Following an extensive public input and application review process, the Clark County Commission approved $71.5 million in grant funding to local agencies and nonprofit organizations providing services to families, children, seniors and disproportionately impacted communities struggling to overcome the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The grants, a portion of the $440 million in fiscal recovery funding awarded to Clark County as part of the American Rescue Plan Act, will be distributed to a variety of local agencies and nonprofit groups providing services to help aid in the community’s full recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic including public health, housing support, food assistance, education and healthy childhood environment services. Services will benefit seniors, youth, veterans and disproportionately impacted communities of urban and rural residents.
“Our community can be proud of the tremendous work we have done to overcome challenges presented by COVID-19,” said Clark County Commission Chairman Marilyn Kirkpatrick. “Our goal now is to use the funding we have received from the federal government to build a strong, equitable recovery in our community and to remove any barriers that prevent people from getting back on their feet.”
County commissioners hosted a series of neighborhood meetings to gather input from the public about impacts experienced during the pandemic and barriers to recovery particularly among the hardest-hit populations. The commission developed a three-phase approach for distributing funding based on immediate, short-term and longer-term investments to help the community recover the pandemic. The grants approved today are geared toward programs that serve seniors, youth, veterans and low-income households in Southern Nevada that have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic.
“Communities of color and people living in lower-income neighborhoods were disproportionately impacted by the pandemic in terms of the economic fallout as well as caseloads,” said Clark County Commission Vice Chairman Jim Gibson. “Many who were struggling before the pandemic are hurting even more now. This funding is designed to help us address some of the critical needs in our community that make it hard for people to improve their lives including affordable housing, health care and mental health services.”
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Clark County is a dynamic and innovative organization dedicated to providing top-quality service with integrity, respect and accountability. With jurisdiction over the world-famous Las Vegas Strip and covering an area the size of New Jersey, Clark is the nation’s 11th-largest county and provides extensive regional services to 2.3 million citizens and 45.6 million visitors a year (2019). Included are the nation’s 9th-busiest airport, air quality compliance, social services and the state’s largest public hospital, University Medical Center. The County also provides municipal services that are traditionally provided by cities to 1 million residents in the unincorporated area. Those include fire protection, roads and other public works, parks and recreation, and planning and development.