Philanthropy in Action: A Conversation with Ben Brooks Jr. on Campus For Hope

On May 8, 2026, I had the wonderful privilege of interviewing Mr. Ben Brooks Jr., Vice President of Community Engagement & Strategic Partnerships at Campus for Hope.

Our conversation focused on how Campus for Hope, a new community-based project, plans to address homelessness in Nevada. The project aims to provide direct, practical solutions for those experiencing homelessness by integrating multiple services and resources on one campus, particularly in response to rising need and limited resources.

Before the interview, I knew little about Campus for Hope, despite being familiar with local food banks and shelters. My own experience needing resources increased my appreciation for such projects. I am grateful to learn about these improvements in my community.

Campus for Hope, a comprehensive service campus for people facing homelessness, is located near Charleston and Jones Blvd., across from CSN Charleston Library, and close to where I study. By offering access to shelter, resources, and service partners in a single, easily accessible location, the project helps address the diverse needs of both students and homeless individuals in our area. Soon, I will be able to refer people in need to Campus for Hope for real assistance.

While learning the project's background, Mr. Brooks shared Campus for Hope's model. Hearing about specialized buildings for families, women, and men showed their focus on protection and comfort. I was especially moved to learn about the pet kennel, since I had to leave my childhood dog behind when I became homeless. Reunited now, I know how important it is for people to have spaces that keep them connected to their pets and support their stability.

(model picture, master plan, conceptual rendering)

Having experienced homelessness, I am encouraged by Campus for Hope's development in Las Vegas. I look forward to volunteering and supporting efforts to improve our community.

I ensured the interview stayed within our 20-minute limit, prioritizing educational questions while still asking two personal ones.

Though I lack a journalism background, my curiosity compels me to ask questions that matter. Drawing on my connections and my essay about George Orwell's 'Why Are Beggars Despised?' I intended to address the barriers homeless individuals face. I hope my questions captured common concerns, and I will quote Mr. Brooks directly.

(I will not include the interview voice memo, as I am self-conscious about how I sound. Instead, I share the interview content in writing for clarity.)

QUESTION #1: WHY THE LOCATION?

Campus For Hope is located right across from the Charleston CSN Campus, where I currently go to school. How does the specific geographic location influence the project's philosophy on community reintegration versus traditional isolated shelter?

MR. BROOKS: “The reason for this particular location is because the State of Nevada is helping to fund this. This property we’re sitting on is 80 acres, from Community College Drive in Charleston to Oakey and Jones. This was essentially what the state of Nevada decided was the best location. They gave us the first 20 acres and felt that this was an ideal location because of its access to services. There’s a need in the community. Everywhere else, it would make it difficult for people to get to places. But the main things about Campus for Hope are that we will be big on helping people get employed. This location is fairly central. Tons of restaurants and businesses in the area that already work with us or work as second-

chance employers. And so this was just a location that the state came up with.”

QUESTION #2: ANALYZING GAPS

In your experience, what are the common “points of failure” in the current social safety nets that partnerships like Campus for Hope are better equipped to fix?  

MR. BROOKS: “Well, I can’t say that Campus for Hope is better equipped to fix. I think one gap is definitely transportation for some individuals. So, again, to talk about Las Vegas and how other services are already being done. I don’t want to take anything away from the good work that’s already been done and the lives that have been changed. What we’ve seen is that from a family’s perspective, families are turned away. Single mothers and their children are turned away because there aren’t enough beds. And that's a significant gap. To take young adults who may be aging out of the foster care system, and have not really developed to the point where they could be on their own. And then to immediately put them in places where there are other adults who may not have the right perspective on how they choose to live their lives and how they are doing things. To put those young adults in those spaces would be challenging, if not dangerous. And so that's just another gap that we aim to fill. I think the biggest gap we aim to fill is to have the organizations doing really good work here.

QUESTION #3: ARGUMENTATIVE ANGLE

For those who believe that systematic homelessness is an “unsolvable” byproduct of modern urban life, what evidence from the work most directly contradicts that philosophy?

