EOB hears from public

Wednesday, March 23, 2005 | 9:29 a.m.

About two dozen people, nearly half senior citizens who use the Martin Luther King Senior Center, showed up Tuesday night to attend the first of three community forums the Economic Opportunity Board will be holding this week.

Some came to say they wanted more of the same services EOB offers, such as drug addiction treatment. Others said they would like the board to offer more affordable housing, and still others wondered if the senior center couldn't be enlarged, or what policies were safeguarding their children at local Head Start centers.

The EOB runs more than 30 programs for poor people, from seniors to newborns, on a budget of $30 million, according to Interim Executive Director Mary Twitty. It is the Las Vegas Valley's largest nonprofit organization -- despite mismanagement the past year that led to the loss of its largest program and the threat of losing its second-largest program.

The nonprofit had not held such a public event since April 2004.

Twitty was hired in July as part of a temporary team charged with fixing a series of problems highlighted in three negative outside reviews from federal agencies and a state-hired agency.

After those problems were exposed, the United Way of Southern Nevada took over managing about $20 million in child care funds, and the federal government announced its decision to take away $12 million in Head Start funds. The EOB is appealing that decision.

Twitty and several others will be on board until June 30, costing taxpayers about $600,000.

During the time her staff has been running the organization, she said, they have rolled out a new federal program offering ATM-like cards for low-income mothers, reduced overall debt by 65 percent, increased funding for HIV/AIDS patients, added new board members and begun searches for new staff to take over starting July 1, among other achievements.

After she spoke, about eight people offered their input on the organization's programs. Corine Tisdale said she would like "a quiet space" at the senior center she visits.

Naomi Marquez wondered why the center had lost its exercise class.

Several people said the organization's drug treatment programs were helpful and should be expanded.

And Donna Haylock was concerned about policies on safety for the organization's Head Start program, which offers child care and education to some 1,800 low-income children in the valley.

She said her grandson had been bitten by another child in December at the Spring Valley Learning Center, which was recently in the news for the same reason, and that she didn't find out about the incident until she picked him up at 5 p.m.

Twitty said she would consider the opinions of everyone at the meeting. As for Head Start, she explained that all children with "behavioral issues" resulting in biting or hitting are assessed psychologically and a plan is developed to respond to the issues.

Also, she said, parents are always informed of any such incident immediately.

Another community forum will be held tonight at 6 at the North Las Vegas Library, 2300 Civic Center Drive, followed by a third forum Thursday at 6 at Paseo Verde Library, 280 South Green Valley Parkway, Henderson.

"The community is an integral part in developing the future services of EOB," Twitty said. "We need to hear from the people we serve."