Geeve Iverson normally handles digital communications for Northern Nevada HOPES, a Reno-based community health center. But on a recent Friday, he took some time to show off their newest clinic on East 4th Street.
“This is the IOP wing that we're in right now — intensive outpatient care — and also our medication assisted treatment wing,” he said.
The clinic also provides primary care, psychiatry, a pharmacy, and more.
“The next room over though, they call it the Zen Den. It's where people just get to chill out, if they need to after a group,” Iverson added.
Northern Nevada HOPES offers care for anyone, whether they can pay for it or not. Many of its 17,000 patients are low-income workers, or immigrants. Some get referrals from the Nevada Cares Campus — the massive homeless shelter next door.
It also saves taxpayers money by reducing unpaid emergency room visits.
But last week’s federal funding freeze threatened that mission, said Northern Nevada HOPES CEO Sharon Chamberlain.
“If that's taken away, it will certainly impact the amount of services that we can offer,” she explained.
The freeze only lasted about a day. And two federal judges ruled it unconstitutional.
But the Trump Administration still plans to claw back money for causes like diversity, equity, and inclusion — also known as DEI.
Eaton Dunkelberger, CEO of the Community Foundation of Northern Nevada, said he realized the order could force smaller nonprofits to close — thereby threatening the wide range of social services they provide.
So, he started looking for a solution.
“This has sparked some really interesting potential collaborations that may fit this most recent kind of crisis,” he said. “Or might be something that we keep in our back pocket for the future.”
Dunkelberger approached Sierra Pacific Credit Union with a novel idea: He wanted to create a program that could provide “cash flow smoothing,” in case federal grants and loans were interrupted again.
Director of Operations Tom Wambaugh is enthusiastic about the plan.
“The concept is to partner with [the] Community Foundation and their donors, to be able to provide financing for local organizations to continue to do the work that they do,” he said.
Here’s how it’ll work: The Community Foundation will put up collateral, and get pre-approved for a series of loans.
Then, if federal grants are interrupted again, the Community Foundation would be able to open a line of credit on behalf of local organizations, to buy them time.
According to Assistant County Manager Kate Thomas, many nonprofits provide critical services in the Truckee Meadows — often as government contractors.
“One of the biggest realizations we had was the reliance we have on the nonprofit sector,” she said.
Take the Nevada Cares Campus, for example. The county owns the massive shelter, but it contracts with Volunteers of America (VOA) to handle daily operations.
According to VOA Regional Vice President Travis Sandefur, federal funding makes that possible. And he said the short-lived freeze made some of their clients worry about access to services.
“It's difficult and challenging to build trust in the communities that we serve,” he explained. “And it can be hard to counteract those rumors once they get going.”
Meanwhile, chaos at the federal level continues.
Last week, Trump mega-donor Elon Musk forced his way into the US Treasury Department’s payment system.
And although the department has since agreed to temporarily limit Musk’s access to government data — which includes most Americans’ Social Security numbers — the tech investor has continued to interfere with federal spending through other means.
Chamberlain said if Northern Nevada HOPES loses federal funding, Dunkelberger’s plan for a local safety net would definitely help.
But she doubts whether charity could fully make up the difference.
“It's such a significant number, it's hard to imagine being able to fundraise along with every other nonprofit that's going to be impacted by these cuts,” she said.
No matter what happens at the federal level, though, Chamberlain promised Northern Nevada HOPES will keep supporting healthcare for everyone.
“Even though this is rapidly changing — and kind of unprecedented — we are here, and we will remain here, and we are accepting new patients,” she said.
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