Las Vegas bowling tourney raises awareness, helps homeless youth programs

More than 300 people were bowling at the Suncoast bowling center Saturday afternoon — and not just to escape the heat wave outside.

The Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth was hosting its seventh annual “Homeless Youth in the Alley” bowling tournament to raise money to continue providing services for the more than 11,000 homeless youth in Southern Nevada.

“Year after year the buzz grows,” Executive Director Arash Ghafoori said about the sold-out tournament. “As much as it’s a fundraiser, it’s also an advocacy-raiser.”

Ghafoori said the organization hopes to raise at least $40,000 to fund programs such as housing, mental health, job training and job placement.

“The first thing we have to do (for the youth) is get them out of survival mode because that stops them from thinking about their future,” he said. “Once we’ve built their trust we’re able to get them out of survival mode and get them access to the services they need.”

Programs Manager Emi Spotleson said a majority of the youth the organization helps are between the ages of 16 and 20. She added that they often receive help for up to one year until they’re able to be fully independent.

“It depends on how old they are when they’re in need of services and how well they’re progressing,” she said. “We connect them with employment opportunities so they start to build work ethic and can save up money.”

That’s exactly what Michael, a 20-year-old client, is working toward.

“It was a blessing that they helped me out,” he said of the organization.

Michael, who did not give his last name, said he was surprised how many people showed up to the bowling fundraiser Saturday.

“It’s amazing how many people took time out of their day to help us,” he said. “It means a lot that people care about homeless youth in Nevada and want to see us get the best we can.”

Ghafoori said there’s a myth that homeless youth did something wrong to be kicked out of their home and how that couldn’t be further from the truth.

“There are no two or three reasons why they become homeless,” he said.

Ghafori cited myriad reasons, including poverty, violence in the home, deported parents or being asked by parents to leave the home after coming out to them.

The fundraiser, he said, is crucial to combating youth homelessness in Southern Nevada.

“We’re under-resourced and bursting at the seams,” he said. “We want to do more with leadership and advocacy and bring more attention to the issue.”

Supervisor Barb Hall said it was her fourth time attending the bowling tournament.

At least 125 of her co-workers joined her Saturday.

“It’s a wonderful event and it’s a lot of fun,” Hall said. “We’ve got to take care of our youth and get them off the streets. It’s inspiring to see what the organization does for them.”

Several other companies, including Zappos, brought more than 20 of its employees to the bowling tournament fundraiser.

“Homeless youth is a huge issue. Having our headquarters downtown, we see it more,” Zappos employee Amy Beihl said.

“I hope they raise a lot of money in order to continue to provide housing and assistance to get more youth off the streets.”

Spotleson said though the organization houses 20 youths currently, that number doesn’t come close to the number of youths on the streets of Southern Nevada.

“Twenty isn’t everyone, and I’d love to see our residential program grow to be able to house more as well as continue to work together with our community partners to end homelessness in Nevada,” she said.

Contact reporter Ann Friedman at afriedman@reviewjournal.com or 702-380-4588. Follow @AnnFriedmanRJ on Twitter.