COLUMN: Carmel Hopkins

In one of the best examples of public-private partnerships, the new 18,000-square-foot

Head Start center in Henderson was dedicated Aug. 13.

The facility at 180 Westminster Way, east of Boulder Highway off of Major Avenue, was built on land donated by the adjacent Henderson Presbyterian Church. Total development cost was $4.6 million, and included 12 classrooms and a playground, plus a full-service kitchen and a community room.

After the dedication, a ground breaking was held on an adjoining piece of land for the 2,000-square-foot

Harry Reid Center for Families and Children, which will be built for about

$3.2 million.

Hundreds of people attended the celebrations, including children with their parents and grandparents; members of the Presbyterian Church; local, state and federal officials; county, Las Vegas, North Las Vegas and Henderson bureaucrats; mortgage company representatives;

Clark County School District liaisons; and print and electronic media.

Marcia Rose Walker, executive director of the Economic Opportunity Board Community Action Partnership, which operates 17 Head Start centers in Southern Nevada, said the project was initiated after a 2000 community assessment showed that 63 percent of eligible children in Henderson did not have access to early childhood development programs.

The board turned the problem over to its Housing and Development Division, which helped assemble all the parts that made the vision come true.

"This new Head Start Learning Center is a wonderful example of city, county, federal and community-based organizations working together for the enrichment of our children and families in Southern Nevada,"

Walker said.

She pointed out that at-risk children who attend Head Start are 33 percent more likely to graduate from

high school and 75 percent more likely to obtain employment.

Reid was instrumental

in securing $500,000 in

federal funds from the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Education for the project. Additional funding was provided

through grants from the

city of Henderson, Clark County and Henderson Allied Community Advocates.

"We want to help them be the best they can be," Reid said of the children who will attend Head Start. "This is a great program; what a great use for this property. The grants could have gone to other places, but in my estimation the money

couldn't have been better spent."

Reid said it is disappointing that only an estimated 3,000 children are being helped by Head Start in the Las Vegas Valley.

"For the amount of the money spent on just a few weapons, we could take care of all the kids in America."

I should point out that I am one of a dozen volunteers who sit on the advisory board of the Housing and Development Division, and we know the hard work and dedication the staff puts into each and every project.

Angela Quinn, division administrator, puts her vast wealth of knowledge together with her iron will to convince community members to

help projects come to

fruition.

Two very special local companies that were instrumental in the successful completion of the Head Start facility were architects Swisher and Hall AIA Ltd.

and contractor Raphael Construction. These companies have worked with social service organization for quite awhile and have contributed mightily to

the effort.

Congratulations to the partnership for fulfilling its mission: to eliminate poverty by providing programs, resources, services and advocacy for self sufficiency and economic empowerment. For 37 years, it has encompassed about 40 programs that receive support from 27 funding sources. It provides more than 55,000 unduplicated services annually through its divisions: Adult and Senior Services, Child and Family Services, Child Care Assistance, Health Services, Transportation Services, Housing and Development, KCEP FM radio, Micro-Business Development and Substance Abuse Treatment.

I'm humbled by their dedication.

Carmel Hopkins, real estate product manager for the Las Vegas Review-Journal and Las Vegas Sun, can be reached at 380-4574.

Her e-mail address is chopkins@ reviewjournal.com. Snail mail is P.O. Box 70, Las Vegas, NV 89125.

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