New kind of healing center for victims of child sex trafficking in Southern Nevada

BOULDER CITY, Nev. (FOX5) – School starts Monday for most Clark County School District students.

But one very special school is having a delayed start. However, the teachers arrive tomorrow at The Healing Center at St. Jude’s Ranch for Children in Boulder City.

The first-of-its-kind school in the country caters to children who are victims of sex trafficking.

The goal at The Healing Center is to help these young minds transition from victim to survivor.

That’s important for the C.E.O. of St. Jude’s Ranch for Children, Christina Vela. “The truth is, for the young people that will come and call this their home, they’ve experienced this tremendous amount of trauma in their life,” Vela said.”

Students will have access to a quality education while they begin their process of healing.

That comes in the form of licensed teachers, counselors and support professionals.

Principal Amy Manning wants to make sure her teachers are meeting their students from a place of compassion. “What we’re focusing on is trauma-informed instruction,” Manning said. “What does sex trafficking look like, so they have that background. How do we build relationships and rapports with students because that’s going to be our number one key focus to helping us be successful.”

Manning says it’s all about building trust, and she knows it won’t come easy given what these children and teens have been through.

The healing center will be the first-of-its-kind residential therapeutic center in the country, housing around 60 kids in a nurturing, holistic environment with individual one-story homes in a neighborhood setting.

Both Manning and Vela say the unprecedented school has been needed in the community for a long time, and the prevalence of victims who have been sex trafficked in our area is surprising to a lot of people.

“I think ignorance is bliss, and what you don’t know, you don’t know until you start to learn, and then it’s quite shocking the facts that you learn and see how prevalent it is in our community and across the United States and the nation,” Manning said.

Close to 29,000 children were reported to the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children in 2023.

The center says one in six were likely victims of sex trafficking.

Vela wants the victims to know their future doesn’t have to be determined by their past.

“We want hope to start rising in their lives that what’s happened to them doesn’t define them and that they can start to feel safe enough to dream about a life free from exploitation and abuse.”

The healing center will be the only residential treatment center with these specific housing options in Southern Nevada.

The Healing Center will have its grand opening on October 29th, and start welcoming students shortly after that. Teachers start at the center Wednesday, August 7th.

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