Las Vegas, March 29, 2024 – Vegas Stronger, the Las Vegas nonprofit with a mission of ending homelessness by treating the root causes of substance use disorders and mental illness, recently announced funding exceeding $2M to help move unhoused individuals off the street corners, encampments, and even out of shelters and connecting them with resources that provide longterm solutions of lasting recovery and social stability. This is following a successful 2023 grant cycle of over $1.8M from various organizations.
“We are enthusiastic about partnering with the county and city to help these individuals get the help they need and help them break the cycle of addiction and contact with the criminal justice system,” said Dave Marlon, co-founder & CEO of Vegas Stronger. “This will have a secondary impact of saving taxpayers’ money as we resolve root causes and move people back into social stability. These individuals will benefit from our 13 core elements, at the heart of which is evidence-based behavioral care and access to primary and psychiatric care. Thank you to everyone who believes in Vegas Stronger and is working with us to make a much-needed change.”
The Clark County Commission approved a grant exceeding $1.7 million to help divert individuals with a diagnosable behavioral health condition who also frequently encounter law enforcement away from the criminal justice system. The County also approved an Emergency Services Grant to Vegas Stronger to help with urgent housing needs and case management work and do outreach in outlying areas of Clark County, with a focus on Indian Springs and Blue Diamond. These dollars will be deployed to help transition individuals off the streets and connect them with the supportive services and therapy needed to help facilitate their transition into housing, sobriety, and employment. Vegas Stronger was also awarded a contract by the City of Las Vegas to staff the Multi-Agency Outreach Resource Engagement (MORE) Team, which helps connect unhoused individuals with the services needed to help resolve their homelessness, including housing assessments and transportation to the City of Las Vegas’ Courtyard Homeless Resource Center. You can learn more about these awards in a recent news interview with KSNV News 3’s Cristen Drummond.
These awards follow a successful grant cycle from 2023, where Vegas Stronger was awarded over $1.8M from programs such as SAMHSA's Behavioral Health Partnership for Early Diversion of Adults and Youth, SAMHSA'S Treatment for Individuals Experiencing Homelessness, HRSA's Rural Communities Opioid Response Program - Rural Opioid Response, State Opioid Response Grant, and others. These awards were for items such as providing comprehensive evidence-based treatment for mental illness, substance use disorder, co-occurring disorders, and serious mental illness, and establishing a new rural treatment facility for screening, intake, telehealth, Medication Assisted Treatment induction and management, counseling, and more in Pahrump, Nevada.
“Compassionate, assertive interventions redirecting individuals off of the streets and into the care that can help them resolve root conditions is the key to solving the epidemic of homelessness in our community,” said Deb Leavitt, President of Vegas Stronger. “We are committed to ending homelessness by giving people a hand up.”
Contact [email protected] for more information or to set up an interview with a representative of Vegas Stronger.
