Denise Rosch reporting

It's an apartment complex that was all but abandoned a while back. Residents complained of everything from electrical and plumbing problems to violence.

But one tenant at the Buena Vista Springs in North Las Vegas hasn't moved on.

News 3's Denise Rosch has the story of a dream to turn an entire neighborhood around.

If you look beyond the weeds and decay around the Buena Vista Springs apartment complex, you're bound to find hope: a single apartment where volunteers from Club Christ set up shop five years ago.

"Kids in this neighborhood, a lot of times, harden up because they have to get the "cred" with their friends," says Evan Hartsell, club co-founder. "When you get them in a situation where they get to care... it's complete."

Club Christ is a non-profit reaching out to at-risk kids, from homework help for the youngest members, to leadership classes for teens.

According to 15-year-old Allen McFarland, it's a place to prove himself as a positive leader.

"You might as well take time to make a difference instead of being out there doing nothing."

But while the kids live in what is clearly a depressed, economically challenged environment, they're learning someone else always has it worse.

In fact, for their summer vacation, the group traveled to one of the worst areas in the country: Skid Row (Central City East) in Los Angeles, California.

Rancho High School senior Crystal Brown may be the most gentle, soft-spoken teen you'll ever meet. She's a young woman who knows feeding the homeless and visiting the elderly was only part of why she went.

"To make them feel like they're not alone, to make them feel like they have friends."

Adds Allen, "I was like ‘wow.' I've seen stuff like that, but it wasn't as bad as it was in California - people laying in the street and just not caring about themselves."

Now the teens plan to take what the learned on Skid Row and help others closer to home. All because of Club Christ - the tenant who refused to leave Buena Vista Springs.

Club Christ is interdenominational and Bible studies are optional for kids. All classes and services are free.