Sands Cares, Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation Help Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth Kick Off Housing Expansion Campaign with Initial Funding Commitments

LAS VEGAS, February 12, 2019  /3BL Media/ – Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth today launched a Housing Expansion Campaign to generate funds for a new facility that will provide much-needed beds for homeless youth in Southern Nevada, and announced a $100,000 seed investment from Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) through Sands Cares. As a committed partner in the fight to end youth homelessness, Sands reached out to the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation to join the effort, marking the Soul Foundation’s first charitable investment in Southern Nevada.

NPHY aims to raise $500,000 through the Housing Expansion Campaign and will use funds to purchase and develop a new multi-family property to flexibly house homeless and at-risk youth. Beyond the seed investment from Sands Cares, the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation is pledging to match additional donations dollar for dollar, up to $100,000, to inspire the Las Vegas community to take action and help our region’s most vulnerable population. 

“For a homeless youth, having a bed means more than just a place to sleep -- it’s their foundation for a brighter future,” said Arash Ghafoori, executive director of NPHY.  “Today, our community only has enough youth-dedicated beds to serve less than 22 percent of the young people experiencing homelessness on a given night in Southern Nevada. Expanding NPHY’s housing inventory means more youth not only have a place to sleep, they have the safety, stability, and support needed to grow and thrive.”   

The NPHY Housing Expansion Campaign is targeting major gifts from corporations and foundations, and the community can also make significant impact by donating online at www.nphy.org/aplacetosleep.

“The high rate of youth homelessness and the dire need for housing in Southern Nevada was distressing to us,” said Jon Bon Jovi, Board Chairman of the JBJ Soul Foundation. “We are pledging support for this campaign through a matching grant because we want to motivate others to take action. Together, we can give homeless youth more than just a place to sleep – we will provide them with the resources they need for self-sufficiency and success.”

Since 2006, the JBJ Soul Foundation has worked to break the cycle of hunger, poverty and homelessness through developing partnerships, creating programs and providing grant funding to support innovative community benefit organizations.  The foundation has helped provide funding for more than 600 units of affordable and supportive housing in 10 states for thousands of people including youth and veterans. 

“We knew that getting the JBJ Soul Foundation involved in Southern Nevada would be a great catalyst for our community, having seen the amazing results they have accomplished in other parts of the country,” said Ron Reese, senior vice president of global communications and corporate affairs at Las Vegas Sands.  “We hope to see a big community rally around the campaign momentum started by the JBJ Soul Foundation and Sands Cares. It’s imperative that we give our community’s vulnerable youth a fresh start.”

The new housing facility will add significant capacity to an already under-resourced support system for homeless youth in Southern Nevada.  NPHY’s planned multi-family property will not only provide beds for youth, but also a foundation for delivering a myriad of services to put homeless youth on a pathway to self-sufficiency.  Youth in NPHY’s housing programs also receive wraparound support services, including one-on-one case management with a licensed social worker, life skills classes, therapy, workforce readiness training, educational counseling, transportation assistance, enrichment opportunities, and referrals to a wide range of community resources.

The NPHY Housing Expansion Campaign comes in direct response to the recently released Southern Nevada Plan to End Youth Homelessness, which mapped out a strategy of increasing housing through innovative funding partnerships such as this one. Unveiled at the second annual Southern Nevada Youth Homelessness Summit, presented by NPHY and Sands Cares in November 2018, the plan addressed the alarming youth homelessness statistics that plague this region. Clark County’s metro area ranks fifth in the nation for the rate of unaccompanied homeless youth living on the streets or in shelters and the state of Nevada has the nation’s highest rate of unsheltered homeless youth, according to the U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development. Underscoring these numbers, Las Vegas was named the worst U.S. metropolitan area for providing affordable rental housing for its poorest families in 2018, with only 15 affordable and available rental homes for every 100 low-income renter households. 

To learn more about NPHY’s capital campaign or make a campaign pledge, visit www.nphy.org/aplacetosleep.

