Lawmakers award SafeNest $9M to centralize services for domestic violence victims

SafeNest (Nevada Current file photo)

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State lawmakers on Thursday awarded $9 million in American Rescue Plan Act funds to the nonprofit SafeNest to build out a Las Vegas campus that centralizes and expands services for survivors of domestic violence, sexual violence and trafficking.

SafeNest will ask the Nevada State Infrastructure Bank for a $10 million loan for the project, which the nonprofit estimates will cost $20 million in total.

The project will relocate the services currently available at the Southern Nevada Family Justice Center, located on Mojave Road near Washington Avenue, to a series of renovated buildings on Meadows Lane near the Meadows Mall. Additional nonprofits and state agencies would be brought in, making it easier for victims to get the assistance they need.

The campus will be dubbed: One Safe Place.

SafeNest would own the buildings and lead the collaborative effort. Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department, which leads the Family Justice Center, is already on board with the relocation and project, according to Ortenburger.

One Safe Place plans to have on-site access to Child Protective Services, government assistance programs like WIC and TANF, law enforcement, legal assistance, housing support, case management, support groups, counseling, and a medical clinic. Intake will be available 24/7, according to materials submitted to the IFC.

As part of the project, SafeNest wants to offer wraparound services like mental health counseling to the perpetrators of domestic violence.

One known issue is that enforcement of temporary protective orders (TPO) can sometimes lead to homelessness for the abusers, which Ortenburger notes “rarely diminishes anger.” Couples counseling is the third most requested service by survivors of domestic violence.

“We will never excuse abusers,” Ortenburger emphasized, “but if we don’t tackle things differently, we will continue to see high rates of domestic violence. We want to lead the country in this space.”

Ortenburger received no pushback from legislators on the Interim Finance Committee, which unanimously approved the ARPA request. State Sen. Rochelle Nguyen (D-Las Vegas) acknowledged that SafeNest had been working on and toward the proposal for years.

“This is a huge vision,” she added. “It’s amazing to see how it’s progressed.”

In 2022, SafeNest proposed using $25 million in ARPA money to build a 365-bed facility, but the City of Las Vegas, Clark County and the State of Nevada all rejected the proposal .

SafeNest to seek loan from Infrastructure Bank

The $9 million in ARPA funds awarded to SafeNest by lawmakers Thursday will fund close to half of the estimated $20 million project. For the remainder of the capital, SafeNest is turning to the Nevada State Infrastructure Bank.

Ortenburger told lawmakers the nonprofit expects to appear before the State Infrastructure Bank on July 23 to ask for a $10 million loan. Should that request be denied, they plan to seek funding from LENDonate, a San Francisco-based group that similarly offers below-market loans to nonprofits or through traditional lenders.

The State Infrastructure Bank is the preferred path for financing because it offers a 3.5% interest rate compared to 9% on the open market, Ortenburger added.

SafeNest is ramping up efforts to secure federal grant money to sustain the cost of the expanded services it plans to offer at One Safe Place. Additional federal grants could be subgranted to partners operating in the space.

“The goal is not to ask partner agencies to do more with less,” added Ortenburger.

SafeNest is also looking to increase its internal revenue generation to be on par with nonprofits like Three Square Food Bank and Opportunity Village.

One component of revenue generation will be that, as the property owners of the complex, SafeNest would become landlord to existing tenants, which includes Nevada WIC and ThrivePoint Academy, a charter school serving students at high risk of dropping out.

SafeNest also estimates buying its existing building will save the nonprofit a quarter of a million dollars in rent.

“That will be money that can go toward helping victims, not our landlord,” said Orterburger, who noted that SafeNest currently receives a portion of Clark County’s marriage licensing fee.

Nevada is regularly in the top five states for women being murdered by men, said Ortenburger, adding that 80% of those deaths occur in Clark County.

SafeNest has had to deny 5,000 people lethal deterrent shelter because they simply did not have enough space, Ortenburger told lawmakers. Clark County currently has 150 confidential beds for victims of domestic violence. Comparably sized locales typically have 400.

SafeNest uses a lethality assessment to prioritize the most at-risk victims.

“It’s an 11-point scale but I can only take you if you’re a 9,” said Ortenburger. “Anyone with a lower score cannot get a bed with us because they’re full.”

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