Goodman balks at providing city funds for homeless shelter

Diana Sahagun

Friday, Aug. 24, 2001 | 11:25 a.m.

Clark County's challenge for the city of Las Vegas to help fund the MASH Village winter shelter is getting a lukewarm response from Mayor Oscar Goodman.

The mayor says he's tired of throwing money at a short-term solution to the homeless problem.

Instead of contributing the $191,400 that the county is requesting, Goodman is hoping that the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition will offer a long-term solution. The coalition is meeting Sept. 13 to discuss a regional approach to homeless issues.

"I'm not going to fund a Band-Aid fix," Goodman said. "I'm not going to throw money away. I'm going to get the answer and solve the problem."

In the meantime, hundreds of men and women have found safety in numbers by sleeping in groups on the sidewalk in front of MASH Village on Main Street. This year, including last month, homeless people have been rousted from several locations when they were ordered off private property near Union Pacific Railroad tracks that they had turned into a makeshift camp.

Adding to the problem is a shortage of beds caused by the March closure of Catholic Charities' 175-bed shelter for remodeling. The shelter is not expected to reopen until at least June. Also, the MASH Village 250-bed winter shelter always closes in April, leaving many homeless people to fend for themselves during the summer months.

Earlier this month, Clark County Commissioner Erin Kenny challenged the cities of Las Vegas, North Las Vegas, and Mesquite to address the lack of beds for the homeless by raising $600,000 collectively to retrofit MASH Village's emergency shelter with air conditioning for nine months.

The contributions would reflect the number of homeless in that area, which would result in the county contributing $230,809; Las Vegas $191,403; Henderson, $78,813; North Las Vegas $50,666; and Mesquite, $5,629.

The Las Vegas City Council is scheduled to considered the county's request Sept. 5. But after receiving a letter from Kenny Aug. 7, Goodman said the county's request is a scheme to get city taxpayers to pay twice for social services and he won't allow it.

"They want to double dip with us, and I'm not going to let that happen," Goodman said. "They have our money. We pay the county from our taxes for community welfare. We don't have to pay twice. That's what the trick is here. And I don't like it."

Goodman has argued that the homeless problem needs to be solved on a regional basis, and that the city -- because all the homeless services are located in one area on Main Street -- is carrying the burden.

In the last five years, Las Vegas has contributed $10.8 million in city and federal grants to nonprofit agencies that provide services for the homeless, according to a city memo.

According to a memo written by Sharon Segerblom, director of Neighborhood Services, the city spends $842,414 annually for services related to the homeless population, including maintenance and removal of debris,

Representatives from Henderson did not return calls for comment.

Jacque Risner, economic development director for the city of North Las Vegas, said the city does its share to help the homeless cause by providing affordable housing. Risner said the city has 75 percent of the affordable housing in the Las Vegas Valley.

Ruth Bruland, executive director of MASH Village, said the shelter is in standby mode, waiting to see if the governments respond to the county's challenge. She estimated it would take one to two months to open the tent if the funding were allocated.

While Bruland said Goodman is moving in the right direction to find a long-term solution, she said the first step is providing adequate emergency shelter. She also agrees with city officials who say the homeless corridor is negatively impacting the surrounding neighborhood.

"When I walk out on our sidewalk now, I smell urine and I have no doubt that the neighborhoods are affected," she said. "That doesn't mean it's a mistake to have these services, it means there's not enough services."