The Crossings gets young adults off the streets
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Helping homeless young adults Video by ktnv.com
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Las Vegas, NV (KTNV) -- It's not easy getting a homeless adult off the streets. But, if we can help them when they are still young, there's a better chance they can turn their lives around.
That's the point of The Crossings, a beautiful campus of studio apartments whose residents were once homeless young adults. It's making Las Vegas a better place to live.
Jessica Lean offered to give us a tour of her home. Complete with clubhouse, beautiful courtyard, and her very own studio apartment. "I knew that if I didn't get away I wouldn't be able to do what I'm doing now."
Jessica has been abused by several men and her parents constantly ask her for money. And though she loves them, she cannot live with them. It's not healthy. Now, she's going to school, working, and saving money for her own apartment.
Her program manager, who lives on campus, is like her mom. The other residents? Her siblings.
Program manager Denise Charles says, "Instead of them being in their fifties living on the street, you're stopping it because you're showing them family support, a second chance at life. Being here is their second chance."
There are 15 studio apartments. But there are hundreds of homeless young adults who need a place like this.
Denise says,"That's not enough. It isn't. We have a waiting list. There are still young people out on the streets or in shelters waiting to come here."
Jessica and the other residents pay 30% of their earnings for rent but when they move out they get it all back. They are allowed to stay for two years. Long enough to really get their lives back on track.
Denise explains,"A lot of the young people we meet they want off the streets but they want something out of life. They want a family. They want to be loved. They want somebody to see them.
The Crossings is for young adults between 18 and 25. Jessica plans to move out this summer.
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