Last summer, Courtney Speed, then 18, was living with her mother and three younger siblings in a Ford Taurus in the parking lot of the World’s Largest Gift Shop on Sahara Avenue and the Strip. Courtney’s mother thought that because it was so well-lit, they’d be safe.

Social service agencies referred Courtney to the Nevada Partnership for Homeless Youth, where she found housing and enrolled in the Virtual High School, an online school from which she’ll graduate next year. Courtney’s mother, sister and two brothers got some assistance from HELP Nevada for an apartment, where they’re living rent-free through January.

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Clear, a national provider of wireless broadband services, is hoping to change that by donating 15 laptops and 15 high-speed mobile Internet access USB modems to The Animal Foundation, the nonprofit organization contracted by Clark County to run Lied Animal Shelter.

Although Clear has partnerships with schools around the country, including the Clark County Virtual High School, this is the first partnership between Clear and an animal shelter, said Scott Fleming, area vice president for sales at Clear. The much-needed technology will help streamline the shelter’s adoption process, helping the foundation find homes for hundreds of adoption-ready animals.

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