Summit addressing youth homelessness returns

The sixth annual Southern Nevada Youth Homelessness Summit is set to take place next month, and it will offer a new report on the extent of the problem in the Las Vegas Valley, according to a statement released Thursday.

Organizers will also launch an advocacy training program called The Movement Institute at the Nov. 17 event.

The conference, which will be held at The Smith Center for the Performing Arts, is a collaboration between the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth and Sands Cares, the community engagement and charitable giving program of Las Vegas Sands Corp., with support from the Las Vegas Review-Journal and the UNLV Greenspun College of Urban Affairs.

Sessions will include an update on the movement to end youth homelessness, unveiling the community’s new youth homelessness assessment and a panel of young leaders discussing their goals for systems-level change.

“Even before the crises of the past several years, Southern Nevada had one of the highest rates of youth homelessness in the nation,” Arash Ghafoori, CEO of NPHY, said in a news release. “The elevated barriers our community’s youth face today are disproportionately affecting the most vulnerable and are likely to exacerbate youth homelessness. As we continue to re-orient our response to addressing the impacts of the pandemic and today’s environment, we are at another crossroads. It is imperative that we find a renewed commitment to lifting up youth in crisis and putting them on a path toward the futures they deserve.”

For additional information and to register, visit nphy.org/summit22.

The Review-Journal is owned by the Adelson family, including Dr. Miriam Adelson, majority shareholder of Las Vegas Sands Corp., and Las Vegas Sands President and COO Patrick Dumont.

McKenna Ross is a corps member with Report for America, a national service program that places journalists into local newsrooms. Contact her at mross@reviewjournal.com. Follow @mckenna_ross_ on Twitter.