Las Vegas votes to make it a crime to sleep on city sidewalks

In an attempt to get homeless people off city streets, the Las Vegas City Council has passed an ordinance that makes it a crime to camp or sleep on a city sidewalk.
Supporters of the ordinance, which passed 5-2 on Wednesday, say it's an attempt to push the more than 6,500 homeless people and families in southern Nevada into homeless shelters while also protecting the health and safety of the community.
https://www.cnn.com/2019/11/07/us/las-vegas-ban-homeless-camping/index.html
 

I believe that’s a good idea. Homeless folks need someplace to go and sleep and citizens should not have to walk around people injecting drugs, being aggressive, and relieving themselves on the streets. Hopefully the folks that are homeless get the care they need to find work get some decent clothes and food in them and get to work. I don’t believe in supporting people long-term unless they’re unable to care for themselves such as a person with an intellectual disability or severe medical condition.
 
I believe that’s a good idea. Homeless folks need someplace to go and sleep and citizens should not have to walk around people injecting drugs, being aggressive, and relieving themselves on the streets. Hopefully the folks that are homeless get the care they need to find work get some decent clothes and food in them and get to work. I don’t believe in supporting people long-term unless they’re unable to care for themselves such as a person with an intellectual disability or severe medical condition.


Bums are indeed becoming a national problem. A friend of mine that works in town says, they are all over the place now.....IMO, it is directly tied to drugs......and no one has an answer or a plan.
 

If convicted, you face a $1,000 fine or six months in jail. Of course, most homeless people can fork up the $1,000 fine, no problem. So, guess who's going to jail? Instead of actually helping solve the problem of homelessness, we're going to throw people in jail with 3 hots and a cot for six months. It's the cheapest way to get rid of the homeless. And that is all that matters. Throw 'em in jail, then you don't have to deal with legal rights, or ethical issues-they're not homeless they're lawbreakers and now convicts.
 
IMO these laws are just an attempt to move the problem out of the view of mainstream residents and tourists.

When you read the words without all of the touching comments about doing what is best for the homeless you can see that they don't intend to enforce the ordinance in the industrial areas of the city.

I don't think that the problems of the homeless will ever be solved about all we can do is continue to extend a helping hand to those that want it and will benefit from it.
 
The solution is simple: The rents are too damn high. People weren't homeless in the fifties, sixties. It was very rare to be without a place to live. That doesn't mean the place was a "good" place, or desirable in any way except for having a roof over one's head. Even the "bums" had a single room, maybe the width of a bed, but they usually did have that option.

In 1980 I met a woman at work who had been to PRChina several times, which was uncommon for the late 1970's. She told me foreigners were not allowed in train/subway stations at night. She took the risk with several others to find out why. The stations were mobbed with the homeless. I believe it was Peking (Beijing). That's how the socialist paradise hid their homeless. It was an embarrassment, a disgrace. I had never heard of such a thing. And now, look at us. It's a reprehensible shame. It is a sign of a third world country.
 
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When admin deletes, it is usually just gone, right? I think norman deleted it himself, as I don't think you can fully delete your own post like it never existed. Not on this site. I do like that option.
 
I don't have the answer. (wish I did), but, when one cannot even walk on the sidewalks in Vegas, you know there is a serious problem.

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Your post reminds me of this comparison of the homeless in SanFrancisco to the Hoovervilles of the depression.

Hooverville-1932-Leeville-2016-in-Super-Bowl-City-0216-by-Dan-Brekke-VanishingSF.jpg
 
IMO, being homeless is a visible symptom of some underlying problem in a person's life that needs to be addressed.

It could be substance abuse, domestic violence, mental illness, financial, etc...

In my area, a great deal of money has been spent on well-meaning but misguided social programs to provide shelters, subsidized apartments, transitional housing, tiny homes, etc... In most cases, the projects fail because the underlying problems associated with being homeless are not addressed first.

IMO the help needs to be matched to the individual. If some people don't feel they need help or are not ready to accept it then we need to respect that and find ways to coexist without making homelessness and poverty a crime.
 
Whenever these discussions come up, I usually hear someone say, “They want to be homeless” and yes, I agree with that. As a Trooper, I have spoken with them. I may ask them why are they sleeping under an underpass and tucked up inside where the steel meets the road. Their favorite reason is “Where else am I suppose to sleep?” I ask them, “Don’t you have a home?” I get the answer, “Heck no. I prefer living on the street.” Then, that leads into a lengthy discussion. Most of them think that I am going to take them to jail, or at least some are hoping I will. That way, they get a shower, clean clothes, fed and a cot for a few days.

