NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / January 13, 2025 / Las Vegas Sands
Las Vegas Sands
The 2024 Nevada Youth Homelessness Summit presented by Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth (NPHY) and Sands in November delivered an action-packed agenda that showcased updates from the state's leading youth homelessness stakeholders, insights from experts in related fields and input from youth with lived experience of homelessness, setting the stage for work on the state's first stand-alone plan to end youth homelessness.
Plan development is slated to begin after the June 2025 completion of the statewide Youth Experiencing Homelessness Study, which will provide definitive insights to form strategies and pathways.
"I hope Summit attendees were inspired by the heartening stories while being made aware of the challenges young people are facing, as well as motivated by the progress being made in many areas," Arash Ghafoori, CEO of NPHY, said. "We must continue to drive lasting, sustainable change in our state because every young person deserves to have a safe place to call home, the resources they need to heal from the crises they've faced, and the foundation to thrive."
Las Vegas Mayor Pro Tem Brian Knudsen welcomed attendees, followed by opening remarks from Sands executive director of corporate communications Kristin Koca.
Ghafoori then set the tone for the day by reminding attendees that without systemic change youth experiencing homelessness have a higher risk for substance abuse, unwanted pregnancies, dropping out of high school, victimization, chronic mental and physical health problems, and homelessness as adults. He outlined recent achievements from the Movement to End Youth Homelessness and shared the statewide coalition's 2025 goals, which include:
Implementing the Youth Homelessness Systems Improvement grant from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD)
Creating a statewide youth action board
Working with the Southern Nevada Homelessness Continuum of Care to launch the Youth Homelessness Demonstration Program, another HUD program to support selected communities in developing and implementing coordinated community approaches to prevent and end youth homelessness
Bringing the Movement Institute advocacy training series to Northern Nevada
Launching a research, policy and advocacy department at NPHY to further catalyze the Movement's progress
During the morning session, regional representatives from across Nevada, including northern, southern, rural and tribal communities, provided updates on recent work, accomplishments and challenges. Stakeholders noted both progress and challenges faced in the past year.
In Northern Nevada, youth homelessness organization Eddy House is opening a first-of-its-kind 36-unit apartment complex for youth, but tribal communities are facing the threat of closure of the Stepping Stones Emergency Youth Shelter, which would eliminate the only resource of its kind for tribal youth.
In Southern Nevada, youth homelessness increased by 34% over the past year, and many young people continue to seek mental health support the homelessness service system cannot provide alone. In rural Nevada, the lack of services for homeless youth is compounded by the intersection with other social challenges, such as an increase in opioid use among young people.
Young leaders with lived experience of homelessness presented a recap of focus groups held with youth experiencing homelessness. Key insights included the mental health issues youth carry from challenging family dynamics that can include abuse, substance use, poverty and incarceration. Youth also cited common barriers to services, including accessing information about housing, unrealistic program requirements, long waiting periods for resources, as well as fear of being judged or treated indifferently by case managers.
A legislative panel featured representatives from city, county and statewide government who discussed a variety of issues and opportunities, including how organizations and stakeholders can best work with their local and statewide government leaders to present their needs, noting that storytelling to frame the issue is an important element to help lawmakers who are stretched with time and resources.
The youth creative showcase, which has become one of the Summit's most impactful elements, closed the morning's general session. Youth with lived experiences of homelessness shared their stories through fashions they created during a multi-week course on fashion design curated by Kevin Smith, founder and lead educator of the Trade and Fashion Academy Las Vegas.
In addition to the fashion component, one young leader performed two songs she had written about her experiences, and youth in Northern Nevada worked with a local ice cream company to make spicy ice cream flavors in keeping with the Summit's Igniting Change theme. Following a video of their ice cream project during the art showcase, attendees enjoyed the two flavors at lunch.
The afternoon's breakout sessions featured rich discussions focused on problem-solving with topics spanning the Statewide Youth Experiencing Homelessness Study, the Nevada Interagency Council on Homelessness to Housing Strategic Plan, the Homeless Youth Handbook, Youth-Led Playbook for Transforming Systems and Empowering Communities, the 2025 Nevada Legislative Session, the intersection of climate change and homelessness, and mindfulness practices for service providers and youth experiencing homelessness.
Summit 2024 was presented by NPHY and Sands with support from the UNLV Greenspun College of Urban Affairs and the Las Vegas Review-Journal. Youth homelessness is one of Sands' top community engagement priorities in Las Vegas, and the company's support now spans a decade and more than $2.6 million in funding for NPHY and the Movement to End Youth Homelessness. NPHY and Sands established the Summit in 2017 to address the high incidence of youth homelessness in Nevada, which continues to be a major statewide issue.
To learn more about the Movement to End Youth Homelessness and view Summit 2024 presentations that will be posted in the coming weeks, visit https://nphy.org/themovement/.
Kristin Koca, Sands' executive director of corporate communications, spoke at Summit 24.
View additional multimedia and more ESG storytelling from Las Vegas Sands on 3blmedia.com.
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SOURCE: Las Vegas Sands
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