Southern Nevada Youth Homelessness Summit on Nov. 17 is Powering the Next Evolution of the Movement to End Youth Homelessness

The 2022 event features presentation of the first standalone Southern Nevada Youth Homelessness Needs Assessment and launch of The Movement Institute, an advocacy training to empower Community members to take action.

LAS VEGAS, Nov. 14, 2022 /PRNewswire/ --

WHAT:  Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth (NPHY) and Las Vegas Sands, with support from the UNLV Greenspun College of Urban Affairs and the Las Vegas Review-Journal, will host the sixth annual Southern Nevada Youth Homelessness Summit.

EVENT DETAILS: 9 a.m. – 4 p.m., Thursday, November 17, 2022, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts

• Powering The Movement: Summit 2022 will unveil the first standalone Southern Nevada Youth Homelessness Needs Assessment and kick off The Movement Institute, an innovative, inspiring and hands-on advocacy training to empower community members to champion positive change for vulnerable youth.

• 9-10 a.m. Morning Session:
• Welcome & Opening Remarks: Randy Hyzak, Executive Vice President & CFO, Sands
• The Changing Landscape of Southern Nevada; Robert Ulmer, Ph.D., Dean, UNLV Greenspun College of Urban Affairs
• The Movement to End Youth Homelessness: An Update & Look Ahead; Arash Ghafoori, CEO, NPHY
• Southern Nevada Youth Homelessness Needs Assessment; Ellen Fitzpatrick, Senior Associate & Teo Ortega, Associate, Technical Assistance Collaborative
• 10 a.m.-12 p.m.: Breakouts: Housing, Mental Health, Civil Rights, Intersecting Issues and More: Athar Haseebullah, Esq., Executive Director, ACLU of Nevada; Christine Hess, Executive Director, Nevada Housing Coalition; Michele Fuller-Hallauer, Manager, Clark County Social Service; Nick Barr, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, School of Social Work, UNLV
• 12-1:30 p.m.: Leading Unheard Voices to Success; Panel featuring young leaders with lived experience of homelessness
• 1:30 p.m.: The Movement Institute: Inaugural Youth Homelessness Advocacy Training; Led by Arash Ghafoori, CEO, NPHY; Melissa Jacobowitz, Chief of Development & Strategy, NPHY; Lanette Rivera, Director of Engagement & Communications, NPHY; Tay'Von Jenkins, Young Leader and Facilities Associate, NPHY; Nevada State Assemblymember Howard Watts

• Arash Ghafoori, CEO, NPHY, can provide details about The Movement to End Youth Homelessness and The Movement Institute
• Young adults with lived experience of homelessness can provide perspectives
• Robert Ulmer, Ph.D., Dean, UNLV Greenspun College of Urban Affairs, can provide insights on UNLV's partnership in The Movement to End Youth Homelessness and the evolving challenges young people face in our changing community
• Assemblymember Howard Watts, Nevada State Assembly, can provide perspective on policy and state-level opportunities to address youth homelessness

BACKGROUND: For years, Las Vegas/Clark County has ranked in the top major metropolitan areas with the largest numbers of unaccompanied homeless children and youth, according to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. Nevada also has had one of the highest rates of unsheltered homeless children and youth living alone on the streets, with the overwhelming majority of these youth located in Southern Nevada. In 2018, our community came together to create the first-ever Southern Nevada Plan to End Youth Homelessness, outlining solutions for sustainable change. While the Plan has achieved important successes, the tremendous changes over the past few years has necessitated an evolving approach and ignited new opportunities to ensure our community best addresses the current environment and risk factors in the fight to end youth homelessness. For more information: nphy.org/Summit22.

SOURCE Las Vegas Sands