The Southern Nevada Youth Homelessness Summit: The Movement Fights Back

In 2020, COVID-19 has created new hardships for youth experiencing homelessness around housing, employment, education, healthcare and more. Additionally, the events of this year have put sharp focus on the unique experiences of youth experiencing homelessness throughout the United States. The fourth annual Southern Nevada Youth Homelessness Summit on November 13 and 20 will address those issues head-on.

Summit 2020, presented by Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth (NPHY) and Sands, is focused on building responsive solutions to these developments in line with the goals outlined in the Southern Nevada Plan to End Youth Homelessness, unveiled at Summit 2018, and takes place as a two-day virtual conference series with live events on Friday, November 13 and Friday, November 20. Themed “The Movement Fights Back,” the Summit will explore the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable youth and the role racism plays in perpetuating youth homelessness.

Arash Ghafoori, executive director of Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth, says it is important to make the Southern Nevada Plan to End Youth Homelessness relevant and resilient in light of the events of 2020. “These historic times have greatly exacerbated the challenges for young people experiencing homelessness, and it makes the Movement’s work harder – but even more important.”

Summit 2020 will feature two live panel discussions each week with topic-related informational and inspirational content distributed to attendees during the week leading up to the virtual panels. Live sessions will feature youth and experts addressing high-impact issues in a panel discussion format designed to propel solutions. The Panels include:

• What You Need To Know – A Conversation on Homelessness and COVID-19: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., Friday, November 13: Young people with lived experiences of homelessness and local and national experts on the COVID-19 pandemic will hold a roundtable discussion covering the real-world experiences and intersections of COVID-19 and youth homelessness, answering critical questions about how to support our vulnerable youth in our collective response to COVID-19.
• Be The Solution – Youth Homelessness and Anti-Racism: 10 a.m. – 12 p.m., Friday, November 20: Social justice and anti-racism experts will address how systemic racism creates and sustains youth homelessness and how the public, nonprofit and private sectors can incorporate anti-racist practices into our work to end youth homelessness.

Stay tuned to this space over the coming weeks as we share more information about Summit 2020, including specific panel discussion topics and speakers, and more.