NYEP has become an innovative leader in addressing the needs of homeless youth in Northern Nevada since opening the doors to its Community Living Program (CLP) in late 2007. It is our goal to establish residential and out-patient programming to assist older youth in becoming contributing young adults. To date, NYEP has become a change force in the youth service community, citing its CLP and Token Economy System as examples of promising model programs designed to educate and guide youth to become functioning members of society. By utilizing the CLP curriculum with the Token Economy System, NYEP is able to provide a measurable independent living curriculum that gives young people an opportunity to learn and practice the necessary life and coping skills to establish and maintain self-sufficient lives within the community.
Upon entrance to CLP, youth typically are homeless, lack their high school diploma, are unemployed, lack an income, are not involved with their community in a meaningful way, and do not possess the skills necessary to influence these factors. Specifically, the (CLP) Curriculum facilitates the teaching of self-sufficiency and comprehensive life skills, motivates task completion; re-directs undesirable behaviors, has mechanisms to record task completion and the integrated tools to track and report weekly resident progress. To date, NYEP’s CLP has served close to 60 homeless teen girls.
In addition to building programming and organizational infrastructure within NYEP, we are simultaneously working on community infrastructure as well. For that reason, NYEP has taken a leadership role in building community capacity to establish housing for homeless youth. In January, 2013, NYEP coordinated the first ever Homeless Youth Point in Time Count, in conjunction with the Reno Area Alliance for the Homeless (RAAH). A record number of homeless youth were counted – 61.
For over five years, NYEP is proud to say it has continued to operate with no government grant funding. It has been supported by earned income, placement fees, individuals, community foundations and corporate givers including, but not limited to Charles Schwab, AmeriCorps VISTA, Robert Z. Hawkins Foundation, Nell J. Redfield Foundation, United Way, NV Energy, Leonette Foundation, DP Foundation, AWCMS, NV Women’s Fund, Marin Community Foundation, Zonta Club, Sertomas, Soroptomists, Catalyst360 and American Family Insurance.
NYEP is a passionate leader concerning homeless youth, their needs and the services available to them. It is NYEP’s ultimate goal to increase housing programs for youth that will deliver safe, supervised housing, daily supportive transitional housing services, and skills training to residents to ensure program success (self-sufficiency/independence). NYEP diligently searches for donors interested in an effective youth approach delivered within a residential setting designed to move youth from being a taker to being a contributor.