LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — When the final school bell rings in the afternoon, many students get to go home. However, for students with working parents, that may not be an option.
“It’s really for those working parents that can have until 7 p.m. to pick up,” Andy Bischel, the CEO of Boys and Girls Club of Southern Nevada, said.
Bischel oversees 13 of the clubs in the valley.
“It’s got to be a safe place for our kids to go but it also has got to be fun. We don’t want it to be school. They were just in school all day,” Bischel said.
The Boys and Girls Club offers everything from homework help, peer mentoring to college admission advice.
“We are going to burn some energy first. We are going to give them a snack to get them going and then they will rotate around to these different program areas,” Bischel said.
Studies have shown that unsupervised time between the last bell and until parents get home are the riskiest hours for juvenile crimes.
Recently the clubs implemented mental health counseling.
“So, kids can talk about what anxiety is, what are these feelings, what is depression, what does this mean but also what are the coping mechanisms,” Bischel said.
This year up to 47 Clark County School District bus routes will go to the clubs spread across the valley and there are three clubs that offer before school care starting at 6:30 a.m.
Services start at $40 a week, but there are scholarships available based on income.
Right now, they have around 1,000 students signed up, but can enroll up to 2,200.
For more information about the Boys and Girls Club of Southern Nevada, visit their website.
