Letter: City’s treatment of homeless isn’t compassionate

Monday, June 21, 2004 | 9:02 a.m.

For almost three years there has been an assault against the homeless by the Las Vegas City Council and Mayor Oscar Goodman. It has led to a dispersal of the homeless population throughout the Las Vegas Valley. This is inhumane because now many of the homeless do not have convenient access to the services of the Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, Shade Tree, The Las Vegas Mission, Key Foundation, U.S. Vets, Help USA and other services mostly combined in the so-called homeless corridor.

Today we have no emergency weather shelter. There has been none since April 20, when Catholic Charities closed 400 beds. The absurdity of this lack of shelter is that a community assistance center will be built in the Fertitta building. This will replace the MASH Crisis Intervention Center, which the city of Las Vegas refused to fund although other entities, including Clark County, were willing to. Money will be spent that could be better used on services to the homeless. A hallmark of this edifice to bureaucracy will be four bathrooms -- two for staff and two for the homeless.

MASH Village, which was serviceable, provided 250 family beds with an additional 150 unused beds. This was torn down in a deliberate effort to move the homeless out of Ward 5. The emergency tent shelter, which had 250 beds, was moved to San Diego for the same purpose.

We have about 2,500 homeless veterans who are being treated like dirt at the same time politicians are praising our military. They all served us in the past and we are neglecting them. About 3,000 of the homeless are mentally ill. Our treatment of them is not compassionate or humane.

FRANK PERNA