Editorial: Better facts can lead to better policy

Friday, Feb. 13, 2004 | 9:18 a.m.

The need for an updated and comprehensive census of the Las Vegas homeless population became apparent this week when results of an informal survey were released. Fortunately, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, sociology department, using federal funds, is about to realize that need by updating its 1999 census.

The informal survey was taken this past October at the annual day-long Stand Down for the Homeless event that offers a variety of services ranging from haircuts to job counseling. Nearly 2,000 people completed the survey and the results proved interesting. For example, 74 percent were men. The median age was 45, but the youngest was 13 and the oldest was 82. Twenty-two percent never graduated from high school. Thirty-nine percent moved to Las Vegas in search of a job. Nearly one in three of the respondents were black. Unfortunately, these statistics, while worth noting, may not accurately define the area's homeless people, who might number 10,000 or more.

What's needed is a census that has statistical value, one in which conclusions can be definitively drawn. From the Stand Down survey, it would appear that schools and government at all levels need to reassess programs for minorities, particularly blacks. In Southern Nevada, blacks comprise 9 percent of the general population, but the survey suggests they comprise nearly 33 percent of the homeless population. If this and the survey's other statistics could be judged definitive, educators and social service agencies could begin making appropriate changes to their programs.

But the survey reflected only the demographics of those who attended the Stand Down, and it is known that not all who attended were homeless. While insightful, the survey is an insufficient basis for major program changes. UNLV's census should provide an unassailably true picture of all homeless people in Southern Nevada. Then changes in public policy, which are badly needed, should get under way.