day. Roberts said the program does receive some support from first responder agencies and is open to donations.
“It’s not enough to pay our bills, so we do have to do fundraising and grant writing and other things like that,” she said.
Southern Nevada residents interested in volunteering with TIP, which is recognizing its 30th anniversary, can learn more about their organization through their website and reach out at 702-299-0426. The organization is planning to host a training academy in Apr. 2024.
