Homeless people are shown on a Las Vegas sidewalk.
Tuesday, Sept. 5, 2023 | 2 a.m.
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Editor’s note: As he traditionally does around this time every year, Brian Greenspun is turning over his Where I Stand column to others. Today’s guest is Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman.
Homelessness has reached significant and very challenging levels throughout the nation and here in Southern Nevada.
Over the past 24 years during both my husband’s and my tenures as mayor and despite collegial and singular efforts to find solutions and help resolve the human challenges in homelessness, we have not found a cure-all or even a winning formula to abate the growth.
So far there are no win-win best practices in place to institute a “fix,” though many continue to try as do we.
Homelessness is a vicious cycle, not only for those experiencing it but also for those trying to end it. Well-meaning, newly elected officials at all levels of government often believe they will be the ones to succeed where others have failed. They convene regional meetings to find answers only to create another binder of plans or ideas that sit upon bookshelves for posterity.
The problem continues to grow, reactions multiply and the cure-all remains elusive.
Fortunately, we are not alone here in our quest. From the onset we have joined with our committed social services partners, our not-for-profit colleagues (Rescue Mission, Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, Southern Nevada Health District), our faith leaders, our law enforcement and our business leaders for support. Yet through it all, limited financial resources have not kept pace with the unending and expanding needs.
How and why did the ever-increasing pathway to homelessness occur, and in particular, here?
Overall, we know the world and the nation have experienced debilitating health issues, environmental / climate devastations and economic effects beyond these that have crippled far too many. There are those who lost their jobs, savings, property, possessions and more, while enduring circumstances that have cast them into homelessness.
Nevada, being renowned for its consistent and favorable good weather and climate, an ever-growing tourist economy and population, inherently provides personal anonymity and thus is a place that is very appealing. Whether congregating on the Strip or in heavily populated shopping venues, feeding from trash containers, sleeping under overpasses, in tunnels, in business office entries, in residential areas, or in abandoned buildings, the homeless are everywhere and seen throughout the quadrants of our entire valley.
Who comprises our homeless population?
Knowing the composition of the homeless population and their unique needs is critical for success. Included in our homeless aggregate are veterans, seniors, persons recently evicted from housing, those who have lost jobs, those trafficked, domestic violence victims, runaways, physically impaired, chronically mentally ill, alcohol/drug addicted, and even hospital or health care individuals who are released with “no place to go now.” And then there are others who continue to arrive daily ... sometimes from other jurisdictions practicing NIMBY (“not in my back yard”).
The city of Las Vegas created the Courtyard Homeless Resource Center — a low-
barrier, 24/7 security-monitored, facility that initially opened in 2017 to be a model that would be replicated in other, regionally diverse areas as part of an overall solution to address homelessness in Southern Nevada. The Courtyard’s underlying mission was and remains to help the homeless become healthy, hired and housed.
Individuals coming into Courtyard have access to medical care, social services, shower and bathroom facilities, meals, storage units for their possessions, pet facilities, a computer lab, a post office, a free shuttle to get them to and from agency appointments and more. It is critical that replicated centers be created now by other local government jurisdictions to take on a shared and balanced responsibility for creating and maintaining these same services. One locale cannot possibly take on the entirety of the challenge, survive it and succeed.
It is beyond time for Southern Nevada as a region to help these most vulnerable residents, the homeless immediately. This of course means providing more affordable housing for those in this group who recently became unhoused but have jobs and/or some financial means of support. With help and appropriate guidance, training, job placement and follow-up, others are ready for placement in some modes of housing accommodation.
But others in the homeless population, such as those needing detox facilities or health care, may not be ready for housing. They may be unable to care for themselves or may pose a risk to themselves or others. These individuals desperately need long-term care in facilities that comprehensively provide compassionate, quality, supervised total care.
Look around, you will see the challenge. The need is now before the challenge becomes so large it cannot be met; and if not by us and now, then by whom and when?
