Linda Perez, CEO of The Shade Tree domestic violence shelter in North Las Vegas, said she’s worried about what could happen to her organization if President Donald Trump’s federal funding freeze is enacted. 

Trump’s freeze, which would’ve paused trillions of dollars of federal grants in the name of reviewing whether all programs receiving funds are compliant with a raft of new executive orders he issued in his first days in office, was paused and then rescinded last week. But if enforced, Perez said her shelter would have to operate on minimal funds, potentially pushing back many residents into abusive and dangerous situations without a place to stay in the long term. 

“So what will happen if funding is taken away from me and my staff and my client is we will go back to being an emergency shelter,” Perez said. “If we are not really addressing the issue and what the problem is, then we’re going to keep seeing them back.”

Trump’s executive orders, as well as crime, homelessness and state budget issues, were just a few of the topics discussed during the fifth community listening session of the Nevada Democracy Project, a partnership between Vegas PBS and The Nevada Independent that aims to foster civic engagement, on Thursday at the station’s studio in Las Vegas. 

Assemblywoman Sandra Jauregui (D-Las Vegas), state Sen. Melanie Scheible (D-Las Vegas), and Assemblywoman Danielle Gallant (R-Las Vegas) joined this listening session to discuss audience members’ concerns. 

The Democratic lawmakers raised alarms about the funding freeze. Jauregui said more than 30 percent of the state's budget is supported with federal funds, not including the numerous nonprofits which receive federal dollars to provide social services. 

Although the state has a rainy day fund of $1.2 billion, they aren’t sure it would be enough to make up the difference if that funding was revoked. 

“I’m scared for what’s going to happen with this federal administration because they pulled the rug out from under us,” Scheible said. 

Gallant pushed back and said the American public has asked the Trump administration to be more efficient, save more money and reduce the federal deficit. 

“So I think the Trump administration is really taking a look at this, saying, ‘Where can we cut? How can we make sure it's going to go to Nevadans? How can we make sure that we're going to keep our country safe, make sure that our kids are educated and provide essential infrastructure services?’ which is what the point of the federal government is,” she said.

The three lawmakers found common ground in areas such as a desire for more oversight over homeowners associations and legislation around gun violence prevention. 

Kirk Clyatt, an East Las Vegas resident, told legislators that he has learned to “tell the difference between fireworks and gunshots” while living in Nevada. His neighborhood, he said, is riddled with crime, and he urged lawmakers to address homelessness and push for gun control. 

Jauregui and Gallant both said they plan on introducing legislation this session for gun buyback programs that allow people to voluntarily surrender their firearms to local gun shops, aiming to reduce the number of firearms in circulation. Jauregui — a survivor of the Oct. 1, 2017, mass shooting at a Las Vegas Strip music concert that left 60 people dead and hundreds more wounded — also touted the passage of SB291 in 2019 that banned bump stocks and is still in place even after federal regulations were overturned.

“I want my legacy to be that I left the state of Nevada safer than when I found it,” Jauregui said. 

Watch the full listening session here: