Nye divvies $1.3M to aid housing, mental health initiatives

Nye County has officially started its ARPA grants programs and the first round of grant requests from area nonprofits was heard during the Nye County Commission’s first meeting of December. Six in all, they received a very mixed reaction from the board, with two approved, two denied and two others pushed to a future meeting.

Of the six grant requests, one came from the Nevada Outreach Training Organization (NOTO) while the other five came from the NyE Communities Coalition (NyECC).

NOTO was asking for the largest amount, a total of $1,182,291 to fund two different programs at its facility, one centered on addressing the homelessness problem and another to provide direct assistance to households in the form of rent, utility and mortgage funding.

“Presently, NOTO is the intake site for the homeless here in Nye County. We are also one of 24 designated state grant funded family resource centers… NOTO utilizes several grant funds today to help homeless and those needing a hand up due to COVID, hardship, loss of job, sickness, domestic violence, etc.,” information in the organization’s presentation detailed. “NOTO has the experience in working within our Nye County communities to be able to successfully implement the grants at hand.”

The presentation also included an outline of how NOTO anticipates using the ARPA funds requested, with $208,561 to go toward personnel, more than $40,000 to be used for operations and a consultant and the remaining $934,320 to be used for direct client services.

Following the presentation, headed by NOTO Executive Director Kathie McKenna, the request was approved 4-0 as presented and the nonprofit will now see a huge injection of funding, relieving the county of the responsibility of administering its own public assistance program this time around.

Also receiving approval on Dec. 6 was the NyECC’s request for $115,386.70 to assist residents with Social Security Insurance and Social Security Disability Insurance claims for those with mental illnesses.

“Serious mental illness is over-represented in our incarcerated and homeless populations,” presentation information noted. “By working collaboratively to bring the resources outlined in the budget proposal, we can provide more intensive case management to build protective factors, reduce risk factors and stabilize individuals who would otherwise burden out social services.

“We are requesting $99,008.01 for staffing needed to address the complex issues facing individuals with serious mental illness; $2,576 in travel to meet clients where they are at and minimize barriers. With the requested $26,565 in operating, we will be able to stabilize individuals so that we can provide wrap-around case management services. An additional $1,500 in equipment costs will allow us to provide resources in real-time when meeting with clients in the community,” the NyECC’s presentation stated.

A request by the NyECC for funds to support the established Pahrump Remote Area Medical Clinic and allow for an expansion into a Tonopah RAM Clinic was also on the agenda for Dec. 6 but after an intense discussion about the merits and details of the request, the commissioners decided they would prefer to award the grant in an amended amount.

The coalition was originally asking for $97,482.24 but the commission opted to slash that total by a third. The NyECC’s request will now be heard at the board’s next meeting, set for Tuesday, Dec. 20, in the amount of $66,433.

The second grant application to meet with postponement was for public homeless assistance in the amount of $37,728.02. The money would be used to, “Assist 10 homeless clients with a qualifying disability to file for disability benefits. A benefits specialist will outreach to potential clients,” information from NyECC stated. “The specialist will interview and determine eligibility for potential clients. If found eligible, the benefits specialist will assist in obtaining medical records, filling out and submitting applications and follow up with the client and Social Security Administration to ensure that the application is processed.”

Although quite similar to the coalition’s Social Security Insurance and Social Security Disability program for those with mental illness, this item garnered so much debate that commissioners were not able to come to a consensus. Commissioner Bruce Jabbour was absent that day due to illness, leaving the remaining four board members at loggerheads over the subject. When it came to a vote, the result was a tie, meaning the the item will now be pushed to a future meeting. A date has not yet been selected, Nye County Public Information Officer Arnold Knightly said.

Also on the Dec. 6 agenda were two other, separate requests from the NyECC, one for the Youth Protective Factors and Resiliency Program and another for public assistance programming.

The coalition had applied for just under $83,000 for the Protective Factors and Resiliency Program, which would concentrate on work experience training through Pahrump Valley High School and J.G. Johnson Elementary School. More than half the funding was earmarked for staff costs however, which did not seem to appeal to the board. A bulk of the NyECC’s public assistance grant request was to go toward staff too, and in the case of that request, commissioners remarked that NOTO’s programs make the coalition’s redundant.

In the end, the commission ultimately voted to deny both of those applications.

Contact reporter Robin Hebrock at rhebrock@pvtimes.com