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Meet Your Neighbor: Meet The Neighbor – Monique Harris
By Callie Thomas
It takes a lot of guts to lay it all on the line. Just imagine taking everything you have worked tirelessly to achieve and giving it all up to help someone else. Monique Harris not only imagined it, but she did it willingly.
Coming to the aid of those less fortunate is not a new notion for Monique. Over the last seventeen years, she’s been involved in serving the underserved and disadvantaged. She’s worked closely with children and family services and has also acted as a foster parent, child and family advocate and community liaison. Add in providing wraparound services, case management, community outreach and mentoring to her long list of expertise and you’ll know why founding the Southern Nevada Children First (SNCF) nonprofit organization in 2007 was a natural fit.
Through her experiences, Monique noticed that a large number of disadvantaged young women who were either pregnant or had small children were denied shelter due to liability issues. Eventually, the Right to Shelter law was passed and the state of Nevada started providing temporary emergency services to local youth. However, the majority of them were returning to the streets and into abusive situations because they had nowhere else to go. Needless to say, Monique set out to make a difference. In her mission to help shelter the children of our streets, she has encountered frustration, loss and hardship, but also friendship, love and joy. With her strength and faith in God, she has turned the tide for teens in need, becoming an inspiration and a tangible example that mountains can be moved if you believe. Monique shares her astonishing story, where her faith comes from and how a single mother of two finds peace amidst adversity.
How did Southern Nevada Children First get started?
“I ran into a colleague who had piloted a program to help young ladies get off the street and I joined forces with her. We soon found ourselves with three houses providing services, but had no money to continue the program. We held on as long as we could. Eventually, my colleague left the program and I was left with all these girls.”
How were you able to continue to help?
“I ended up taking three of the young ladies into my home, where they stayed for a few months until I was able to afford to rent another home.”
How were you able to accomplish this with no financial assistance?
“I withdrew my retirement savings. I remember praying and saying that if it was God’s will and this is what you want me to do, I trust that you will bless it.”
Where does SNCF stand now?
“We started with a three bedroom house and now we have a 5,000 square foot administrative office, community resource center and seven apartment units serving up to twenty-one young moms and over twenty babies.”
Any experiences at SNCF you’d like to share?
“One seventeen year old came to us from Juvenile Detention. Her family would not allow her to return home, where her eight siblings were all living in a two bedroom apartment with their grandmother. She continued to run away and got into trouble on the street. She came to us in her third trimester of pregnancy and kept sabotaging our attempts to help. She finally realized that we really care. She’s now nineteen, in her own apartment and committed to doing whatever it takes to keep her family together.”
What are you most proud of accomplishing?
“Raising two wonderful children that are caring and compassionate toward others.”
How do you find peace in your busy life?
“I take a bubble bath. I also like to sing and dance. When I hear songs that remind me of when I was a teenager, I sing at the top of my lungs and perform the old videos.”
