Event benefits homeless youth

Last year, Hope for the Holidays raised about $40,000 for homeless youth. This year, organizers of the benefit hope to raise "at least that much" as the demand for homeless youth services has spiked.

The fun of the games, music, entertainment and "fabulous food" advertised for 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday at Henderson Pavilion Promenade, Green Valley Parkway and Paseo Verde, belies the seriousness of the cause.

Advocates who track homeless children in the Clark County School District said the numbers are on pace to surpass last year's total of 4,800.

Each school has an advocate for homeless students.

Four months into the new school year, school officials already have identified 3,400 homeless students, said Susan Goldman, the director of Title 1 Hope, the district's homeless outreach program.

The number of homeless youth visiting a drop-in center run by the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth has also doubled to about 600 visits a month, said Matt Hirsch, the partnership's executive director.

The center provides a break from the streets, letting youth take showers, do their laundry and get information on social and educational services.

Advocates estimate there are about 400 homeless youth on the streets of Las Vegas every day.

Judith Alewel, the organizer of Saturday's benefit, is inspired by their pluck.

"They're like heroes to me," she said. "They're fighting against great adversity."

One of the biggest misconceptions is that homeless youth choose a life of drugs and prostitution. Those circumstances "are forced upon them," Alewel said.

In most cases, homeless youth are fleeing abusive families. They have no alternative to the street because "home is no longer safe for them," Hirsch said.

Because of the hard economic times, many children are abandoned by families who can no longer afford to take care of them, advocates said.

Many homeless youth turn to "couch surfing," or moving from one friend's house to the next.

If they don't find some institutional help within six months, they're usually out on the street or squatting in an abandoned building, Hirsch said.

The first priority of the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth is to locate a family member who can take care of them.

"We're in the business of family reunification," Hirsch said.

This Saturday, the Hope for Holidays benefit will raise money for the Nevada Partnership as well as other homeless charities, shelters and the school system.

Hirsch said school is the one opportunity homeless students have for getting some structure or stability in their lives. Some of the money raised from Saturday's event will go towards paying school fees so homeless students can participate in elective classes, extracurricular activities and sports.

Alewel stressed that every little bit helps. "Whatever we can do to help them is more help than they got yesterday," she said.

Contact reporter James Haug at jhaug@ reviewjournal.com or 702-799-2922.