Top, Juan Garcia, assistant pantry manager at the Lutheran Social Services of Nevada, weighs and then loads a food bag into a shopping cart. Each client receives approximately seven pounds of food. Left, intake manager Ana Vanvlimmeren works in the clothing store. The clothes were sent to Catholic Charities in March as LSSN prepares to move into temporary facilities.Photos by MIKE STOTTS/VIEW
Mike Stotts/ViewLutheran Social Services of Nevada intake manager Ana Vanvlimmeren, left, helps Kenneth Gary by answering questions as he completes his service request forms. LSSN will have to move from its current headquarters at 800 N. Bruce St. by the end of April, and is looking for a new long-term home.
Top, Juan Garcia, assistant pantry manager at the Lutheran Social Services of Nevada, weighs and then loads a food bag into a shopping cart. Each client receives approximately seven pounds of food. Left, intake manager Ana Vanvlimmeren works in the clothing store. The clothes were sent to Catholic Charities in March as LSSN prepares to move into temporary facilities.Photos by MIKE STOTTS/VIEW
Advertisement
Ana Vanvlimmeren walks through Katy's Closet at Lutheran Social Services of Nevada, where she works as intake coordinator.
"It's sad to let this go," Vanvlimmeren said, surveying the room filled wall-to-wall with racks of clothes, some still in big garbage bags. "I hate it, I hate it."
LSSN will have to move out of its current headquarters at 800 N. Bruce St. by the end of April. The nonprofit organization provides homeless people and low-income families and individuals with various social services to help them get back on their feet.
Calvary New Life Church informed LSSN executive director Jaime Weller-Lafavor through a letter in mid-March that the organization would need to vacate the premises by April 30. Weller-Lafavor said the church wanted to reclaim the neighboring facilities for redevelopment.
Katy's Closet was the first service to shut down as LSSN prepares to move into temporary buildings while organizers hunt for a new home. The clothes were to be sent to Catholic Charities at the end of March.
Temporarily, Vanvlimmeren said, people in need of clothing assistance will be able to get vouchers from LSSN to redeem at thrift stores.
Since the initial news broke, Weller-Lafavor said the city of Las Vegas has offered a building on Veterans Memorial Drive to serve as a space for administrative offices only. She said the services might be housed in a building provided by Catholic Charities. Both buildings will be used temporarily until a long-term solution can be found, she said.
"I don't call anything permanent nowadays. Everything is either short-term or long-term," Weller-Lafavor said.
Weller-Lafavor is asking for a 3,000- to 5,000-square-foot, mixed-use facility that would be appropriate to house LSSN's programs. She said the staff does not need separate offices, and even one large room would suffice.
"We can make it work. We've made it work here for 10 years, so we can make anything work," she said.
In order to best serve the needs of LSSN's clients, Weller-Lafavor said they are searching for a location east of Rancho Drive, west of Nellis Boulevard, north of Charleston Boulevard and south of Craig Road.
"We want to stay in an area where we are accessible by car or bus," she said.
In addition to a new home, LSSN also will need additional volunteers to help move and pack. Currently, the organization has about 25 volunteers.
Anush Benhan is a new volunteer who joined LSSN after hearing about it on the local news.
"I just thought, 'I'm not working right now, what better to do?' " Benhan said.
Benhan has been filing paperwork and helping pack in preparation for the move.
"I can understand where a lot of these people have been," she said of those who use LSSN's services. "I've been in Las Vegas for 10 years, and it's a tough town in a lot of ways."
Pam Valencia is the emergency services director with LSSN. She said the organization serves about 1,200 to 1,500 individuals or families per month. She said many senior citizens and families rely on the organization for support.
"We want to ensure that our clients know where we're going so they can find us. A part of our urgency stems from our concern for our clientele," Valencia said.
LSSN's services include: emergency services, such as a food pantry; birth certificate project; employment support; transition housing; long-term disaster support through Katrina Aid Today; a supportive services division, including Project 4 Youth for ages 11 to 17; the Women's Prison Ministry Storybook Program; a health services division, including referrals to low-cost health care clinics and nutritional/fitness information; and the Making Access Possible Project.
LSSN has been in its current location since its inception 10 years ago.
Valencia said a space is needed for the food pantry, which has 10 refrigerator-freezers and several shelves of non-perishables. She said LSSN received 80 percent of its in-kind food donations from the Mail Carriers' Food Drive, adding to the urgency.
"We want our food pantry to be secure and operating by May," she said.
Weller-Lafavor said LSSN is committed to continuing to help people, particularly now that there are temporary solutions available. "The crisis has been abated. We just need to look toward a long-term solution," she said.
Even after the ultimatum, clients continue to enter LSSN's lobby.
Larry Mattson described himself as "just a guy who gets some help from" LSSN.
"These people do wonderful, wonderful work, and they do everything they can," Mattson said. "This is a great place."
More information on LSSN can be found at lssnv.org.
Archived Editions| Advertising | Contact The Staff
