New $300,000 2024 donation continues Sands’ long-term commitment to working with NPHY on lasting solutions for youth homelessness, while addressing the immediate needs of youth in crisis
LAS VEGAS, May 23, 2024 /PRNewswire/ — Las Vegas Sands (NYSE: LVS) has contributed $300,000 to Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth (NPHY) to combat the critical issue of youth homelessness, which is one of the company’s top community engagement priorities in its Las Vegas corporate headquarters. The donation brings total Sands Cares funding for NPHY to $2.6 million since 2014.
In celebration of the 10-year partnership and the impact Sands has helped the nonprofit make since joining forces, NPHY presented Sands with the Game Changer Award at its inaugural gala, Homecoming 2024: Celebrating the Journey Home, on May 16.
“Sands’ partnership in the fight to end youth homelessness continues to be a critical resource and factor in our success,” NPHY CEO Arash Ghafoori said. “We are celebrating a decade of partnership that has been instrumental to NPHY’s growth and impact, allowing us to evolve our mission and build our capacity to address one of the most serious social challenges in our state. Sands’ willingness to take a seat at the planning table and be engaged in our vision has helped us build new platforms that are bringing lasting and sustainable progress.”
Continuing the strategies Sands has established for addressing youth homelessness, the 2024 Sands Cares contribution will support the core pillars of meeting the immediate needs of youth in crisis with support for NPHY’s emergency shelter and housing programs; building lasting solutions to address youth homelessness by helping NPHY strengthen its organizational capacity; and fueling advocacy and awareness initiatives through the Movement to End Youth Homelessness, including the annual Nevada Youth Homelessness Summit and ongoing Movement Institute.
Sands’ 2024 support is helping NPHY meet the growing need for emergency housing in Southern Nevada as young people face heightened barriers to housing stability due to rising rent and living expenses, while providing vital resources to address increased costs for rent, utilities, food, fuel and other supplies necessary to operate these life-saving assets. NPHY’s housing and shelter programs empower youth in transitioning to stability and self-sufficiency through accompanying case management and supportive wraparound services.
According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the number of young people experiencing homelessness in Nevada increased by 14% from 2022 to 2023. In addition, homelessness risk factors have accelerated as the State of Nevada is facing the most extreme shortage of affordable housing in the nation, with only 14 affordable rentals available for every 100 extremely low-income rental households, according to the National Low Income Housing Coalition.
The 2024 Sands Cares contribution also will support NPHY’s efforts to increase its research, policy and advocacy capacity and bolster its development efforts to build the agency over the long-term. As NPHY has expanded its role in community planning and systems-level work to catalyze local and state efforts around ending youth homelessness, the nonprofit is expanding its infrastructure and capability to continue this pivotal role while mobilizing for a sustainable future.
Finally, the Sands Cares investment again will enable NPHY to produce the eighth annual and second statewide Nevada Youth Homelessness Summit, which has been presented annually by NPHY and Sands since 2017. Since 2017, the Summit has been a central part of the Movement to End Youth Homelessness by providing a leading venue to coalesce local and state stakeholders around creating sustainable plans and solutions to aid vulnerable youth in building pathways to independence.
Funding also will provide NPHY with resources for the quarterly Movement Institute advocacy program, which delivers year-round opportunities for stakeholders and community members to gain education and take action around advancing initiatives outside of the Summit.
“NPHY’s evolution and the impactful changes it has led over the 10 years we have worked together have been remarkable,” said Ron Reese, senior vice president of global communications and corporate affairs, who spearheads corporate responsibility initiatives. “Under NPHY’s leadership of the Movement to End Youth Homelessness and with more resources from both the public and private sectors, our state can turn around the high incidence rates that have been a mainstay here – and more importantly, provide the safety net our community’s vulnerable young people need.”
Sands’ support for youth homelessness falls under Sands Cares’ priorities on addressing hardship relief for disadvantaged groups and removing barriers to opportunity and advancement. To learn more about the global Sands Cares program, visit sands.com/responsibility/communities/.
To learn more about Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth, visit nphy.org.
About Sands (NYSE: LVS)
Sands is the world’s preeminent developer and operator of world-class integrated resorts. The company’s iconic properties drive valuable leisure and business tourism and deliver significant economic benefits, sustained job creation, financial opportunities for local businesses and community investment to help make its host regions ideal places to live, work and visit.
Sands’ portfolio of properties includes Marina Bay Sands in Singapore and The Venetian Macao, The Plaza Macao, The Londoner Macao, The Parisian Macao and Sands Macao in Macao SAR, China, through majority ownership in Sands China Ltd.
Dedicated to being a leader in corporate responsibility, Sands is anchored by the core tenets of serving people, communities and the planet. The company’s ESG leadership has led to inclusion on the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices for World and North America, as well as Fortune’s list of the World’s Most Admired Companies. To learn more, visit www.sands.com.
About Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth
NPHY is the most comprehensive service provider for the thousands of homeless youth in Southern Nevada, serving hundreds of youth through 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 work with homeless youth, NPHY creates productive, healthy adults who contribute to society. Strengthening and complementing the high-quality direct services for homeless youth, NPHY is dedicated to advocating with and for the Las 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.
SOURCE Las Vegas Sands
