Every year our community is tasked with getting a count of the number of homeless people in our area. But when it comes to counting homeless youth, it's much more complicated than just heading to a shelter.
For Face the State this week I interviewed the people behind the "Nevada Youth Empowerment Project” who work to get homeless youth off the streets.
But they told me finding them can be a challenge. Many don't look homeless, they're young and healthy looking, some couch surf and stay with friends and don't know what resources are available to help them.
And the longer they stay on the streets, the bigger their chances of never getting off them. "When you're in the streets for that long, the chaos of the streets infects you. And then we start dealing with mental illness, drug addiction, and a lot more expensive of problems to tackle,” says Monica Dupea, Nevada Youth Empowerment Project.
In their count this year the Nevada Youth Empowerment Project found 75 homeless 18- to 24-year-olds - just three fewer than Las Vegas.
They take in as many as they can, giving them a place to live, counseling and skills training.
Nina Shapey is one of their residents. She says until she connected with NYEP, she was partying and living on the streets with little hope of moving up in life.
"What has life been like since?"
"It's been stable. I can rely on knowing that I have a safe place to stay, I have a roof over my head, I stopped my alcohol addiction."
To watch the full interview, just tune in or set your DVR for Face the State this weekend. It's airing on Saturday at 4:30 am and 1 pm - nd also on Sunday at 3:00 and 6:30 am and 2 pm.
