Las Vegas Woman Shows Perseverance Pays Off

LAS VEGAS - Gail Reed remembers vividly the day two years ago that she and her two children first became homeless. She was jobless, broke, and sick with pneumonia.

"I had to stay strong, because they were depending on me," she said. "I didn't have a dime, and the manager of the apartment complex told me I had to vacate at that moment. I was like, how?"

With no car and no money, Reed walked to a nearby bus stop and broke down. "I just looked up in the sky and said, ‘God, what do you want me to do?' I started to cry," she said.

Ironically, a nearby homeless man told Gail to go to the Las Vegas Rescue Mission. She says that first night in the shelter with her children was terrifying. "I stood in line with all those people, and I cried, and I cried, and I just held my kids real tight, and told them to stay right next to me," she said.

Determined to find work and a real home for her family, Reed rose at 5:00am every day, suitcases in tow, and rode several buses to her children's schools to drop them off before searching for work.

She finally got a break, when she attended a day-long community event to help the homeless. Reed found a housing and employment program available through the non-profit group Help of Southern Nevada. "She had a backpack full of resumes and a fire in her eyes," said the Help program coordinator Kristi Swenson. "She was trying so hard. So, we accepted her into the program, and she proved herself over and over again."

Within a month, Reed had a new job. Soon after, she and her family moved into a comfortable three-bedroom apartment. Reed says her family's hardship has made her children stronger and more appreciative. "Work hard for what you want, because you'll appreciate it more," she said. "Don't wait for someone to give, give, give." "I almost had to go through her dying," said Reed's 12-year-old son Armond. "So, nothing is as tough as that."

Gail Reed encourages other families in need to attend the day-long event to prevent homelessness this Tuesday, June 29 from 9:00am to 4:00pm at the Cox Pavilion. It's the same event that helped turn her family's life around.

Learn More About the Help Hope Home Program