Mayor’s remarks concern homeless advocates

Monday, Jan. 14, 2002 | 11:06 a.m.

A growing chorus of homeless advocates is voicing concern over Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman's blunt remarks about the homeless in his state of the city speech last week.

Some, including MASH Village executive director Ruth Bruland, met with Goodman Friday. The mayor is likely to hear more about the speech Thursday, when the Southern Nevada Regional Homeless Task Force, which he created last year, meets. Still others who don't have the mayor's ear say his words may damage local efforts to help the homeless.

But the mayor insists his words are being distorted and that his administration continues to seek solutions to the problem of homelessness.

The controversial remarks included a reference to "certain bleeding hearts who don't want to hear the truth" about the homeless who sleep on the sidewalks of Foremaster Lane and Main Street.

"They're robbing people, raping people and killing their own," Goodman said.

Gus Ramos, chair of the Homeless Coalition, a nonprofit group of 79 public and private organizations, said many of the coalition's members are concerned that the mayor's remarks may be misinterpreted by the public at large.

"We're worried that people may perceive the homeless in general as criminals after the mayor's speech," he said.

Ramos also sits on the Homeless Task Force that Goodman created last year to come up with ideas to share the burden of caring for the homeless among several municipalities. The group includes officials from Clark County, North Las Vegas, Henderson, as well as corporate and nonprofit groups.

The task force meets Thursday, at which time Ramos plans to make the coalition's concerns known to the mayor.

Goodman, a former criminal defense attorney, said Friday that he knows from his legal experience that you shouldn't paint any group with a broad brush, and says his remarks are being taken out of context.

"If you go down to the area I referred to -- which I did yesterday -- you'll find that everything I said is true.

"People there talked to me about crack, alcohol and robbery. They said they don't want to be in the shelters, they don't want to follow the rules.

"But at the same time, I know these people are maybe 20 percent of the homeless population, and we want to help those who seek help -- including providing medication for the mentally ill and emergency shelter."

Bruland, whose MASH Village shelter sits across the street from the group Goodman referred to, defended the mayor after their Friday meeting.

"The mayor acknowledged that sometimes his words have gotten him in trouble," she said.

"Could he have chosen his words better? Yes. But at least he keeps working with as many people as possible to understand and find a solution to the problem."

Still, the mayor's speech caused others who work with the homeless to question where he stands on the issue.

"The speech created an uncertainty among service providers -- does he want to help the homeless or just get rid of them?" said Brian Brooks, executive director of Health Care for the Homeless, a nonprofit program.

The mayor's remarks may create the wrong impression for those who support nonprofit agencies that work with the homeless, said Brooks, whose program is under the umbrella of Nevada Health Centers.

"When the mayor set up the task force, it was a positive move, since it showed he was interested in bringing many people to the table to look for a solution," Brooks said.

"But his words may result in losing support for the very initiative he began. If you were the CEO of MGM MIRAGE, would you give donations to a nonprofit helping a bunch of murderers and rapists?"

Gary Peck, executive director of Nevada chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union, said his office has received calls from people who are confused and disappointed by the mayor's remarks.

"I respect the mayor and share much of his vision for the city," Peck said. "But I think his choice of words here does not inspire people to help solve the problem of homelessness in a constructive way."

Other advocates say their efforts to help the homeless outside the system of shelters in the downtown area are going unnoticed by the mayor, and may be harmed by his remarks.

"The mayor speaks about these people as being resistant to help," said Linda Lera-Randle El, who directs a program called Straight from the Streets.

"But a number of us who do outreach in the streets on a daily basis say they're resistant to the traditional help that emergency shelters provide, not help of any kind.

"We're not denying there are criminals in the population, but their are many who have already gotten off the streets, thanks to those who are willing to work with them where they are -- the streets."