Las Vegas woman turns former homeless youth experience into advocacy

LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) - A Las Vegas woman who spent most of her high school years experiencing homelessness is now a successful realtor and is paying it forward by helping other homeless youth.

“I love showing houses, watching their faces,” Theresa Butler said.

Butler, 24, is living her dream as a realtor.

“It feels very full circle, I just feel very privileged to be in a position to house people now,” she said.

She became homeless during her sophomore year of high school after her parents experienced personal challenges.

“It is hard to think about the next day when you don’t know what is happening that moment, there are a lot of times when I was at school and I was waiting on a text to know where I was going next,” she said.

She always wanted to attend college but didn’t know how it would happen.

“Moving in with my best friend and her family removed that boulder, so I had my whole life ahead of me again,” she added.

Butler was accepted into UNLV as a HOPE Scholar and graduated with a degree in Urban Studies in 2021. She now spends her free time being an advocate with Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth.

“Hopefully me going through what I went through, like, no one else does, it is really hard, I hope that I know the pain that I went through is for a reason,” Butler said.

She recently testified before the Nevada Legislature in support of AB217, which strengthens support for students experiencing homelessness in higher education.

“The only reason I’m not homeless is because I had the opportunity to pursue higher education, so I just hope we open up more opportunities for people to get out of their homeless situation, whatever that is,” Butler said.

And hopes her story will inspire others not to give up on their dreams.

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