Where I Stand — David Buer: Sheltering the homeless

Tuesday, Aug. 31, 1999 | 9:47 a.m.

Editor's note: David Buer is a Franciscan brother of the St. Barbara Province (Western United States). He has lived within the Franciscan community in West Las Vegas since February 1997. The Franciscans have served in West Las Vegas since 1968. Buer is director of Poverello House, a daytime house of hospitality for homeless men. He is also chairman of the Southern Nevada Homeless Coalition Advocacy Committee.

OVER THE LAST couple of years efforts have been made to coordinate government agencies, service providers and charities in their work to relieve the sufferings of the homeless in our midst.

At the forefront of this effort has been the Southern Nevada Homeless Coalition (SNHC). The coalition consists of dozens of organizations throughout the valley, including local, state and national governments, service providers, churches, Metro Police HELP officers, charities and the private sector.

The SNHC has been working on short-term and long-term solutions to existing service gaps that have been identified. There have been successes to celebrate as well as setbacks that challenge us.

From those of us who form our attitudes toward the homeless "from the streets," we tend to encourage dignified, adequate services that meet the basic needs of the homeless person. This includes food, shelter (day and night), drinking water and access to restrooms.

Some progress has been made to increase these services. Since 1997 Catholic Charities upgraded and expanded its free overnight shelter facility and opened up its new and free dining room. MASH set up and ran an excellent shelter last winter for 250 men while maintaining its 300-bed facility for women, children and families. The Salvation Army expanded its Day Resource Center to seven days a week and most recently, Catholic Charities has agreed to offer 24-hour access to drinking water and restrooms for those living on the streets.

We look forward to: construction of The Shade Tree's new emergency shelter for women and children, scheduled to be open early next year; completion of Catholic Charities' renovation in 2001; the opening of 50 new beds at the Las Vegas Rescue Mission and the opening of the new Salvation Army facility for mentally challenged homeless.

While working for an increase in needed services, we often find ourselves involved in advocacy work, also. When access to public facilities is denied, advocacy becomes even more important to those of us who work daily with these individuals.

The homeless are people who are also citizens with the right to vote and participate in the forum of public discourse. Contrary to the opinion of some, it is not illegal to be homeless. They have a right to use parks, libraries, public transit and sidewalks and engage in free speech.

Unbeknownst to most, there is a heavy-handed oppression experienced daily by some of the homeless. For the hundreds of homeless individuals in Clark County, there is not enough emergency or overnight shelter. There are many camped out along railroad tracks, in abandoned buildings, under desert bushes in empty lots and on the edge of the open desert. On a regular basis they are forced out of their encampments with possessions bulldozed and hauled away. During the daytime, they often find a chance to rest in a city park, but lately attempts have been made to deny even these havens to the homeless.

There is a need for leadership and creativity to find workable solutions so that the basic needs of the homeless can be met, while protecting the neighborhoods and the industry that is the bread and butter for so many.

The Las Vegas Valley covers more than 400 square miles. Does it make sense to attempt to serve all the homeless in a five-to-six block area? Is not the city of North Las Vegas correct when it complains that it is not fair that all the services are on their southern border? Should not the city of Henderson create its own shelter and support services for the 150-250 homeless that live in its city and along its wash?

Are there not other areas of the Las Vegas Valley that could serve the homeless in their midst? We need a long-range plan for the Las Vegas Valley that the Regional Planning Commission and other entities are capable of creating.

But who will provide the leadership?

The Southern Nevada Homeless Coalition has been filling the leadership void. But we are an all-volunteer coalition. We have no staff person, no office. Our efforts are in addition to our daily jobs, yet we accomplish much. Over the last few years, all too often we have had to respond as best we could to crisis situations.

We would much rather find workable solutions that can be implemented in a timely way. The people of the Las Vegas Valley are caring and compassionate. On one weekend of Sunday services at one church we accumulated more than 1,700 signed cards asking the County Commission to support emergency shelter for the homeless.

There should be adequate shelter for all those who seek it. And for those human beings so wounded by life that they choose to live in the desert, should we not even reach out to them?

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