Cities clash on handling homeless

Scott Reeder

Sunday, Jan. 24, 1999 | 9:39 a.m.

Judy Hubert sat along the railroad tracks and held her baby close.

A shopping cart filled with all of her worldly goods sat nearby.

"I don't see what North Las Vegas has against us. We aren't hurting nobody. We just want to get back on our feet," she said as she patted a bulge in her belly where another baby is growing.

At night she sleeps at Shade Tree shelter. But during the day she is out with her child getting some fresh air -- usually somewhere in North Las Vegas.

North Las Vegas officials say people such as her are a major problem for their city's image. And they hold city of Las Vegas officials to blame, saying they have established too many shelters near the city line. This leads to homeless people crossing into North Las Vegas to spend their days.

A casual observer can often count more than 100 homeless people milling on the sidewalks along Owens Avenue.

The intersection of Las Vegas Boulevard and Owens Avenue, at the border between Las Vegas and North Las Vegas, has become the epicenter of homelessness in the Las Vegas Valley.

"Most of the homeless-shelter beds in Las Vegas are within that block -- and it's just across the border in Las Vegas," North Las Vegas Mayor Mike Montandon said.

He says North Las Vegas is suffering because of the influx of homeless people into its parks and vacant lots.

"North Las Vegas has enough image problems without this," Montandon said. "People don't know exactly where the border between the two cities is. A lot of them probably think those shelters are in North Las Vegas."

The Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, MASH Village and Shade Tree all operate shelters and dining facilities for the homeless near the municipal border. The four facilities have a total of 1,141 permanent beds and 250 temporary beds.

North Las Vegas City Councilwoman Stephanie Smith has asked the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition to take up the issue at its February meeting. The coalition is a new group consisting of representatives of the county and area cities. Members will work toward developing more comprehensive regional urban plans.

Las Vegas Planning Director Theresa O'Donnell said she welcomes the coalition's input on the issue.

"I know there is a history of hard feelings between the two cities on this subject. I honestly don't think the shelters were deliberately placed there because the site was near North Las Vegas. The city is trying hard not to do things that will aggravate the problem. We have denied businesses permission to sell alcohol in the area because of North Las Vegas' concerns."

But Montandon said the city of Las Vegas ignored concerns expressed by his city during two instances in the last year when it allowed shelters in the area to expand.

Catholic Charities is expanding by 120 beds this year and MASH has set up a temporary winter shelter that houses an additional 250 people.

"It's just ridiculous. This is having a very detrimental impact on our community," Smith said. But Marlene Richter, director of social services for Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada, said North Las Vegas officials are missing the point.

"A lot of the people we serve are from North Las Vegas. They are people who have lost their homes or been evicted from their apartments. We are providing a service to people without homes that the city of North Las Vegas is not providing."

She added that by providing more shelter beds, fewer, not more, homeless people will be sleeping in North Las Vegas parks.

Sumner Dodge, a spokesman for the neighboring Salvation Army, said his organization does not keep figures on the origin of the homeless people it helps.

But Dodge said 53 percent of the help his organization provides to families, such as its food pantry, is to North Las Vegas residents.

North Las Vegas does not have any homeless shelters of its own, Smith said.

"The problem is that they are so concentrated there. Shelters should be spread out throughout the community," she said.

But Richter said there were clear advantages to having shelters close together because the shelters provide services that complement each other.

For example, Catholic Charities provides lunches for the homeless population and the Salvation Army cooks suppers.

But the meals may be contributing to the problem, some North Las Vegas officials say.

"At a certain point, by feeding the homeless, you are no longer serving them. You are just attracting them," Montandon said.

Instead of complaining about the homeless sleeping in parks, North Las Vegas officials should do something about the problem, Dodge said.

"The reason people are sleeping in parks and alleys is because there are 1,100 shelter beds in the community and more than 17,000 homeless people. They have to sleep somewhere," he said.

North Las Vegas should consider building its own shelter to address the problem, he said. Montandon said such a project is not currently "on the radar screen."

But North Las Vegas has taken steps to help the homeless. In 1995, it gave $80,000 to build playground equipment at MASH Village and last year it gave $55,000 to Shade Tree to assist with the design of a new facility, which will be built near its current location.

"I think part of the reason we gave to Shade Tree is that it assists women and children," Lydia Camacho, manager of federal programs for the city of North Las Vegas, said.

Dodge said there are clear advantages to having shelters in a concentrated area.

"Most of the homeless population do not have cars and can't afford bus fare. They need to able to easily walk between the various shelters," Richter said.

Dodge said it is not hard to figure out why the homeless shelters are located where they are.

"The city doesn't want tourists to see homeless people, so they located the shelters as far away from the Strip and the downtown as they could. This is a classic 'not in my back yard' issue. Everyone agrees we need homeless shelters, but no one wants them anywhere near them," he said.

Montandon said the presence of homeless people is depriving city residents of the use of their parks. Police officers frequently roust homeless people from the parks at night.

"Many of them have substance-abuse or mental-health problems," Montandon said. "Their presence there is really keeping people in the neighborhood from using those parks. I know area businesses also are having problems with them. Jerry's Nugget has had all kinds of problems."

But Diane Davis, chief of security for the neighborhood casino, said this is not true.

"We have a dress code and occasionally we'll have problems with someone who hasn't bathed for several days wanting to come in. We don't want our regular patrons to have to sit next to someone who smells bad. But other than that, we haven't had any problems with them."

Montandon described the area as the city's "gateway."

"That's the first area of the city people see when they drive up Las Vegas Boulevard. What do they see when they enter the city? Lots of homeless people."

They also see two strip joints just across the street from Jerry's Nugget. Farther south in the neighborhood is a large congregation of public housing and a sprawling junkyard, littered with rusting auto carcasses.

Some of the homeless men gathered this week at the Salvation Army shelter say there are specific reasons they go to North Las Vegas.

"The reason we go across the street to North Las Vegas is to buy cheap wine from the convenience stores. I don't see any of those businesses turning down our money," Tony Brown, a 36-year-old living on the streets, said. "I've never seen one of those casinos turn down our money, either. Face it, we are good for the North Las Vegas economy."

A friend of his standing nearby just shook his head and added, "Nobody sleeps in the park because they want to. There just aren't enough beds in these shelters for us to sleep."

Don Arrow said he and his wife have been forced to sleep under a railroad bridge in North Las Vegas because they can't find anywhere else to sleep. The carpenter from Alabama said he has been homeless for two weeks while he searches for a job.

"Some of these people have drug problems. I can understand why North Las Vegas would be concerned," he said.

"But I don't do drugs. I just hit a patch of bad luck and can't find work."

Hidden from view along the railroad rights of way in North Las Vegas are small shanty towns. Tiny shacks made of scrap lumber and cardboard house entire families.

One man was cooking an egg over an open fire in front of his shanty. Looking up, he said, "We aren't a blight to this city. We are just trying to survive."

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