Henderson nonprofit Living Grace Homes prepares to open a larger campus for pregnant women facing homelessness

What happened

Living Grace Homes, a Henderson-based nonprofit that shelters and supports pregnant young women who are homeless or at risk of homelessness, expects to open its new Safe and Sound campus this month at 241 Palo Verde Drive, the Las Vegas Sun reported. The organization held a celebration of the project's progress on Tuesday night, Nov. 10.

According to the Sun, the campus will eventually have space for 38 beds and allow the group to serve 90 more families each year, tripling the number it serves now. It will also expand services to pregnant women over 24 who are experiencing homelessness.

What the new campus will offer

Shelter and round-the-clock staffing

The Sun reported the shelter will have 14 emergency beds in seven bedrooms, along with five restrooms, laundry facilities and office space. It will run 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with at least one trained staff member on site.

The site is planned as a multibuilding shelter with a 24-hour office, emergency beds, a full kitchen, therapy rooms, and space for programming and community events. Plans also call for adding a greenhouse.

Services beyond a bed

Mothers staying at the campus will have access to legal advocacy, prenatal care, housing and job support, help enrolling in benefits, and life-skills classes such as cooking, the Sun reported. The organization already offers food, supplies, parenting education, legal aid, connections to work and school, and rides to medical care.

A gap in services for older mothers

Founder Kathleen Miller started Living Grace Homes in 2007 as a foster home for young pregnant women. She told the Sun the new campus is meant to fill a gap: "In Clark County, there's absolutely no program for women over 24 who are pregnant and homeless." Miller said the same is true statewide.

Over 19 years, the organization has served nearly 900 young mothers and cared for at least 695 full-term babies, according to the Sun. That includes 21 mothers and at least 19 children served from January to June this year.

One mother's story

Marianne Tanada, now an advocate for the group, told the Sun she was 19 and pregnant when her family gave her an ultimatum, and she faced homelessness. In 2009, Miller picked her up in the middle of a rainy night after a single phone call. Tanada said the organization gave her hope, stability and guidance.

How the project was funded

Living Grace Homes bought the Palo Verde Drive property in late 2024, Miller said. The purchase was paid for through donations to the group's $6.1 million Safe and Sound campaign, which will also cover the first two years of on-site staff and other programs for mothers.

The property was built in 1978 and was formerly owned by Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada, the Sun reported. It has served as a maternity center, a juvenile detention center for girls and a pandemic food distribution center. Since December, volunteers and staff have cleaned, painted and organized more than 1,500 square feet to get ready.

Local leaders weigh in

Henderson Mayor Michelle Romero called Living Grace Homes an "amazing organization," according to the Sun. Scott Muelrath, president and CEO of the Henderson Chamber of Commerce, said the group is "part of the fabric of our community." For more local nonprofit coverage, see our community section.

What to watch next

• Executive Director Gwen Harvey said the group expects to receive its permit to open just before Thanksgiving.
• The organization is still collecting donations to finish furnishing the building, the Sun reported.
• Living Grace Homes plans eventual work on the second and third buildings on the campus.
• Plans call for adding a greenhouse to the site.