Where I Stand — Mike O’Callaghan: Heat and floods kill

Friday, July 25, 2003 | 9:18 a.m.

Mike O'Callaghan is the Las Vegas Sun executive editor.

DURING DRIVE TIME the 117 degrees shown on the car's thermometer didn't bother me one little bit. The air conditioning was working and the nine hours at work was in a comfortable building. So why worry about some exceptionally hot weather?

The construction workers I had seen on the way to work had gone home after starting work early and quitting early. We all owe respect for the men and women who work out in the desert heat. This county has been built by construction workers willing to take tough jobs during summer months. Just imagine what it was like back in the 1930s when they worked on the Hoover Dam. Not only was working in the canyon hot, it was dam hot. The nights couldn't have been better when trying to sleep in tents, barracks and houses that still held the daytime heat into the wee hours of the morning.

When first moving to Southern Nevada 47 years ago, I thought the swamp coolers on our house were the ultimate in comfort. They didn't work efficiently when the humidity began to climb, but that was before thousands of swimming pools and dozens of lush golf courses were built and humidity was seldom a problem. Our favorite swimming pool was Lake Mead or the one at the Henderson Recreation Center. Today the air conditioning at work, in the car and at home make for a very comfortable style of living. Even the people who work for eight hours outdoors have a safe and comfortable place to sleep after sweating outside in the hot sun.

We do have some people in our community who don't have a safe and cool place to sleep. Large numbers of them who work for minimum wage can't afford both food and a decent place to sleep. Many others, who can't find or hold a job, spend their daytime hours seeking shade, a cool drink of water and a bite to eat.

The summer heat makes this a tough life for the homeless. Now with the monsoon season upon us, those who seek out a culvert or other low area to sleep are also facing death by drowning. Yes, at least one or more homeless people will drown during the coming several weeks. Makes a guy wonder if this kind of death is any worse than that suffered by those in our streets who die from the cold in winter months.

Linda Lera-Randle El of Straight From The Streets knows more has to be done for the homeless but there is some relief in place. The Salvation Army Day Resource Room is now open 7 days a week and the City Mission also provides some day services. Women and children can find some comfort during the days at The Shade Tree Shelter. All of these fine organizations are in need of additional funds. Give that some serious thought as you enter your air-conditioned home.

Joel John Roberts, executive director of PATH, or People Assisting the Homeless, recently wrote "Top 10 Ways to Increase Homelessness in Our Community." It appeared in the Los Angeles Times and is a good reminder for people who only think of the homeless at Thanksgiving or Christmas:

10. Keep thinking that the homeless are just lazy and shouldn't be helped.

9. Assume foster kids magically become responsible, self-sufficient adults at age 18.

8. Provide public food programs, but ignore the real reasons people are hungry.

7. Make it hard for the homeless to access services by spreading out services all over the county.

6. Encourage NIMBYism.

5. Let law enforcement deal with it. Outlaw homelessness and throw the homeless in jail.

4. Sweep the homeless into other communities.

3. Eliminate the welfare system.

2. Keep minimum wages at a minimum.

And finally ... the No. 1 way to increase homelessness in our community: Reduce the housing stock and eliminate affordable housing.