Sen. Harry Reid, center, visits with some residents of the Center for Independent Living. Photo by RICARDO LOPEZ/R-JENERATION

Last month U.S. Sen. Harry Reid visited teenaged residents at the Center for Independent Living. The center is a housing facility for Las Vegas teenagers without homes.

The purpose of his visit was to learn more about some of the programs for homeless youth. With this knowledge, 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, D-Nev.

The facility opened in July 1994 for at-risk youth ages 16 to 21. But more than a shelter, the center was developed to provide adolescents with an opportunity to mature and learn independent living skills.

During Reid's visit, Carrie Seymour, an 18-year-old resident, led the senator on a tour of the facility where he met with staff members and talked to residents about the program. The tour included stops in a classroom, the outdoor recreational area and Seymour's own live-in studio apartment. Reid said he hopes the program will serve as a model for other cities dealing with youth homelessness.

"To combat homelessness, we need to do two things," Reid said. "First, we must create jobs. Second, we must keep kids in school." Reid said homelessness spawns crime, burdens education and raises welfare costs. By creating jobs and encouraging education, he believes society can begin to alleviate the problems and ensure a better chance of success for youth.

"We've (Democrats) fought with the Bush administration to create programs to lower dropout rates," Reid said, referring to a program blocked by the current administration that would have given grants to helping keep students in school. Money for the program was rejected by Republicans.

Reid talked to the residents about his own experience growing up in Searchlight.

"I grew up in a small town called Searchlight," Reid said. "We didn't have a lot of money and my parents never had a high school education. Life was tough growing up. But I'm here today to tell you that you can reach any goal."

"Each of you should understand that you have the opportunity to accomplish everything you want," Reid told the teens at the center. "When I was a teen, I could have been in this program."

Currently, the center houses 48 residents, but because of a lack of funding, it faces a staff shortage. The facility has a maximum capacity for 65 residents.

"We are concerned with capacity building, and we need more room, more funding, and more community support," said Thomas Kelly, director of the center.

"Sen. Reid has contributed to the center by donating items for auctions which help raise money," Kelly said.

The facility, located on Las Vegas Boulevard near Foremaster Lane, collaborates with other agencies to provide substance abuse and mental health counseling on-site.

Kelly hopes more businesses and more individuals will become involved with the program to improve its effectiveness.

The program's goal is to empower homeless youth to become independent, eventually moving out of the facility and into their own homes.

"Because of this program, you have the opportunity to make it in life," Reid said. "Don't make excuses, and take advantage of these opportunities."