Opportunity Village: Almost 70 Years Old but More Important than Ever

Seventy years ago, there was no help for people with disabilities in Southern Nevada. There was no help for families to navigate possibilities for their children born with disabilities. In fact, many were told their children were a lost cause.

Nothing could be further from the truth.

Since 1954, Opportunity Village has been a catalyst for change in Southern Nevada and throughout the U.S. At its core, OV helps people with disabilities achieve their dreams. Whether that’s having a meaningful career, living independently away from their parents, or meeting friends and having an active social life, Opportunity Village is there to help people with disabilities discover their passions, become empowered, and see what’s possible.

Today, Opportunity Village supports more than 3,000 individuals with disabilities in Southern Nevada and pays nearly $4 million in wages and benefits to adults with disabilities. In addition, over the past five years, OV has saved Nevada taxpayers $127.7 million, with $16.6 million in the last year alone, according to our recently released Community Impact Analysis report compiled by Applied Analysis. As a direct result of our services, we’re increasing quality of life and decreasing the chances of people with intellectual and developmental disabilities falling into homelessness and poverty through employment opportunities. Within these figures, are countless, beautiful stories of the locals we’ve supported for almost seven decades.

But to keep creating these stories and help our community move forward, we need you, Southern Nevada.

In short, we need your donations to keep being the leader in helping people with disabilities find the very best version of themselves.

We always want to be at the forefront of what’s possible for people with disabilities and to keep moving forward in how we think about the services we provide. It’s about how we take care of each other in this community. In March we celebrated National Developmental Disabilities Awareness Month to increase “public awareness of the needs and the potential of Americans with developmental disabilities” and to provide the “encouragement and opportunities they need to lead productive lives and to achieve their full potential.”

If you’ve ever wondered how to help Opportunity Village, now is the perfect time to make a donation and learn more about what we do. We invite the community to take a tour, or just visit our website to learn more at www.opportunityvillage.org.

One aspect of what we do that you might not know about is Betty’s Village, a first-of-its-kind community designed for people to live active, independent and engaging lives in an inclusive neighborhood. Right now Betty’s Village has about 100 residents, with many more on a waiting list because of the amazing opportunity it provides people with diverse abilities to experience independent living.

The project has been so successful that we’re planning to build a sister community that will provide housing for an additional 114 people that’s expected to break ground in spring 2024. This new development will help fill an important void, but we still need help to make it a reality. The Engelstad Foundation – which led the charge in bringing together the existing Betty’s Village community – has graciously stepped forward with a $10 million match gift, but we need to raise the rest from public donations.

In addition to the Betty’s Village project, Opportunity Village is currently:

• Engaging and supporting family caregivers through focused outreach efforts.

• Improving individualized support, flexibility, and expanding options by weighing in on the state’s Medicaid waiver for people with intellectual and developmental disabilities.

• Advocating for improved state reimbursement rates so that direct support professionals supporting people with disabilities across the state of Nevada are paid a living wage.

• Educating federal lawmakers on the “Supplemental Security Income cliff ” and the myriad of logistical barriers people receiving SSI face.

• Promoting people’s rights to independence in choice of where they live, work, and recreate while creating opportunities for people to exercise this independence.

• Creating more jobs for people with disabilities to earn better compensation and benefits by leading national advocacy efforts to modernize and expand federal procurement opportunities through the Abilityone program.

• Advocating for and actively expanding opportunities for accessible and affordable housing for people with disabilities while sharing our Betty’s Village model with providers across the country.

As Opportunity Village approaches its 70th anniversary in 2024, we are focused on leading the country in disability support services. We’ve built something truly special here and it’s all because our community has supported us. We’ve all come together and look what we’ve accomplished. Our successes and all that is ahead cannot happen without you. And as we march forward, we sincerely appreciate your continued support.

For more information on Opportunity Village, visit opportunityvillage.org or call 702-262-1550.