MR. BROOKS: “Well, if you look at one of the challenges of the economy, demand is high, and so are leases and rents. Mortgages are continuing to go through the roof, and interest rates are incredibly high. And the minimum wage doesn’t keep going up, but everything else is. Even a dozen eggs is considerably higher today than it was three years ago. As the cost of living continues to go up and people are not getting paid anymore, it's unfortunate when healthcare becomes an issue. Or the cost of daycare becomes an issue to the point where you have to decide on ‘Do I ensure that I am able to get to work? Can I make sure my kids have somewhere to go? Or do we eat, or do we ride the bus because we can’t afford gas because we budgeted for certain other things?’ The economy and just the way the change in society is.”

QUESTION #4: POWER OF PROXIMITY (2-part question)

A. Campus for Hope utilizes nearly 75 partner organizations on-site. In your view, is the proximity of these services, such as medical, legal, and housing, as important as the services themselves?  

MR. BROOKS: “ We’re anticipating roughly 40 organizations. Give or take to be embedded on campus. Location is everything. As you’ve seen in the model, there will be several forward-facing areas. Meaning, for the community, as well as for the residents of this campus. Being able to have, and I’ll say this, if a person is experiencing homelessness and unfortunately, finds a safe space in front of a Walmart, across the street. We are here to help that individual face whatever they’re experiencing while also finding the change or stability they need to be on their own; otherwise, they may not have immediate access to those services in this area. Proximity is so critical because there's always going to be a need, unfortunately. Hopefully, we will be able to help be part of the system and collaborate with other transitional centers and organizations in medical and behavioral health and workforce development. We will be able to help lighten the load.

B. Does “centralization” solve the navigation fatigue that often causes people to give up on the system?

MR. BROOKS: “I think it's possible. Again, you take a mother who needs a job that lets her pick up her kids. Something happens, unfortunately, like accidents, and she loses her car, or she gets hospitalized. She still needs to be able to take care of her kids. How’s she going to get to work? How can she get her kids to school? And how will they get picked up? And it's unfortunate situations like that that families and other individuals are experiencing every single day here.”

QUESTION #5: MODERN DEMOGRAPHICS

Homelessness in 2026 is no longer just an urban issue. This is affecting seniors and families at record rates. How has the campus adjusted its “campus culture” to remain in a safe and effective environment for these diversifying populations?  

MR. BROOKS: “One of the things that we’re doing is we are creating residential spaces on our campus for all populations. We want to help single men, single women, families, the elderly, veterans, and LGBTQ+ individuals, and ensure that, however a person identifies, they can navigate their life with the support they want.”

• When Mr. Brooks was responding to these questions, I commented on my high level of respect for Campus for Hope for being inclusive and not forcing anyone to take the same treatment path. I really appreciate the option to provide care and the respect for people's wishes. I love how human preferences are prioritized compared to other places I’ve heard of. I have experienced a situation in which I did not meet the criteria for resources, and I was left heartbroken that my authenticity had to be molded into something else to survive.

• As I made my comment of appreciation, Mr. Brooks expanded on my remarks.

MR. BROOKS: “If I could speak to that just for a moment. Individuals who are experiencing and have experienced homelessness express how this can be very traumatic. Our design, our approach to building this campus, everything from the colors of the building, the design of how it's built, to case management, enrollment, everything, is all trauma-informed. We don't want to say this is a cookie-cutter approach, and that you have to do it like this. We want people who want to be here. They have some buy-in, and we believe that, in order to best help people overcome what they’ve experienced, we should allow them, as humans, to exercise their rights and choose what they want. And so, our case managers and our chief program officer are great. We will have case managers embedded in every building. Everyone will be trained in trauma-informed care. And we will have a person-centered approach, where what you like and what I like and what helps us both to be able to thrive are two totally different things. We’re not saying it has to be this way, and you have to do these five things to get help from us. What we’re saying is that we all have hands and fingers, so there are going to be many different approaches to address whatever a person may be experiencing.”

