Nebraska governor vetoes CEDARS youth housing funding

LINCOLN, Neb. (COLOGNE) – Among the list of projects that Gov. Jim Pillen has decided the government will not pay for this year is one aimed at helping pregnant teens and parents.

On a plot of land at 66th Street and Pioneer Boulevard, CEDARS Home for Kids planned to build a new 7,000-square-foot facility called the Carriage House, where pregnant teens or parents could stay for a few months to get back on their feet. It will cost a total of $3 million, one-third of which will come from Nebraska’s general fund.

That is, until Governor Pillen vetoed it. CEDARS was unable to discuss future plans, but reached out to 10/11 NOW’s project partner, Voices for Children, who said the veto was truly disappointing.

“It’s the year we have this extra or all this money,” said Anahi Salazar, Voices for Children in Nebraska. “And I really think that one of the values ​​of Nebraskans is children and children’s future. And we think we need to provide those resources.”

CEDARS still plans to move forward with the project, but how they will fund it is up in the air. The governor said some money could come from another state fund, the senator behind the effort said he wasn’t sure yet what would happen and they would know more next week.

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