At age 18, Alexander Rankin was homeless. His drug-addicted parents had both passed away tragically, and in quick succession, leaving him to fend for himself in a world ill-equipped to meet his needs.
As he tells it, Alex was always a good student who enjoyed learning, but his neglectful and poverty-stricken upbringing kept him from fulfilling his potential. As a teenager, Alex sank into depression, haunted by negative thoughts and constant behavioral struggles at school. One day, after losing his second parent, he found what he describes as a miraculous spiritual awakening. “I basically felt like I was losing everything in my life, when I had a life-changing, personal encounter with Jesus Christ. I literally woke up the next day as a new man, with a peace in my heart I’d never felt before.”
Finding consistency and community in church, Alex made meaningful connections with peers who had gone through similar tragedies. “One of my friends [who was also homeless] told me I should check out this program. He said, ‘They give you your own apartment, they help equip you with job skills,’ and they generally support the growth of unhoused young people.”
So, one day in 2015, Alex walked into St. Jude’s Ranch for Children’s Transitional Housing facility and met a woman who would forever change his life: Denise Charles, Chief Program Officer.
“When I met Alex, I thought ‘Oh My God, here’s this handsome, innocent kid, and I wanted to know what happened,” she shares. After empathizing with his traumatic backstory, setting up the rules of the facility, and reassuring Alex that none of his situation was his fault, Denise planted the seeds of what would become a long-term mentorship and parental-like bond. “He said right away, ‘I want a job. I want to work. I want to save money. I’m going to go to school, and I want to become a nurse.’ I vividly remember he said that immediately,” she beams.
And, so, with support to make his dreams happen, the trajectory of Alex’s life began to shift. He qualified for the two-year transitional program and received wraparound services from Denise, who became his case manager and whose hands-on and consistent guidance taught him little-by-little the life skills he craved learning.
Beyond the transitional housing, a pivotal part of Alex’s journey was the educational support from St. Jude’s Ranch for Children’s Career Opportunity Scholarship Fund. This scholarship helps current and former program participants cover tuition, books, housing, and other educational expenses, empowering youth to pursue higher education and meaningful careers. Impressively, the nonprofit has contributed $65,000 toward post-secondary education for about a dozen young people in the last two years alone.
With Alex accepting the help and doing the work to break the cycle, Alex earned the scholarship, which helped sponsor his college tuition, books, and housing. After a brief shift in majors and schools, he graduated summa cum laude with a perfect GPA from the nursing program at Nevada State University.
“I told Alex when he graduated from college to call me and I would be there,” says Denise. Culminating in a full circle moment after nearly 10 years of consistent mentorship, Denise could remember Alex’s first day of college, when she traveled with him and dropped him off, like it was yesterday. “He said ‘I’m not going to let you down,’ … and he sure didn’t. With Alex, it was never a question of if he would do it. I knew he would do it. It was always a matter of what’s next for him?”
Today, Alex holds the coveted and prestigious position of nurse in the Level 1 Trauma ICU at UMC, a placement rarely offered to new graduates. In that capacity, from his personal experiences, he offers insight and compassion to those in the midst of one of their worst days. After some time living on his own, Alex now resides with loving family members and dreams of one day buying his own house, getting married, and becoming a father. Things, he said, he was never able to hope for as a kid.
“This was the most important thing that’s ever happened to me,” declares Alex. “God’s love was all around me—in St. Jude’s Ranch for Children, in Denise—and it’s given me a new life. It’s given me the ability to not be an addict like my parents, to use my mind for the betterment of others, and to love myself.”
To support young people like Alex, consider donating to St. Jude’s Ranch for Children’s Career Opportunity Scholarship, which helps provide education and life-changing opportunities for current or former participants of any of St. Jude’s Ranch for Children programs. Learn More at stjudesranch.org