-So we have thoroughly covered the loan aspect of this account, but not all of the state's funding for the development of housing will be repaid.

That's because there are two grants for supportive housing.

One is for a Volunteers of America project in Reno, and the other is for Visions Park in Las Vegas.

That's the Blind Center of Nevada's 100-unit affordable housing complex near Las Vegas Boulevard and Washington Avenue.

It's scheduled to open in July, and Nevada Week got to meet one of its future residents.

-[singing] ♪ That's why I'm easy ♪ ♪ I'm easy like Sunday morning ♪ -Will Stoakely's life has been the opposite of easy.

-♪ Why in the world would ♪ ♪ anybody put chains on me ♪ -He says he began singing when he became blind nearly 20 years ago.

(William Stoakley) Well, I inherited glaucoma.

I didn't know I had it.

I was ignorant to it.

My grandmother had it.

No one else in my family but my grandmother, so I ended up having it and not getting regular eye checkups.

It just got worse.

So I started off seeing people that looked like shadows, and then eventually it just went totally dark.

I was trying to survive blind, you know, living where I could.

Sometimes I had sleep on people's floors and, you know, anybody that could help me, because when I lost my job, I used all my savings.

So here I am.

-Will says the Blind Center helped him learn how to live without his sight and found him housing he could afford.

-After they helped me get the place, they showed me the ropes on how to maneuver blind.

I got to meet some other members that made me feel a lot more comfortable.

-But he's anxious for workers to finish construction on the center's newest venture, [sound of machinery] Visions Park, an affordable housing complex for people who are blind and visually impaired.

-I don't think anybody would want to live where I'm at now, you know, but I know it's not going to be long.

I'm be one of the first ones moving in here.

-Will is one of more than 100 people who will live here.

And Todd Imholte, president of the Blind Center of Nevada, says more than 300 people have asked to be on the waiting list.

(Todd Imholte) Some people on our interest list are homeless.

Some of them are people like Will who finally got a place to live about a year ago but are living in unsafe and unhealthy environments.

You know, when you're blind, as you can imagine, you can't see if you have a bug problem, right?

So if he's got cockroaches running around or some other bugs, he had some lady come into his house, he told me, to sweep his kitchen because he can't see where he's sweeping.

And she told him, You have a bug problem.

You need to talk to the landlord here.

And so, you know, again, imagine that times, you know, a bunch of people who are living below the extreme poverty level who are making a social security check, trying to make a living.

As we know for all of us, the rents and mortgages have gone up in our community.

And we're one of the states with the lowest available affordable housing in the country.

-But Imholate says that's changing and points to the multiple sources of funding for Visions Park, including federal, state, and local dollars.

-So the jurisdictions all have their oars in the water here, and so they're all trying to fix this housing problem.

It's going to take a while, but with this kind of an impact and this kind of a story to say, hey, what can we do as a collaborative effort to get this done, this is a story that will last forever.

-The Blind Center not only owns the land underneath Visions Park but sits right next to it as well.

-It's been proven that nationally, when you can add supportive services to housing, it makes the life of an individual better.

And so the proximity of the services of food security next door, we have fitness center, we have classes, we have technology training and job training, and music and art.

And so there's many, many things that complement an individual who's blind that is in walking distance.

-And it's a walk Will says he's eager to make from his future home.

What do you think about when you think about moving into this place?

What will that be like?

-As soon as they blow the whistle, I'm ready.

I'm ready today.

-So that's 100 units.

But as we mentioned earlier, there's a need for 78,000 units in the state for extremely low-income households.

So when I asked at the beginning of the show, will this bill work to solve the affordable housing issue, I guess I know the answer, and that's no, right?

-Yeah.

It's not a panacea for everything that ails us.

One at a time.

You know, if we can help Will get into housing, great.

And I heard that they have a 300-person waiting list.

We know that we have a problem of huge proportions, but you got to start somewhere.

You got to start doing things.

You can't just throw up the white flag and say, This isn't going to work.

So we continue to butt our heads against walls.

We continue to try to push through those walls using all kinds of interesting and different things that we can.