Vibrant splashes of paint embellish the walls in an otherwise ordinary building.
The Nipper family is putting the finishing touches on what they hope will become a safe haven for Las Vegas teens who may need a little help.
“If some teen is feeling suicidal or just needs to talk to somebody, they don't have to be put on a waiting list,” says co-administrator Nicholas Nipper. “They don't they don't have to be postponed and put off because they don't have the right insurance.”
When it opens, the non-profit ‘Kyler’s Kicks Lounge’ will provide a safe space for teens with access to mental healthcare professionals, therapeutic activities and important social resources. All of it will be free of cost.
“It's not just mental health care. Kids will be able to come in here and get tutoring you know get food and learn valuable life skills that they won't learn in school,” says 14-year-old Kyler Nipper.
The endeavor is the next step in healing for the teen.
When he was just eleven, he survived being bullied and stabbed by a classmate over his school shoes.
“I never really realized that your life could end at any moment,” says Kyler. “So, I want to make sure that you have made an impact that you made other people's lives amazing”
For the last three years he’s given away shoes through his non-profit ‘Kyler’s Kicks.’ For him, it was a way to help cope with PTSD after the attack and at the same time doing something to help others.
“He loves doing it,” says Kyler’s father Nicholas Nipper. “He loves helping people he loves giving. This is a new venture.”
It’s a new venture that Kyler says he hopes will provide access to mental healthcare for countless others like him.
“My parents had to be willing to sacrifice all the money that we have to get me to see a therapist and have mental health care. But hopefully this place will prevent that for all the other kids," Kyler Nipper said.
