SWEETWATER COUNTY — The Sweetwater County Board of County Commissioners approved a grant amendment and a grant award that will help fund nonprofit organizations in the county.

The commissioners voted to approve receiving a $257,965.78 Community Services Block Grant from the Wyoming Department of Health, while ratifying a grant amendment that would provide an additional $50,000 through a previously-awarded grant. The Community Services Block Grant will go to programs operated by the Sweetwater Family Resource Center, YWCA of Sweetwater County, Young at Heart Senior Center, and the Sweetwater County Transit Authority.

A majority of the grant goes to the Sweetwater Family Resource Center’s Independence Program and is earmarked to receive $126,500. The YWCA’s Victim Advocacy Center will receive $21,600, while Young at Heart’s in-home assistance program and meals program will receive $44,480.37 and $13,585 respectively. The transit authority will receive $13,500 for bus passes, with the remaining $38,300.41 going to grant management and agency capacity building, which includes a needs assessment and training.

Krishna Marchal, the county’s grants manager, said Sweetwater County’s poverty rate exceeds the state and national averages. The county’s poverty rate is 12.9%, while the federal rate is 12.5% and the state rate is 10.5%. She said 5,271 county residents are living in poverty, with 16% of the county’s residents under 18 years of age living in poverty. 

The grant amendment was made because an additional $50,000 was awarded through the Wyoming Department of Family Services’ 2025 Temporary Assistance for Needy Families Community Partnership Initiative. The money will pass through directly to Climb Wyoming, a nonprofit organization that provides training for single mothers in high-paying, high-demand professions that allow them to provide for their families.

Marshal said the original contract was approved by the commissioners Aug. 6, 2024. She said the program funds are used to support needy families with children with household income at or below 185% of the federal poverty level. Reading from meeting documents, Marchal said 100% of Climb Wyoming’s Sweetwater County participants completed the training program, while 93% are employed and are earning an average monthly salary of $4,143.54.