LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — SafeNest held its big annual fundraiser earlier this month. For those who gave and those who will continue to support the state's largest domestic violence shelter, a former insider is coming forward to 13 Investigates to explain how the non-profit domestic violence shelter handles its money.
Bringing dollars into SafeNest was her job until she resigned over concerns about leadership and oversight.
WATCH | Darcy Spears continues her series investigating SafeNest with the insight of a former insider at Nevada's largest domestic violence shelter:
To get a full picture of how an entity functions, says Jennifer Wolsey, you've got to follow the money. That was Wolsey's job at SafeNest, but she says she didn't like the road she was led down as she tracked the shelter's spending.
"It was through the work that I needed to do that I discovered all this stuff and all these red flags started happening," Wolsey said.
Before sharing all of her findings, she wants you to know:
"There's a lot of people who do really good work at SafeNest. Unfortunately, they're terrified. Their voices are continually shut down by leadership. And if they do speak out, it becomes so difficult for them to work there."
Wolsey was the grant manager for SafeNest from October 2024 until she resigned on Jan. 30 of this year. She made it just four months, citing in her resignation letter, "Systemic issues regarding grant compliance, fiscal procedures, and organizational management."
As grant manager, Wolsey worked in the finance department and was responsible for helping to identify, secure and oversee the organization's grant funding and compliance.
After her first 45 days on the job, Wolsey emailed a progress report to SafeNest leadership.
"I started recognizing some deficiencies and some conflicts," she said, starting with a grant funded by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development that's designed to help prevent homelessness. That money, Wolsey says, comes "through the federal government to actually provide rental assistance and actual case management support."
SafeNest CEO Liz Ortenberger told me in September that is a big need to fill.
"One of the biggest requests that we have is for housing — non-shelter housing, apartment housing," Ortenburger said.
Despite clients' need for housing help, Wolsey found SafeNest's failure to follow grant guidelines caused them to leave nearly $40,000 in housing money unspent, writing, "This under-spending not only represents missed opportunities to support survivors but also risks future HUD funding."
"And so, that's money that's lost in this community to help those who were experiencing homelessness because of domestic violence," Wolsey said.
SafeNest declined multiple interview requests for this story, but wrote in a statement that it "has a range of viable options available to meet the grant requirements." The statement did not say what those options are.
In November, our investigation detailed concerns from multiple SafeNest clients about not receiving help with housing.
"I was given a 48-hour exit notice without any transitional housing," said Lauren, a former client.
Another former client, Talora, wrote in a July text exchange with her SafeNest advocate of being discharged 11 days before she could access her new apartment and start her new job. Facing homelessness in the oppressive summer heat, Talora wrote, "I am devastated to become a statistic. I don't even own a tent."
I asked about Talora's case in my September interview with Ortenburger.
"And she ended up in the tunnels," I told the SafeNest CEO. "Why are clients being sent out of the home onto the streets?"
"So, it's absolutely never our intention to exit people into homelessness," Ortenburger said. "As you know, as everybody does, housing is at a bottleneck."
"If that was part of the reason they weren't getting individuals housed, it was a very small percentage of the reason," said Wolsey, who believes it ultimately came down to grant compliance, as she detailed in her progress report.
And in trying to ensure SafeNest followed HUD guidelines, she said, "I did everything I thought I could possibly do to support them in doing better."
Wolsey's progress report to SafeNest leadership also addresses The Giving Machine, a 2023 holiday donation program.
"There were several different categories that were set aside for The Giving Machine, one of them being shoes," Wolsey explained.
In an email to 13 Investigates for a story we aired in November, SafeNest's chief marketing and communications officer, Linda Bridges, said SafeNest "received a financial donation from a holiday giving program which was used to pay for waterproof shoes provided to kids and youth in our Camp Hope summer program" in 2024.
Camp Hope hosted about 100 children that year at Imperial Beach in San Diego.
DARCY SPEARS: Did any of the kids at Camp Hope get shoes of any kind?
JENN WOLSEY: Not that I can see in any of the records.
SPEARS: So, when they told me that they used the funding from the holiday giving program to purchase shoes for Camp Hope, was that true?
WOLSEY: No. It was not true.
SPEARS: Was there another holiday giving program?
WOLSEY: Not that I could locate.
Receipts show the only waterproof shoe purchases were in August, about two months after Camp Hope took place.
Wolsey says The Giving Machine money did pay for those, as well as other shoes SafeNest bought, for its annual Back to School party.
"The (back-to-school) program that they bought the shoes for — that we were reporting — was just as important. So, why wouldn't you come back and just say, 'We made a mistake. It happens. And we're going to do better,'?" Wolsey said. "I don't really understand their unwillingness just to be up front."
She had those same concerns when it came to state agency oversight.
At least two government entities that give SafeNest grant money initiated audits after our investigation began airing.
"The audits that took place since our investigation went public, are the auditors getting a full picture of what's going on?" I asked Wolsey.
"I know that the one that I was involved with — it was very stressful because of the fact that they were asking questions that I absolutely knew that we were not being forthright," Wolsey said.
The audit she's referring to was conducted by the Nevada Attorney General's office.
"So, fair to say that the auditors may not have the information they need to conduct a thorough evaluation?" I asked.
"Absolutely," Wolsey replied.
13 Investigates submitted a public records request to the attorney general for its audit findings. The AG's office said it needs until mid-July to respond.
We also learned that this year, the Nevada Division of Child and Family Services has done an in-person site visit, follow-up audit and investigated a complaint filed by a shelter resident.
DCFS shared with 13 Investigates the letter it sent to SafeNest on April 21. State investigators found, "Demonstrable shortcomings in how the shelter documents, addresses, and follows up on resident concerns..." highlighting "A need for clearer protocols, more rigorous documentation, and improved staff training to provide a safer, more transparent environment for residents."
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As a result, DCFS told us SafeNest plans to give clients more ways to voice grievances in person and online, including a digital kiosk in the common area for clients to use by May, "that will generate data toward evaluation and overall program improvement."
DCFS says it also began working with SafeNest this spring to "review financial processes and documentation...including meeting with staff members of the Finance department as a requirement of" SafeNest receiving grant funding.
Referencing financial audits through June 2024, SafeNest told us they are "in full audit compliance." But we were unable to get more details or ask them about the state agency grant audits because they've declined our repeated interview requests.
We also asked about all the concerns Wolsey detailed in her progress report and resignation letter, but they did not answer.
They did send a statement that reads:
"SafeNest stands behind our 48-year history of providing life-saving support to survivors of domestic and sexual violence. Our meticulous financial stewardship has earned us a platinum seal of transparency from Candid, reflecting our deep accountability to those we serve and those who support our mission."