Opportunity Center faces budget cuts

The Opportunity Center for the Homeless says federal budget cuts will have a significant impact on its mission. The Center houses men, women, veterans, college students, children and even families.

It is one of the largest homeless operations in the West Texas and Southern New Mexico. The center has ten housing facilities throughout the local area, which serve about 350 people year-round. These facilities provide three meals a day to their guests, along with educational and health services.

Ray Tullius, executive director of opportunity center, said “The mission of the Opportunity Center, first of all, is to deal with all homeless people that come to us. We try not to turn anyone away. We then try to move those people that can move forward, we try to help them move forward. But there is a large number that we know can never move forward, those with a mental illness or elderly, and our goal then is to protect those people and give them some human dignity in a place were they are safe and cared for.”

Two federal agencies that have previously given the Opportunity Center grants are reprioritizing their spending. Since June, the center has lost over $400,000 in funding for the coming year.

That’s forced the Center to downsize. Come August the center will have eliminated six employees, as well as its psychiatric department. Tullius says about 50 percent of the residents have a mental illness. Without a psychiatric department, the residents will be unable to get the immediate help they need.

The cut in funds will also affect the center’s ability to transition residents off the streets and into college or work.

Director of Social Services, Dorothy Truax said, “Every position that is lost, means there is a population that is not being served in the homeless community.”
The employees being cut help aid in teaching programs, which encourages the residents to become independent in living.

With the Opportunity Center’s uncertain future, its main objective now is to locate other partnerships for supplemental funding.

Tullius does not believe the center will have to close its doors, but he does believe that the center will be unable to care for as many people as before.

Restoring federal funding in the future may be difficult. The federal government ran up a deficit of approximately one trillion dollars in Fiscal Year 2013, to reach a cumulative national debt of more than $17 trillion. That’s close to $55,000 for every man, woman and child in the United States.

With hopes of raising funds the Center is having a Homerun for the Homeless 5k run/walk and kids dash. The race will be next Saturday, July 26 at 8 a.m., at University Park.