PUEBLO — Nonprofits in the Pueblo area are keeping a close eye on a committee that is prioritizing its grant funding this year. The Community Services Advisory Commission, or CSAC, has nearly one million dollars to distribute from city and county budgets.
This year, the group of volunteers is recommending the majority of the funding go to nonprofits that work with victim support, after-school programs, and childcare.
They gave a presentation to Pueblo city council on Monday night, during a work session, outlining 26 different nonprofits and how much CSAC funding they should receive.
One of these includes The Pueblo Child Advocacy Center. The Pueblo Child Advocacy Center helps survivors of child abuse.
Christine Casillas is the Resource Development Coordinator at the Center. her team works with law enforcement and child protective services to do forensic interviews for child abuse investigations.
“Instead of having to do an interview under cold conditions, they can come to where it's child-centered, where it's warm, where it's comforting, where it's comfortable. And you know, they have a tendency, at least the children have a tendency to disclose more when they're a little bit more comfortable,” Casillas said.
The center also offers mental health services to children.
“All of our services are 100% free,” Casillas said.
Their center does not charge families any money for their work, which makes funding that much more crucial.
“So we rely very, very heavily on grants and foundations, and then it comes down to individual donors,” Casillas said.
For the past 10 years, the center has received money from the Community Services Advisory Commission, or CSAC.
This year the commission recommends the Pueblo Child Advocacy Center receive $40,000.
“Would be wonderful. Yes, yeah, because having those funds will help us continue the work that we do. I mean, it will really help make sure that the families and the children who walk through these doors are getting the care and the holistic care that we provide for them,” Casillas said.
Casillas said federal grant funding is declining, so they look for any and every opportunity.
“Which is another reason why this fund is this grant is super crucial for us. Is, I mean, some of the grants that we normally get are changing the trajectory of how they're distributing the funds,” Casillas said.
The Pueblo Child Advocacy Center and other non-profits recommended for funding are still waiting for city and county leaders to approve the recommendations.
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