Volunteers of America's Children’s Emergency Shelter, located in Carson City, Nev., cares primarily for children removed from their homes due to abuse and/or neglect. The shelter serves as a temporary home, providing housing, meals, clothing, activities, and supervision in a loving, nurturing and structured environment.

It also serves in addressing educational, developmental, medical, dental and mental health/counseling needs. Other services include supervising family visits and assisting with either reunification to biological parents, placement with relatives, or transitioning into family foster care. Staff also attends foster care team meetings and some court hearings.

The shelter/group home is licensed by the Division of Child and Family Services (DCFS). It has 12 beds and cares for both boys and girls from newborns to 17-year-olds. It serves all of the rural regions of Northern Nevada, with the majority of children originating from Carson City, and Lyon, Douglas and Churchill counties.

A child’s length of stay at the shelter ranges from one day to one year, with a typical stay being between one week and three months. Each year, the shelter serves approximately 75 children, for an average of 45 days each.

State of Nevada funding through the Department of Human Services provides approximately 75 percent of the operating expenses of the shelter with auto, property, and cash donations balancing the budget. Miscellaneous donations of shoes, clothing, toys and other needed items and services, together with project volunteers and Christmas adoptions, make that special difference in the lives of the children and the quality of their living arrangements.

Shirley Gibson, program director
775.887.1480