Partners

The Center for Independent Living, a 501(c) (3) facility opened its doors in July of 1994 to serve the disadvantaged youth of Nevada.  The Center is a residential facility for homeless and 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 young people come into the Center for a combination of reasons.  Some are homeless, others may have some family, but those parents have serious problems and have lost custody of their children. 

There is a high frequency of alcoholism and drug abuse in their backgrounds as well as physical and sexual abuse of the youth.  Some of these parents are in prison while others cannot be found.  By and large, these are youth who have been forgotten by society.  Because of their circumstances, they generally drop out of school at an early age.  They tend to have poor role models and are very much at risk for drug and alcohol abuse, early-unplanned pregnancies, disease, violence and crime. 

Without major intervention this group of young people generally become a burden on society through welfare expenditures, high medical costs and in some cases incarceration within the rapidly increasing prison population.  These youth who have no support or guidance represent not only a great burden to society, but more importantly they become lost souls.  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.  The Center provides a support system as well as specific programs that move the residents in the direction of independent living.