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About Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth (NPHY)

NPHY is the most comprehensive service provider for the thousands of homeless youth in Southern Nevada, serving hundreds of youth through our core programs and touching the lives of thousands more through outreach each year. NPHY’s programs stabilize homeless teens’ lives, meeting their immediate needs and providing a safe, supportive environment and a path to self-sufficiency. Through our work with homeless youth, NPHY creates productive, healthy adults who contribute to society. Strengthening and complementing our high-quality direct services for homeless youth, NPHY is dedicated to advocating for the Vegas Valley’s homeless youth population and serves as a leader in systems-level efforts to eliminate homelessness among Nevada’s youth. For more information or to support our life-changing work for homeless youth, please visit www.nphy.org. 

About Las Vegas Sands Corp.

Las Vegas Sands is the world’s pre-eminent developer and operator of world-class Integrated Resorts. We deliver unrivaled economic benefits to the communities in which we operate.  

LVS created the meetings, incentives, convention and exhibition (MICE)-based Integrated Resort. Our industry-leading Integrated Resorts provide substantial contributions to our host communities including growth in leisure and business tourism, sustained job creation and ongoing financial opportunities for local small and medium-sized businesses.

Our properties include The Venetian and The Palazzo resorts and Sands Expo in Las Vegas, Sands Bethlehem in Eastern Pennsylvania, and the iconic Marina Bay Sands in Singapore. Through majority ownership in Sands China Ltd., we have developed the largest portfolio of properties on the Cotai Strip in Macao, including The Venetian Macao, The Plaza and Four Seasons Hotel Macao, Sands Cotai Central and The Parisian Macao, as well as the Sands Macao on the Macao Peninsula.

LVS is dedicated to being a good corporate citizen, anchored by the core tenets of serving people, planet and communities.  We deliver a great working environment for 50,000 team members worldwide, drive social impact through the Sands Cares charitable giving and community engagement program and lead in environmental performance through the award-winning Sands ECO360 global sustainability program. To learn more, please visit www.sands.com.

About JBJ Soul Foundation

Since 2006, the Jon Bon Jovi Soul Foundation has worked to break the cycle of poverty and homelessness through developing partnerships, creating programs and providing grant funding to support innovative community benefit organizations.  The Soul Foundation, in partnership with local community organizations, has helped provide funding for over 600 units of affordable housing and shelter in 10 states for thousands of individuals and families experiencing homelessness and financial instability including youth and veterans.

In October 2011, the Foundation opened the first JBJ Soul Kitchen in Red Bank, NJ to address issues of food insecurity.  The community kitchen serves nutritious, culinary dishes designed by Soul Kitchen Chefs in a beautiful restaurant atmosphere.  The Kitchen uses a ‘pay it forward’ model where there are no prices on the menu but instead you are encouraged to make a suggested donation.  If you are unable to donate, you are invited to join our community to learn about volunteer opportunities and resources.

In May 2016 JBJ Soul Kitchen expanded to open a second location in The B.E.A.T. Center in Toms River, NJ.  Since its inception, the Kitchens have served over 90,000 meals, reaching the goal of serving 51% of paying diners and 49% of diners’ in-need.

The JBJ Soul Kitchen also runs the Employment and Empowerment Team (EET) Program which connects a team of volunteer coaches with unemployed and underemployed Soul Kitchen volunteers.  The volunteer coaches utilize their professional expertise to aid with resume writing, interview skills, job coaching, financial counseling and legal advice, and job placement.  The EET Program has a 97% success rate in securing job offers.  

As the JBJ Soul Foundation explores ways to grow its impact, it remains committed to rebuilding pride in one's self and one's community - one SOUL at a time.  For more information, please visit our website at www.jbjsf.org.

Contacts:

Lanette Rivera
Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth
lanette@nphy.org
702-688-1013

Kristin Koca
Las Vegas Sands Corp.
Kristin.Koca@sands.com                   
702-414-3218

Lauren Brajer
JBJ Soul Foundation
lauren@jbjsoulfoundation.org
973-580-1575