Henderson nonprofit helps women in need get back on their feet

Gabriel Johnson had nowhere else to turn when she first stepped through the doors of Living Grace Homes.

She and her 2-year-old son were homeless. And because she was just aging out of foster care, she was at risk of losing him.

“I’d had a baby at 13, and I was so used to running,” she said. “It was one thing after another. But now, it’s stable.”

The Henderson nonprofit, a safe haven for homeless, pregnant young women and moms, helped her get her son back, land a job and get on track to start school soon, she said.

And now, the home she and three other women share has been completely upgraded, thanks to a $87,400 donation, raised by HomeAid Southern Nevada. On Friday, they celebrated the renovation with a dedication.

The organization helped coordinate more than 20 homebuilders, which provided in-kind labor donations, and other partners donated appliances to the just under 3,000-square-foot, five-bedroom, three-bathroom home. HomeAid Southern Nevada donated the remaining $25,000 needed to complete the eight-week project.

Living Grace Homes also was presented with a check of more than $72,000 last month, all raised from the graduating class of Leadership Henderson.

“We’ve been so blessed,” said Kathleen Miller, executive director. “This house has been operating all 12 years we have; it’s a dream to see it look this way.”

Before the renovations, the kitchen was crowded for, at times, as many as nine people. Only one stove burner worked, if you used pliers to turn it on. And the bathrooms needed updating.

Pardee Homes replaced carpet with tile, widened the kitchen and installed new cabinets, added new windows, and a completely renovated spa shower in the master bathroom.

The downstairs bathroom now matches the kitchen’s new granite counter tops, and the kitchen now has two ovens and two dishwashers.

“Being pregnant is tough enough, but now they can have a place where it feels like home,” said. Carlos Zuluaga, vice president of construction operations for Pardee Homes.

When the women are in the program, they follow strict curfew rules, find jobs, receive counseling and any other support they might need. They pay 30 percent of their income for rent, which they get back when they leave the program and are able to use to secure their own apartments.

Nat Hodgson, executive director of HomeAid Southern Nevada, said the idea was born in February after Henderson Mayor Debra March approached him about improving the shelter.

“What do builders do? We build. It’s not about giving money,” Hodgson said. “We want to see the direct result of our work, and this is how we do it.”

For Johnson, who plans to move into her own Henderson apartment by the end of June, the program helped her and her son get the hand up that they needed.

“My goal is to give him a life better than mine was,” she said. “Here, it’s like a sisterhood. It’s family-oriented.”

Contact Briana Erickson at berickson@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-5244. Follow @ByBrianaE on Twitter.