Las Vegas Sun

March 29, 2024

Homeless escape searing heat at shelter

As temperatures approached 114 degrees on Wednesday, about 40 homeless men gathered in an air-conditioned room to watch a videotape movie near downtown.

The room and the film gave the men inside the day shelter at Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada an an opportunity to escape the baking summer heat. It's a refuge that has only been available to them since July 1.

On Tuesday, when the official high temperature in the Las Vegas Valley was 111, Pierre W., who said he is 50 and didn't want to give his last name, was in the room watching the science-fiction vampire movie "Blade Trinity." He had a bag of books at his side.

Pierre said he has been homeless for two months and that shelter during the day is essential.

"It's helping me get out of the heat into a nice, clean environment," he said.

"There's no way to cope," he said of being on the streets in the heat. "You drink a lot of water, a lot of water. It's hard because you're going crazy. Your blood starts boiling."

He said if not for the shelter he would probably be seeking air conditioned environs at the library or the Salvation Army center.

This week has been the hottest of the year, a special hardship on the valley's homeless population. An excessive heat warning has been in effect since Tuesday.

Wednesday's official high was 114 degrees but some neighborhoods reached 120. A high of 113 is expected today.

Coroner's office records show that since 2002 at least 13 homeless people have suffered heat-related deaths.

The shelter opened July 1 at Catholic Charities along Las Vegas Boulevard near Owens Avenue. The Southern Nevada Regional Planning Coalition put up $77,000 to keep it open until Sept. 30.

The shelter's hours are 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. daily, and it offers a cool room, showers, restrooms, drinking water and a meal.

Catholic Charities Administrative Coordinator for Residential Services Cliff Jones helps oversee the shelter. He said that word of mouth and rising temperatures have sent more men to the day shelter every day.

"People are taking advantage of the facility," Jones said. "I don't know why anybody wouldn't use it."

He gave a tour of the facility, sectioned off from a large dormitory floor. There was an office to check in men at the door. Many men relaxed or watched television in folding chairs. There was a water cooler. The shower facility, with 24 communal showers, was constantly in use.

"Many of these people, they have something they need to do. It's nice to come here and take a shower," Jones said.

"They come just to be able to take a load off. It's not fun to be on the street."

Jones said representatives from various county and state social services are also available at the shelter, which can direct men to government or private nonprofit programs.

The day shelter has a capacity for 100 men. Jones said Tuesday that the shelter was averaging more than 100 people rotating in and out of the shelter the last three days.

Pierre, who uses the shelter regularly, said more men might use the shelter except that they are asked to present identification at the door, something many of them do not have.

The shelter's records show that the number of people visiting has steadily increased from 24 men July 1 to 115 Monday. Nobody had been turned away.

The shelter only serves men, Jones said, because it does not have the separate showers and other facilities to accommodate women. He said the nearby Shade Tree women's shelter is also open during the day.

Men using the shelter Tuesday said it was cleaner than most facilities. They said the showers were especially useful, and they expressed concerns that it could become crowded later in the summer.

One man, who asked to be anonymous because he did not want his homeless status to affect his employment, said he had been staying at Catholic Charities but was visiting the day shelter for the first time.

"It's like the Taj Mahal of day shelters," he said. "I mean, I never stayed in a shelter before. This is kind of a new rodeo for me."

The man, 53, said that a bad divorce and other circumstances recently left him homeless. He expected more people to come to the shelter as word on the street spreads.

Most people, he said, escape the heat by visiting shelters, libraries, lenient businesses, or riding buses.

"Where are they supposed to go?" he said. "They have nowhere to go. it's extremely hot. They don't have any money."

Another man, 50 years old, who only gave his initials of P.H., said he occasionally works day labor and comes to the day shelter two or three times a week to shower and rest.

"If you're on the streets living day by day you can come here, take a shower, relax your mind, get your thoughts," he said. "I think for right now it's a good thing for the people."

The summer heat is a reality of life on the streets, he said, and only one aspect of a constant hardship.

"People are on the streets 364 days of the year, not just in the summer," he said.

archive