Orlando officials want to keep Pulse assistance center open

ORLANDO, Fla. (AP) — Orlando city officials say they want to keep an assistance center for victims of the Pulse nightclub massacre open for several more years.

The Orlando Sentinel reports  the city council voted Aug. 29 to pay the Heart of Florida United Way over $123,000 to staff the Orlando United Assistance Center through early November.

Survivors of the June 12 shooting can seek grief counseling, rent assistance and other services at the center. A senior adviser to the city on social services, Lori Pampilo Harris, told the newspaper the center will be needed for "no less than three years."

The OneOrlando Fund is preparing pay-outs later this month for the families of 49 people killed and dozens more people hurt or affected by the massacre at Pulse, a gay nightclub.

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Information from: Orlando Sentinel, http://www.orlandosentinel.com/