Are we helping the homeless enough? Goodman says yes

Oscar Goodman

Friday, May 3, 2002 | 3:27 a.m.

Oscar Goodman is mayor of Las Vegas.

When I ran for this office, I made curing the homeless dilemma a priority. I thought it shameful that fellow human beings, in a valley of great wealth and resources, could spend the night on Las Vegas sidewalks and go wanting for sustenance and clothing.

I asked myself, "How could any civilized society allow such conditions to exist?"

I was advised not to make the mistake of going anywhere near this topic. The problem is fraught with political peril. It is an impossible and thankless task, they said. Well, the citizens of Las Vegas did not elect me to sit on my hands and, not being one to shy away from challenges or controversy, I jumped right in.

Homelessness is an incredibly complex issue that, in order to be truly solved, requires dedication, lots of money and -- most importantly -- political will on the part of city, county and state leaders.

Because 6,700 homeless people inhabit the entire valley, according to a 1999 University of Nevada, Las Vegas study, and because the city could not truly address this problem by itself, I sought help from the other cities, the county and the state when I created the Homelessness Task Force through the auspices of the Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition.

Last month that task force, which I chair, drafted a plan for a new way of doing business. The plan, long term in nature, is based on practices that national experts believe are most likely to deal with this challenge effectively and realistically.

The plan calls for improving employment opportunities, improving access to programs, crisis intervention for the mentally ill, implementing a trust fund for dealing with homeless problems and developing permanent affordable housing.

Here are two ultimate aims:

Many homeless people are not mentally ill and still resist our offers of help. These bohemian drifters -- and I know this firsthand from talking to them -- relish the freedom of not having to pay rent, of being able to drink their booze and do their drugs and of being able to go where they want to whenever they choose. I must emphasize that this does not apply to all homeless people, but certainly a large share of them.

It is hard to comprehend why anyone would choose this lifestyle, but, sadly, they do. If these folks gave up their drugs and their booze and dedicated themselves to turning their lives around, we would be better off as a community. Instead, they can't even get into a shelter for the night since shelters generally won't take in those who are high and drunk and possibly dangerous to others.

What does society do with these folks? Do we allow them to sleep on sidewalks, impeding pedestrians and creating traffic hazards when people are forced to walk in the street to get around them? Do we allow homeless camps to spring up around businesses and endanger the livelihoods of those business owners and employees? Do we allow cardboard communities to create public health hazards, as the Clark County Health District recently documented on Foremaster Lane?

Morally, at least, we must do something. Police should aggressively enforce laws against drug-dealing, prostitution, vandalism and litter. Homelessness, clearly, is not a crime. If laws are not broken, homeless people, no matter how destructive their behavior, are free to do as they please -- even if they threaten the quality of life of neighboring residents and businesses. This is, after all, America and homeless people have constitutional rights, the kind of rights that I have dedicated my entire adult life to protecting.

Some self-styled homeless advocates have complained about our efforts to enforce the law and maintain public health and safety. Yet none of the advocates has stepped forward with a solution for dealing with the service-resistant homeless. They seem to condone the creation of shantytowns -- even when concerns about health and safety are documented. Some advocates have latched onto this problem and have attempted to leverage it for political gain, sometimes to the detriment of the very people we are trying to help.

The cleanup of Foremaster is an interesting case study. Working with the Metropolitan Police Department, we notified the homeless people there that we needed to clean the area because of the health and safety concerns that arose. Three-person teams were sent in to assess the needs of the homeless, who were given vouchers and memos allowing them to stay at local homeless shelters and take advantage of the myriad services.

Despite what some advocates would have us believe, every person who wanted a bed for the night, who wanted to live by shelter rules, who was willing to try in earnest to turn his or her life around, was afforded an opportunity to get a bed. Amazingly, in this case, most refused help.

The dispute over beds should now largely be over. The City Council and I on April 17 authorized the city manager to negotiate an agreement that would fund the operation by the Salvation Army of a 130-bed overnight emergency shelter for up to three months at a cost of up to $24,000. That will ensure that sufficient overnight beds exist until a new 900-bed shelter under construction by Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada is ready to open in July.

By Oct. 1 San Diego-based MASH Village, which has been supported by the city and others in past years to provide crisis intervention and other homeless services, will be leaving town. The facilities and their land, located on North Main Street, are owned by the city, and we are currently exploring our options to determine the best way to fill this void and ensure that those who want and need help get it.

The next step involves working with the county and the state to implement our long-term plans. It is no secret that state law mandates the county to provide social services for the indigent and that the state of Nevada provide services for the mentally ill and for "detoxing" addicts. It is essential that all segments of government fulfill their designated roles. We have been working with these agencies in the hope that we can all do a better job -- particularly with mental-health care. I believe that with the help of these agencies and the private sector we can responsibly improve the quality of life for not only our homeless population, but for our community at large. We owe it to ourselves and to our constituents to do no less.