Blacks make up nearly a third of homeless

By Timothy Pratt (contact)

Thursday, Feb. 12, 2004 | 11:11 a.m.

Figures taken from an annual survey of the homeless in the Las Vegas Valley reveal an often overlooked but important characteristic of that population: nearly one in three is black.

Almost 2,000 people completed the survey in October at the 11th annual Stand Down for the Homeless. The one-day event -- called the largest of its kind by national experts -- offers services to the homeless and is the only ongoing source of detailed information locally on this hard-to-study population.

The survey asked 25 questions. Among the findings:

Donald Whitehead, executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless, a Washington-based nonprofit organization, said the racial breakdown is similar nationnwide, and called the issue of homelessness and "poverty in general ... the unfinished business of the civil rights movement."

Local officials from private and public organizations said the figures -- which have been about the same for the last five Stand Downs -- have been overlooked and need to be considered in future policymaking.

"I don't think this has been addressed before," said Brian Brooks, director of special populations for Nevada Health Centers Inc. -- a nonprofit organization that runs two homeless clinics in the valley -- and organizer of the Stand Down.

Paula Haynes-Green, recently hired by Clark County Social Service to fill the newly created position of regional homeless coordinator, said the issue has not been studied in Southern Nevada.

"Traditionally we've looked at subgroups for the homeless population ... but we haven't looked at race," she said. "When you look at this, it warrants additional analysis and strategies to address it."

Preliminary results from the survey show that 31 percent of respondents were black, suggesting that homelessness disproportionately affects that minority group, which is only about 9 percent of the Clark County population, according to the state demographer.

Similar numbers are found nationwide, Whitehead said.

But determining why there are so many blacks among the homeless population depends on whom you ask, and opinions on what should be done about the issue also differ.

"People shriek when you say this, but racism is a big factor," Whitehead said.

"Discrimination in housing, poverty, and the large numbers of African-Americans in prison ... who are then not eligible for subsidized housing ... are all reasons for this."

But Frank Richo, director of homeless services for Catholic Charities in Las Vegas, disagreed.

"I'm not going to do the race card thing," Richo said. "When you look at the economic continuum, more minorities are closer to poverty and so they're closer to homelessness, but it's more complicated than saying it's because of racism."

Gene Collins, director of the local chapter of the National Action Network -- Rev. Al Sharpton's organization -- said that blacks have been afflicted by poor education and a lack of jobs.

"You have to look at the educational factor ... and the jobs that have eroded due to factories closing in inner cities ... which have had a direct effect on African-Americans finding jobs," he said.

The Stand Down figures show that about 15 percent of those answering the survey had jobs, but nearly half were looking for work. Also, two-thirds of respondents said they lived on less than $200 a month. Those numbers were not broken down according to racial and ethnic groups.

Whitehead said that civil rights organizations should be addressing homelessness among blacks.

Collins' organization has a committee to deal with homelessness. However, it "hasn't been as active as I would have liked," he said.

At the same time, he said, homelessness among blacks is one of many issues that Sharpton's group addresses by taking on civil rights and discrimination in general.

W. Dean Ishman, president of the Las Vegas chapter of the NAACP, said the numbers "come as a surprise" and that he will be organizing a task force to look at the issue.

Haynes-Green said such groups could be useful in the fight against homelessness.

"If discrimination or constitutional issues are among the causes of homelessness ... then it falls into their arena," she said.

Haynes-Green, whose job is to coordinate local government efforts on the issue, hopes a new census of the homeless population brings more data to the table. The census, to be completed by April, will be the first since a 1999 University of Nevada, Las Vegas effort. That census estimated the total homeless population at 6,707, 21 percent of which was black, Haynes-Green said. UNLV will also lead the current effort.

She said those numbers, together with those of the Stand Down, will help her address race in a new strategic plan on reducing homelessness in the valley.

Whitehead suggested the high numbers of blacks in the homeless population nationwide has made the issue less of a priority than other social issues.

"One of the reasons homelessness may not be on the radar screen is because it disproportionately affects African-Americans," he said.