Second clinic for homeless gets grant

Friday, Aug. 29, 2003 | 9:48 a.m.

A Las Vegas nonprofit has received a federal grant to open its second clinic for the homeless in the coming months, its director said.

When the new clinic opens by early next year, it will be the first time the Las Vegas Valley has had two clinics offering free care specifically to the homeless, said Brian Brooks, director of Healthcare for the Homeless, a project run by Nevada Health Centers.

The grant, from the Health and Human Services Department, is for $335,000 the first year and $320,000 yearly thereafter. It will be used to run a clinic at the Las Vegas Rescue Mission, a shelter at Bonanza Road and D Street. The project had a clinic on the same site until it moved last year to a new location at a shelter run by Catholic Charities downtown.

The grant is a reflection of overall population growth in the valley in recent years -- including the homeless population, Brooks said.

"The federal government recognizes the increased need for primary health care for the homeless population in order to help bring them back into society," Brooks said.

The other clinic, which will remain at its location at Main Street and Washington Avenue, sees about 4,000 patients a year, Brooks said.

The new clinic could easily see the same number of patients at its doors, he said.