The new Aurora Center for Healing on 10 21st Street in Hawthorne is now open and accepting applications for both students and employees to help better serve teenagers who may be struggling in Mineral County and other parts of Nevada.
This residential treatment center is committed to providing holistic, trauma-responsive care to teens in a supportive, positive setting and provide the skills they need to be strong, contributing members of society.
Aurora’s founder and executive director McKaye Treanor has spent the last 22 years of her career working at adolescent treatment centers and was most recently the executive director of the prestigious Heritage Community in Provo, Utah. When her younger brother- who is an emergency physician in Las Vegas and worked at the Sunrise Treatment Center- told McKaye about the kids he was seeing coming through the ER, she saw an opportunity to serve a larger part of Nevada.
“Nevada is 51st in all the United States for the treatment of adolescents. He told me that there were just not enough services here,” Treanor says. Therefore, she found the property in Hawthorne that had been vacant for many years and secured it in November of 2021, then got to work rebuilding/renovating it into a treatment center that would work to heal Nevada’s youth. Now, a year later, it is open with 60 beds for teen boys and girls ages 13-18, giving them a space to play, feel safe, gain confidence, and room to heal/re-engage with the community and their families in positive ways.
“We wrote the program that has proven to be successful; our caregivers look at the individual holistically and are focused not just on treatment but on letting them go home and ultimately stopping generational trauma,” says Treanor.
“We believe that every child is inherently good,” she adds.
The accredited CARF (Commission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Facilities) center is in the top three percent in the nation and is licensed by the Nevada Department of Health and Human Services, further proving that its treatment programs work.
The Aurora Center for Healing officially opened about two weeks ago, and it currently has four students enrolled and a waitlist of about 30 teens.
“We receive around 3-5 referrals a day but want to make sure that we’re providing quality care,” she says. Aurora has about 35 employees already (most of them live in Hawthorne) who say that it is one of the most kind, positive places that they’ve ever worked. Aurora is currently hoping to grow their team with a cafeteria manager (and staff), residential staff, managers/coaches, a Licensed Practical Nurse, Registered Nurse, and therapist (LCSW, LMFT, LMHC) so that it can accept more students.
“Our mission statement is about restoring hope and show them that they are worthy of a new start. Your past doesn’t define you. And regardless of insurance or financial status, the goal is for all teens to have high quality care,” Treanor says.
She chose Hawthorne to open Aurora because the location and facility seemed perfect for its needs.
“This facility is wonderful. There’s lots of room for kids to play and scooter around, and it has great access to the outdoors. It’s secure, and we’ve found that when you are in a place where you’re safe, you can thrive,” Treanor says.
She likes that it’s the middle point between Las Vegas and Reno, too.
“Over the past year I’ve fallen in love with Hawthorne. The people here are friendly, open, and hardworking, and I believe there is no more of a beautiful sky than in Hawthorne,” she smiles.
“This facility has plenty of space to heal, grow and do all kinds of things. Hopefully we can get kids to a place where they can go home, be successful, and have the skills they nee to never need a long-term treatment center again,” Treanor adds.
For more information about the Aurora Center for Healing in Mineral County, visit https://www.auroracfh.com/.
