Las Vegas homeless facing even tougher times: Closing of shelters leaves no short-term solutions

Diana Sahagun

Friday, March 23, 2001 | 5:09 a.m.

Dozens of tired, hungry men lined up in front of a temporary fence surrounding MASH Village's winter tent each night, begging for shelter, is never an easy sight for program coordinator Alondra Smith.

Each night she's forced to look into their eyes and tell them there is no more room, no place where they can go to get out of the cold. She's forced to turn away almost all of these men, who end up sleeping near the railroad tracks or outside nearby buildings.

"It's hard because we just don't have the place to put everybody," Smith said. "They don't understand it when I have to come out there and tell them I don't have any room."

The homeless problem hasn't changed much over the years, but this month is worse than others.

Last week Catholic Charities closed its 175-bed shelter for a two-year remodeling project.

With those beds gone, most of the homeless who used to fill the shelter are flooding MASH Village's temporary tent, Salvation Army or are sleeping on the streets.

And April 15 is looming for MASH Village. That's when it will close its 250-bed winter shelter.

No one has solutions for the short-term housing problem, but local officials and legislators promise that they are working on long-term solutions for the estimated 7,000 area homeless people. They say they want to provide affordable housing and jobs that will ultimately get these people out of shelters.

In the past year more than 2 million men, women and children were homeless in the United States, according to a recent Housing and Urban Development report. And even more Americans are at risk of becoming homeless. The HUD report found that 3 million poor Americans had worst-case housing needs, using more than 50 percent of their income on rent. HUD estimates that this figure should be no more than 30 percent.

A missed paycheck, a health crisis or an unpaid bill pushes poor families over the edge into homelessness.

Las Vegan Robert Villarreal said he ended up homeless after his wife died and he fell into a drunken depression. Distraught, he spent his money on drugs and alcohol and wound up at the MASH shelter two months ago.

He has become serious about staying sober since coming to the shelter, he said. He is working three part-time jobs and is planning to have enough money for an apartment before the shelter closes.

Villarreal said he feels for the people turned away each night.

"I hate to see that. I was one of those people out there."

The city of Las Vegas and Clark County have typically felt the brunt of requests for emergency funds for homeless services.

On Wednesday the Salvation Army asked the city for $26,155 to match funds from Clark County to provide 62 more emergency beds. Catholic Charities also asked for $15,000 to run overnight restrooms for the homeless for six months.

The council, citing utility costs and unanticipated requests in the middle of its budget year, unanimously rejected the requests.

"I feel the city has been very active in the last few years in helping MASH Village, Salvation Army and Catholic Charities," City Councilman Gary Reese said. "I'd like us as a council to look hard at any money we give."

Salvation Army has 162 beds available for men and women and last week put 35 mattresses in its chapel to try to get more people off the streets.

The organization plans to build a new shelter, but funding has not yet been found.

"Our city is in a real need, we need buildings and support from the community," said Charles Desiderio, Salvation Army director of development and marketing. "It's a big issue, and there is no easy answer.

"As our city grows, the percentage of homeless is almost growing faster," he said. "People think the streets are lined with chips, but they're not."

Robert Lawrence said he wound up homeless after gambling left him broke. He's been staying at MASH Village for five weeks.

Starting next month Lawrence has a promising piano gig that he hopes will provide him with a steady paycheck. But he noted that some of the men he has met at the shelter won't be as lucky.

"Some of the guys around here don't know where they're going to go after the shelter closes," he said. "Some will just be sort of lost after it closes."

Lawrence found it hard to describe his daily life at the shelter, saying there were some men with severe mental problems who don't belong in the shelter but in a home.

A bill that would establish a two-year pilot program of outreach and services to mentally ill homeless people in Southern Nevada is being sponsored by Assemblywoman Sandra Tiffany, R-Las Vegas.

She is asking for $2 million from the federal government for services that include medical treatment and transitional housing. About 31 percent of homeless people have severe and persistent mental illnesses, according to estimates.

The state Division of Mental Health and Development Services would run the program. It would send staffers into the streets to find mentally ill individuals who need help.

"Our whole intent for this bill is ... to divert these people from the jails and from the emergency rooms," Tiffany said.

If the bill passes and the program is successful, Tiffany said she will look for grant money to continue the service, which is where Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman comes in.

Goodman, also the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition chairman, said he and Tiffany are discussing whether the coalition can provide grant money for the program if it is successful.

Goodman has formed a task force through the coalition to identify what causes homelessnes and how to plan long term for the problem.

But so far the task force is in its early stages and has no solutions.

"One good thing is that we're looking at it regionally, rather than as a singular problem," Goodman said.

The Homeless Coalition also is working with Goodman. It is gathering information on the history of the homeless corridor and identifying the need for affordable housing and jobs.

Ruth Bruland, Homeless Coalition vice chairwoman, said there is a need for more buildings, an obvious solution.

"It's very evident there isn't enough places for people to go," she said. "And it's ironic because people are concerned about the homeless being out in the street, and some people are scared to have a shelter in their area.

"But (the homeless) are already out there."