Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth Celebrates 20 Years of Positive Impact on Youth Experiencing Homelessness

Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth (NPHY), Southern Nevada’s most comprehensive service provider for the thousands of young people experiencing homelessness, recently kicked off the NPHY 20th Anniversary Impact Fund, celebrating 20 years of success in helping youth in crisis and positioning the organization for even greater impact over its next 20 years.

Clark County has consistently ranked among the top metropolitan areas with the largest number of unaccompanied homeless children and youth, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, and NPHY has been on the front lines since 2001, working to provide young people experiencing homelessness with the help, hope and support they need to grow and flourish.

In its 20 years, the nonprofit organization has provided more than 7,000 nights off the streets for youth at its emergency shelters and more than 65,000 nights off the streets for youth at its multi-site transitional housing facilities. In addition, there were more than 114,000 youth visits to the NPHY Drop-In Center and more than 1,000 youth have received mobile crisis intervention services facilitated by NPHY at hundreds of Safe Place sites across the Las Vegas Valley.

“Since our founding, NPHY has reached many milestones and greatly expanded our offerings thanks to the support of our incredible staff members, volunteers, donors and community      partners who joined in our mission to end youth homelessness in Southern Nevada,” said Arash Ghafoori, NPHY executive director. “But most importantly, our 20th anniversary is about celebrating the success of each and every youth who has walked through our doors in unfathomable situations and left our program not only prepared for, but truly believing they can live the life they always wanted.”

Devon (name changed for confidentiality) is one of the youths NPHY has helped. Here is his story:

Devon was born into homelessness and forced to drop out of school at the age of 12. After obtaining his GED then having to leave another program because he chose to return to school instead of getting a job, Devon came to NPHY. The organization worked with Devon to obtain housing, and provided essential life skills instruction and education and employment assistance to help him not only survive, but thrive. With support, encouragement and stability, Devon excelled. His 99th percentile score on the SAT exam earned him acceptance at several top-tier universities. Devon chose to attend Columbia University in New York on full scholarship, where he is continuing his studies after graduation from NPHY’s Independent Living Program.

With thousands of outcomes like Devon’s, NPHY has been Southern Nevada’s leading service provider and advocate for helping vulnerable youth move beyond homelessness since 2001. Among the nonprofit’s many accomplishments during the past 20 years, its greatest impacts include:

• Opening the region’s most comprehensive Drop-In Center to meet the day-to-day needs of youth experiencing homelessness, while providing case management
• Bringing the national Safe Place program to Southern Nevada, providing a proven solution for reaching youth in crisis
• Expanding housing solutions for youth experiencing homelessness with a multi-site  transitional housing program
• Establishing the region’s only emergency shelter in Southern Nevada to serve unaccompanied homeless minors as young as 12-years-old
• Spearheading youth leadership development programs to empower, educate and inspire homeless youth to advocate for themselves and their peers, develop self-sufficiency skills, improve self-esteem and contribute to the local community
• Launching The Movement to End Youth Homelessness in Southern Nevada, including founding the annual Southern Nevada Youth Homelessness Summit and spearheading the region’s first definitive plan to end youth homelessness
• Championing efforts to get three Nevada state laws passed to break down systemic barriers for young people experiencing homelessness