Homeless reduction plan approved, but funding could become problem

By Timothy Pratt (contact)

Friday, March 22, 2002 | 9:48 a.m.

A task force on Thursday approved most of a plan to reduce homelessness in Southern Nevada, but fell short when it came to committing specific amounts of money toward addressing the problem.

The points approved included managing the plan through a nonprofit foundation, helping the homeless get jobs, coordinating services for the homeless, increasing mental health outreach and developing more affordable housing.

The most expensive part of the plan -- carrying a price tag of up to $500,000 for starting the foundation that would then raise more public and private funds -- caused concern among members of the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition's Homelessness Task Force.

"Raising a half-million dollars and not having helped one person seems wrong," said North Las Vegas Councilwoman and task force member Stephanie Smith.

"I'm concerned about setting up another bureaucracy without having addressed the problem," she said.

Henderson Councilman Stephen Kirk said he wasn't comfortable approving the amount of money without knowing each municipality's share.

When the task force turned its attention to a voice mail system that would allow the homeless and people on the verge of homelessness to retrieve phone messages -- a key tool in job-hunting -- members balked at the cost of implementing the $155,000 system.

Reaction to the meeting's outcome was divided among those who help the homeless.

Ruth Bruland, executive director of MASH Village homeless shelter, said she thought the plan needs a substantial amount of seed money to get off the ground, and that it will take time to get the task force's elected officials committed to the idea.

"They need to get their constituencies on board, and this is not easy," Bruland said.

"Also, providing the diverse kinds of services the homeless need is not cheap," she said, noting that the shelter she directs has a payroll of 70 people.

Others disagreed.

"Essentially, we have seen a year's time spent on this process, and money still seems to be the issue, when it shouldn't be," said Linda Lera-Randle El, director of Straight from the Streets, a nonprofit outreach program.

"Spending millions of taxpayers' dollars to take care of the poor is just not the solution, and I think that our political leaders, social service providers and the community are going to have to roll up their sleeves, give more of their time, get onto the streets and work with these people on a one-to-one basis."

The task force is chaired by Las Vegas Mayor Oscar Goodman and consists of elected officials, the chairman of the Southern Nevada Homeless Coalition and representatives from the community and business. It also includes a casino representative, but since the board's inception more than a year ago that has been in name only.

Task force coordinator Bill Arent said the absence of Punam Mather, vice president for government affairs for MGM Mirage, may be an issue during upcoming meetings.

The task force agreed to have its working group assess the budget-related items in the plan and report back April 18 -- in time for submitting a final version for approval at the next planning coalition meeting April 25.

Goodman said he expects the plan to be implemented in "less than a year -- I don't have that much longer," an apparent reference to the end of his term in 2003.