Editorial: Face into the harsh truth

Tuesday, Aug. 16, 2005 | 8:48 a.m.

To a degree we appreciate the concept of governments putting together plans to "end" homelessness, as certainly some people around the country will benefit. But the plans should be understood for what they largely are -- rhetoric from politicians who want to sound decisive when addressing the major issues of the day. The harsh truth, that many thousands of people will always be homeless and that public money will forever need to be spent on them, has so far been politically unutterable. So today we have a national challenge from the Bush administration to end homelessness inside of a decade, and many cities are pursuing this goal as if it were attainable.

But can anyone really say with any degree of optimism that there will be no more people living on the streets by 2015? The only way that could happen is if sometime between now and then the nation has been able to eradicate mental illness, domestic violence, shortages of low-cost housing, drug, alcohol and gambling addictions, unemployment, post-traumatic stress disorders, poverty, emotional upheavals and every other reason why people drift onto the streets. We cannot see this happening at any time in the future.

This is why it is our hope that governments will amend any plans they may have that are solely directed at "ending" homelessness. These plans spend time and money on housing strategies for the future but do little to address the problem today. Thousands of currently homeless people, including small children, are being left without adequate shelter, clothing, medical care and food.

In-depth stories by Las Vegas Sun reporter Timothy Pratt, published on Sunday, included encouraging news about our own area's plan, recently unveiled by a regional committee. It strives to reach all of the area's homeless people with a variety of services provided through regional cooperation, with no illusions about ending homelessness. We believe its first priority should be fixing our shelter system, which is too small and way too fragmented to adequately serve the need. Once that is achieved, and homeless individuals and homeless families with children have options other than desperately trying to survive the elements, we can move on to the next phases.