Nye County Social Services Fair sees hundreds turn out

By Robin Hebrock Pahrump Valley Times

5 years ago

Horace Langford Jr./Pahrump Valley Times At the Nye County Social Services Fair, Pahrump Valley Lions Club members Bill Newyer and Brigitte Dubin spent time detailing the club’s many charitable endeavors, such as providing glasses and sunglasses to those in need.

Horace Langford Jr./Pahrump Valley Times – Sandy Jennings is seen explaining the VETrans Bus Service to a local resident during the Social Services Fair hosted Jan. 16.

Horace Langford Jr./Pahrump Valley Times -“Squirrel”, “Cookie” and “Vape”, members of B.A.C.A. which stands for “Bikers Against Child Abuse”, discuss the group’s mission and purpose with area residents.

Horace Langford Jr./Pahrump Valley Times – The Pahrum Valley Methodist Church was just one of the many organizations represented at the 4th Annual Social Services Fair which took place at the NyE Communities Coalition.

The knowledge and understanding of the many services and resources available to the public right here in Pahrump saw a big increase on Wednesday, Jan. 16 during the 4th Annual Social Services Fair, hosted by Nye County Health and Human Services.

Started in 2016 as a method of connecting residents and local organizations, the Social Services Fair has been a successful enterprise for Nye County and regularly draws dozens upon dozens of attendees. This year’s event was no different, with Nye County officials detailing that even more people turned out for the 2019 event than in past years.

“Nye County’s 4th Annual Social Service Fair was again a huge success thanks to all the vendors and the NyE Communities Coalition for letting us host it at their facility,” Nye County Health and Human Services Human Services Manager Karyn Smith enthused once everything had come to a close. “We had an overwhelming turnout with many fantastic baskets that were donated from the different vendors, which were raffled off every 10 to 15 minutes throughout the fair. We are looking forward to another successful event at our Northern Fair in Tonopah in July and next year’s Social Services Fair.”

Smith said there were a total of 47 vendors and 205 attendees. “Almost all attendees stated they enjoyed the event and that they received a lot of resource information that they did not know was available to them,” Smith informed.

She noted that the Social Services Fair is a great way to get information out to local citizens and educate them on what is available to assist them. Additionally, the event provides a perfect venue for networking between the various organizations exhibiting, with Smith remarking, “It updates the agencies themselves on what is available so that we are able to refer when needed.”

There will be another Social Services Fair in Pahrump next year but in the meantime, for those who may not have been able to make it to the fair, Smith said they have several options for locating resources they may be in need of.

“The Nye Communities Coalition prints a Community Resource guide that is available throughout the community,” she said. “They can also call 2-1-1 for resource information and they can always contact our office at 775-751-7095.”

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com