Las Vegas Youth Homeless Shelter & Program

The Center for Independent Living serves the homeless youth of the Las Vegas, Southern Nevada area by providing shelter, programs, education and guidance to transition them from homelessness to independence.  

Those of us who work, volunteer or support the Center are delighted to introduce ourselves and the young men and women who benefit from our program.  As you browse through our website, keep in mind that we have served over 1000 youth in our residential program since 1994 and countless youth and parents in our day programming.  The support of contracts, grants, donations and volunteers is critical to empower our youth to make their transition from homelessness to independence.

With that in mind, we hope that you will become a part of our team. You, too, will witness the site of relief, joy and pride from our youth as they thank you for giving them the opportunity to succeed.

The Center for Independent Living, a 501(c)(3) non-profit facility, opened its doors in July of 1994 to serve the homeless youth of Nevada. The Center is a residential facility for at risk youth ages 16 to 21 and was developed to provide adolescents with an opportunity to mature and learn independent living skills in a structured supervised setting.

Most of our youth come from families where abuse was constant, alcohol and drug abuse common and healthy role models absent.  Without help these youth tend to drop out of school and become a burden to society, but more importantly, they become lost souls. 

The Center provides a support system as well as specific programs that move the residents in the direction of independent living. With the help of a dedicated staff the Centers efforts are aimed at helping these young people complete high school and learn skills that will allow them to enter the work force and lead productive lives.

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid visited the Center for Independent Living in December 2006 to learn more about programs for homeless youth. During the visit Reid said he plans to return to Washington D.C. and create more programs like this across the nation using the “Las Vegas facility as a model”. “The center is a wonderful facility” said Reid.

Las Vegas Review Journal, January 2, 2007, Page 5E, Ricardo Lopez

Mayor Oscar Goodman visited the Center for Independent Living in March 2006.  "This isn't one of those fluff agencies that can't show their progress," Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman said at the center's grand reopening ceremony. "The young people who come here to get back on their feet go into the community, get jobs and go to college. It really makes a difference."

Las Vegas Review Journal,  March 23, 2006, Page 2B, Lynnette Curtis

Reggie:  "The Center is teaching us the things we will want to teach our kids someday: self-discipline, respect, honesty.  Without that, the future would be really messed up."
 
Andrew C:  "This is a great place to get on your feet. We get food and shelter.  If I wasn't here, I would be doing really bad--in jail or dead or with those people sleeping out there on the sidewalk.  This is my chance to do good."
 
Josh:  This is a good opportunity to get on our feet.  We'd be on the streets otherwise."
 
James:  "This is our doorway to adulthood."