HELP of Southern Nevada Opens New Shannon West Homeless Youth Center

After eight years of planning, HELP of Southern Nevada has opened their new location of the Shannon West Homeless Youth Center on July 14 on Flamingo Road.  The new 37,000 square-foot center provides services to youth at no cost and the residential and day programming enables youth to learn skills necessary to succeed as adults.  The program provides emergency shelter, transitional housing, intensive case management, addiction and behavioral health services, education opportunities, Drop-Out-Recovery, on-the-job training, career coaching, money management, activities of daily living, tenancy support and many other services. The Shannon West Homeless Youth Center helps youth address “special life challenges” by providing literacy services, benefit assistance and LGBT services as well as legal advocacy for justice-involved youth.

“We’re thrilled to be able to finally share the new center with our community,” Fuilala Riley, President and CEO, said.  “Through the new center, education and employment, we hope to strengthen our ability to connect youth with their community so that they can successfully reintegrate into society.  With its close proximity to the central bus line and employment opportunities as well as HELP’s main office to aid in additional services needed, our new center is poised to really help further our cause.”

At capacity, the new facility will house up to 166 youth ages 16 to 24, more than doubling the amount of youth housed at the current center.  The Youth Center will also provide 24-hour staffing for supervision and transportation of the residents, a computer lab, a multi-purpose room and TV room on each floor, which will also allow a space for life skills and indirect services and trainings in separate group settings for the youth. There will be 160 bunk beds that will house four youth to a room with a total of 40 basic rooms in the facility as well as an additional six step-up rooms that will house one youth each in a studio apartment setting, eventually providing the opportunity to transition from the center into living more independently.

Las Vegas Sands has partnered with HELP of Southern Nevada on many projects in the past, through Sands Cares, the company’s corporate giving program.  Through Sands Cares, LVS contributes substantially to the regions it serves, transforming local communities with significant investments that solve social problems and build a high standard of living. 

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