QUESTION #6: ENABLING VS. EMPOWERING

How do you respond to the claim that providing comprehensive services like free meals and pet care “enables” homelessness rather than incentivizing people to find independent employment?  

MR. BROOKS: “I don’t think it enables. I speak from a personal perspective. Having experienced homelessness myself for 16 years. Those weren't things that I could latch onto that enabled me. They were solutions that helped me to get what I needed. I express that providing services to people in order to enable them or to enable others to, I don't believe the statement just from my own personal experience.”

QUESTION #7 : BOTTOMLESS PIT

Skeptics argue that no matter how much money is poured into these campuses, the “unhoused” population only continues to grow. Why should taxpayers believe this model is a permanent solution rather than a temporary band-aid?

MR. BROOKS: “From a taxpayer standpoint, there are a lot of things that taxpayers are already paying for that our model helps to reduce. The healthcare system sees the individual experiencing homelessness who uses the emergency room as their primary care. We will reduce that. We will reduce the number of individuals experiencing homelessness using the emergency room, which will result in lower taxes for taxpayers. There will also be other areas where, if we help more people figure out how to overcome their challenges and situations, they can have the strength to get back on their feet. These people will also become taxpayers. They will begin to put in towards the system. They become productive members of society.”

This question concluded our professional interview, but I had to ask my personal questions. The following were my own questions directed towards Mr. Brooks.

QUESTION #8: CREATIVE TAKEOVER

If you had a blank check and no bureaucratic red tape for five years, what is the first thing you would change about the way you handle homelessness in this country?

MR. BROOKS: “I would put a campus like this in every major city. The service providers, churches, and corporations are already doing the work. If everything couldn't be funneled or guided, it would be centralized to provide help for the homeless.

QUESTION #9: HOW IMPORTANT IS FAITH?

• I shared with Mr. Brooks how I was a number in the data for homelessness rates, and how my faith brought me through to have hope and fight. Without overstepping or breaking the rules of asking about religion, I felt the need to ask about his faith. I created a list of questions prior to the interview, and this question was never written down or documented anywhere. In a way, my spirit felt the necessity to ask this question. As a criminal justice major, I know not to ask about politics or religion, but God said otherwise. I know better than to go against God, so I built the courage to ask nonetheless.

How important is your faith to you throughout your process? How important was it for you to stay hopeful or faithful throughout this process?

MR. BROOKS: “I almost died. I almost got killed. And my mother and my family raised me right. I rebelled from the church. I rebelled, and I didn’t want to be a part of it. But I knew where my strength came from. I knew where my help came from, and I did something, but before I did it, I said to God, ‘ I don’t care if I go to jail today, just please don’t let me get killed.’ I had walked into a liquor store, grabbed a bottle of liquor, and run out. And as I was running out of that liquor store, the owner of the store had a gun and began to shoot at me. I got away, but the only thing that I could think about was dying, and my mom having to come identify my body in some parking lot because I got murdered. And that was enough for me to say, ‘ I’m done.’ And almost every single day since that day, which was June 4th of 2016. Every morning I get down on my knees, and before I go to bed, I cry out to God. I thank Him, and I praise Him, and I ask for forgiveness. I hold on to the hope that He’s got a plan for me, and that He’s going to use my testimony of what I’ve experienced and what I’ve been through to help other people. I believe, as it says in Matthew 28, that we’re called to go back and tell others what He’s done for us… Some days are easier than others. But you know I know where I’ve come from. I believe that God has delivered me and given me the opportunity to live a good life while serving Him and helping people. ‘Hey, how can I help?’ God gives me the strength.”

This concludes the complete interview and my first-ever blog! I hope I can provide answers and an inside look at Campus for Hope. The results of this project should be finalized by 2028. I will hopefully be in law school by then, or preparing to go into law school. I plan to be active with Campus for Hope and volunteer my time there as well. I would love to be a testimony of struggling and perseverance. I would also love to be involved in the chapel's ministry work. As I publish this interview, I consider expanding my journalistic ambitions.

Published on May 13, 2026 by Ammy Jeannette Rivera Marquez.