Nebraska Governor vetoes funding for CEDARS teen housing

LINCOLN, Neb. (KOLN) – Among the list of projects Governor Jim Pillen decided the government shouldn’t pay for this year, one is aimed at helping pregnant and parenting teens.

On a patch of land at 66th Street and Pioneers Boulevard, CEDARS Home for Kids was planning on building a new 7,000 square foot facility called the Carriage House, where teens who are pregnant or parenting could stay a few months to get back on their feet. It’ll cost $3 million in total, a third of that was set to come from Nebraska’s general fund.

That is, until Gov. Pillen vetoed it. CEDARS wasn’t able to talk about the future plans, but forwarded 10/11 NOW to a partner in the project, Voices for Children, who said the veto was really disappointing.

“It is a year where where we have this surplus or we have all this money,” said Anahi Salazar, Voices for Children in Nebraska. “And I really think one of Nebraskans values is is children and children’s futures. And we think that we should be providing these resources.”

CEDARS still plans to move forward with the project, but how they’ll make up that funding is up in the air. The governor said some money could come from a different state fund, the senator behind the effort said she’s not sure yet what will happen and they’ll know more next week.

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