Volunteers spruce up No To Abuse addition

A group of volunteers have been donating their labor doing interior work refurbishing an addition at the No To Abuse office on Blagg Road so it can house support group meetings.

A mention of the project at an organization board meeting was relayed at the weekly Christian Men’s Fellowship Meeting on a Thursday morning, according to Julie Platson, executive director of the umbrella organization the Nevada Outreach Training Organization. That very afternoon volunteers showed up.

It’s located behind the Nevada Outreach Training Organization offices at 621 S. Blagg Road. A meeting room just to the left of the entrance to the main office is fine for board meetings or small groups, but Platson said larger support groups like the parenting classes required attendees to spill out into the adjacent room.

Volunteers raised $1,470 and a crew to finish work on the addition which was formerly used to store goods for the food pantry and the Toys for Tots drive at Christmas.

The Glen Lerner law firm donated $500, other donations came in from New Hope Fellowship Church, Trinity Assembly of God Church, Home Depot, a Pahrump town board member and seven citizens.

Alan Bond, worship leader at Trinity Assembly of God Church, served as foreman. He was busy standing on a ladder touching up plaster work on the ceiling Wednesday morning with two helpers working on the walls.

They had already tacked up insulation. They will soon do some tape and texture work, paint the room and restore a restroom in the building. Crews have been working on the project for a week and a half. Bond expects they’ll be pretty much finished by the middle of next week.

“We became aware of the need and what they wanted to do. I didn’t have anything tying me down at the moment so I came over here,” Bond said. “It’s filling a need, that’s the best way I can say it. They had a need, they do great work in here. They’re at No To Abuse and the training center. It’s certainly a worthwhile project to be a part of.”

Bond brought in a swamp cooler to help crews keep cool in the stifling heat.

“We go to different churches. it just so happened God put us all together. You could say we’re doing God’s work,” volunteer Jose Cervantes said while touching up plaster work on the wall.

A retired Marine who served 30 years in the military, Cervantes said he’s been blessed with his strength and good health besides a military pension. He does handyman work.

“I’ve been with Helping Hands for Jesus for 14 years now. We get in on every project they got going and make it happen,” he said.

The Nevada Outreach Training Organization still keeps some food supplies and items like diapers in the addition for emergencies, but doesn’t have the full-fledged food bank on site any more, Platson said.

Organization officials are eager to point out it’s not just No To Abuse, a number of organizations form the Nevada Outreach Training Organization. No To Abuse provides emergency shelter for victims of domestic abuse and advocacy services.

There is also a Nye County Child Advocacy Center, which provides support for child victims of sexual abuse or severe physical abuse, or if they witnessed a crime.

The Pahrump Family Resource Center was formerly separate. It provides referrals to families with various needs. The center houses the Title IV-B Program and the Independent Living Program for Foster Youth.

The center offers a variety of support services and prevention programs including parenting classes, anger management classes, women’s support groups, domestic violence classes, individual counseling services and foster youth support services.