Chinle shelter loses $500,000 award after Navajo Nation reversal
WINDOW ROCK
A $500,000 award that appeared to be headed to Amá Dóó Áłchíní Bíghan Inc. has been rescinded by the Navajo Nation Department of Family Services, sending the Chinle-based domestic violence and family services nonprofit back into uncertainty after months of trying to secure the money.
In an April 27, 2026, memorandum to Lorena Halwood, the executive officer of ADABI, Crescentia Tso, the department manager III for the Department of Family Services, said the department was rescinding a March 27, 2026, letter of award for the women’s shelter and social services contract.
The memo stated the request for proposal’s scope of services included prevention, support and shelter, and specialized services. But after the DFS initially sent the award letter to ADABI, the department determined the nonprofit’s proposal fell outside the scope of the RFP because it included items such as roof replacement, flooring, siding and other repair-related costs. Those costs, the memo stated, are considered construction services, which the RFP did not cover.
For Halwood, the notice was another blow in a long-running dispute over state funds she said were intended to help her organization continue serving domestic violence survivors, children, families and unsheltered relatives in the Chinle area.
To read the full article, please see the April 30, 2026, edition of the Navajo Times.
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