Coach Kruger, Runnin’ Rebels will help in food drive for Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth

November 20, 2008 by Tifani Tamayo 

As they began their walk across the street toward the Thomas & Mack for the first Rebels home game of the season, the sense of family and friendship among them was undeniable.

Larry Lovelett, Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth community relations manager, took a couple of his kids to Saturday’s basketball game.

“I call them kids because they feel like my own sometimes, but don’t tell these two that,” Lovelett said.

Nicole Carrothers and Nancy Amaya are two of the hundreds of teens that the NPHY provides assistance to in the Vegas Valley.

The NPHY is a nonprofit organization offering services to help disadvantaged youth between the ages of 12 and 18.

In 2001, the NPHY pushed to successfully advocate the passing of the Right to Shelter law. The law finally allowed youth shelters to provide help for runaway or homeless teens.

Located at 4800 S. Maryland Pkwy, across from the UNLV campus, the NPHY’s Drop-In-Center opened in October 2001 on the day that very law was passed.

The center was strategically placed.

“The reason why a lot of people don’t see homeless kids out on the street is because they don’t want to be seen,” Lovelett said.  “There are more homeless teens in this area than anyone realizes.”

Hidden among others their age, homeless teens roam the area without the confidence to dream and aspire.

“It’s really all about giving teens the ability to do what they want to do,” Lovelett said. 

“I found the Drop-In-Center through another homeless shelter,” said Carrothers, an 18-year-old who ran away to escape an abusive home environment.

Like many teens experiencing such a crisis, she spent a long time trying to find a place to stay. She turned to her friends and stayed at their houses, a notion that is referred to as “couch surfing.”

“NPHY has helped me grow up by finishing school and going to college,” Carrothers said. 

She currently attends St. Louis Adult Education to finish the last few credits for her high school diploma.  She is also taking classes at the College of Southern Nevada.

“If I wasn’t in this program I would never have the opportunity to be going to college.”

She said she loves kids and hopes to work at a preschool someday.

One thing that distinguishes this organization from others is that it’s open to every single teen that comes in.

The staff sits down with the individual and talks to them about their goals.

Amaya, 19, wants to become a probation officer. 

NPHY set up a meeting between Amaya and a probation officer so that she could learn more about the field. She got to see if it is really what she’d like to do, and understand how to move forward with the education she needs.

Lovelett has been working for the NPHY for three years.  His involvement with the homeless youth cause began in 2001, when he worked as a volunteer.

“The most fulfilling part for me is seeing the kids succeed,” Lovelett said.

A big part of Lovelett’s job as a community relations manager is to ensure that kids have access to college and to encourage them to seek higher education.

“School is extremely important to these kids,” Lovelett said.

He works hard in the community to speak about the programs the NPHY offers and attain the means for youth to pay for college education.

“Unaccompanied homeless youth is kind of a dirty little secret. Nobody wants to talk about it,” Lovelett said.  There is very little money that goes into the homeless youth cause relative to the cause for homeless adults.

NPHY tries to maintain its funding at 70 percent from private sector donations and 30 percent from government aid. If it was the other way around, the organization would not be able to have as many programs as it does.

This is why making the public more aware of the issue is vital.  Lovelett makes it a priority.

“We’re not about to lose programs if we can help it at all,” Lovelett said.

A very important program is Project Safe Place.

Since the launch of Project Safe Place back in 2002, Terrible Herbst convenience stores all around the city have served as places where a teen can go for help at any time of the day. 

Employees are trained to make arrangements so that a troubled teen can be transferred to the nearest emergency shelter.  

According to the NPHY Web site, all three Joe’s Crabshack restaurants are also Safe Place sites.

The partnership with Terrible Herbst also helps guarantee job placements to teens in the NPHY’s independent living program.

“We take them to fill out an application and then they’ll be hired, usually working the carwash or one of the lube stations,” Lovelett said.

He added that this is done so that teens can gain work experience since many have none.

NPHY’s Feed a Homeless Youth for Thanksgiving Plastic Food Drive will take place on Friday Nov. 21 at the Drop-In Center.  NPHY is asking people to donate a $5 gift card for any grocery store or restaurant.

The food drive will start at 9 a.m. and end at 6 p.m. UNLV Men’s Basketball head coach Lon Kruger and players from the basketball team will be making an appearance at 1 p.m. 

“The Krugers have been so instrumental to the organization,” Lovelett said.  “The basketball team adopted us as the charity that they want to work with throughout the year.”

Kruger’s wife Barb is on the board of directors of NPHY and he is on the honorary board.

“The support from UNLV is incredible,” Lovelett said.

The organization and its Drop-In Center is still growing.  More and more teens are seeking help. 

“This year we’re seeing at least twice as many clients as we did last year,” Lovelett said.

From July to September 2007, the Drop-in Center saw 130 kids, Lovelett said. In the same time this year, the number was more than 300.

Administrators are planning to move the center to a bigger facility in 2009. Things are becoming increasingly snug at their current location.

The new place will certainly be somewhere close to campus, Lovelett said.“There’s a need out here and as long as the word gets out on what we do the kids will continue to come in.”

For more information, visit the NPHY’s Web site at nphy.org or call (702)-383-1332.