But, that doesn’t happen. I ask them if they have a relative or friend in the area where I can drop them. If not, (and about 99% of them don’t), I ask them if they are hungry. I have never had anyone tell me NO. I will take them to a burger joint, (only because proprietors don’t want them inside their restaurant) and feed them and then ask them what’s their plans. If they shrug their shoulders or tell me they don’t have a plan, I will find out if there’s a homeless shelter in the area and if not, I either leave them, if they are good with that or take them to the closest Y or Salvation Army. Those 2 places have always been kind enough to assist them with getting cleaned up, fed and a night’s sleep.

There really isn’t anything else that I could have done. Putting them in jail is no answer. I think Vegas missed the fix for this problem.
 
Whenever these discussions come up, I usually hear someone say, “They want to be homeless” and yes, I agree with that. As a Trooper, I have spoken with them. I may ask them why are they sleeping under an underpass and tucked up inside where the steel meets the road. Their favorite reason is “Where else am I suppose to sleep?” I ask them, “Don’t you have a home?” I get the answer, “Heck no. I prefer living on the street.” Then, that leads into a lengthy discussion. Most of them think that I am going to take them to jail, or at least some are hoping I will. That way, they get a shower, clean clothes, fed and a cot for a few days.

But, that doesn’t happen. I ask them if they have a relative or friend in the area where I can drop them. If not, (and about 99% of them don’t), I ask them if they are hungry. I have never had anyone tell me NO. I will take them to a burger joint, (only because proprietors don’t want them inside their restaurant) and feed them and then ask them what’s their plans. If they shrug their shoulders or tell me they don’t have a plan, I will find out if there’s a homeless shelter in the area and if not, I either leave them, if they are good with that or take them to the closest Y or Salvation Army. Those 2 places have always been kind enough to assist them with getting cleaned up, fed and a night’s sleep.

There really isn’t anything else that I could have done. Putting them in jail is no answer. I think Vegas missed the fix for this problem.
Houston has done so much to alleviate homelessness! Very happy about that, and realize there's always a lot more to do:

https://www.searchhomeless.org/about/homelessness-in-houston/
 
Since the Las Vegas economy depends mainly on tourism getting homeless camped out on city streets makes sense. In the lead in of the article it mentions 6500 homeless in southern NV. It doesn't say 6500 homeless on city streets.

Then there is the picture showing a rural setting not city streets.

Overlooked is
"The city council said Las Vegas has committed $16 million to the Courtyard Homeless Resource Center, which provides housing and a range of other services to address chronic homelessness."

For article purposes wouldn't it make more sense to provide an estimate as to the amount that are camped out on city streets? Then follow up with how many want or will seek help at that resource center. Is there any doubt that those conditions are detrimental to the health of those living like that?

Liberty mentioned Houston. Reading about what was done reveals it wasn't done overnight & is ongoing.

"From 2011 – 2017, Houston has reduced overall homelessness in our community by 60%.
Despite our great progress, homelessness in our community remains an urgent issue. On any given day, approximately 3,400 individuals in Houston experience the trauma of homelessness. Over the course of a year, 36,000 individuals in our community will experience homelessness."
https://www.searchhomeless.org/about/homelessness-in-houston/
Considering the reduction numbers as a model, other cities could adopt what was done to achieve what has been accomplished so far.
 
We are fortunate here that we don't have those kind of homeless levels on our streets with Tent cities on the pavements and roadside ( we do have homeless of course but not in that same kind of way) . I remember the first time I saw that on TV I was horrified..!!

I would love to know how it is that with the huge expanse of land that the USA has that they can't build more affordable homes, or some kind of tent city for the genuine homeless.

However that would send us into a Political discussion, so I'll stop there..
 
We are fortunate here that we don't have those kind of homeless levels on our streets with Tent cities on the pavements and roadside ( we do have homeless of course but not in that same kind of way) . I remember the first time I saw that on TV I was horrified..!!

I would love to know how it is that with the huge expanse of land that the USA has that they can't build more affordable homes, or some kind of tent city for the genuine homeless.

However that would send us into a Political discussion, so I'll stop there.
I have similar thoughts when I read about people that are homeless in cities like, SanFrancisco, New York, etc... due to the high cost of living.

It seems like the obvious solution in those specific cases would be to pack up take a bus to a cheaper area and start over.
 
They are privately owned, & operated and they contract to the state / local jurisdiction . All the "problems" are theirs , they just bill the jurisdiction for the head count.
And just where might the state or local jurisdiction get their money?
 
They are privately owned, & operated and they contract to the state / local jurisdiction . All the "problems" are theirs , they just bill the jurisdiction for the head count.

No quite that simple, at least here it isn't. Private prisons have to obey state and federal laws as to treatment of inmates, etc., and the state is still ultimately responsible for the prisoners. Private prisons still have to undergo state and federal oversight and intervention, whether they like it not. Inmates are still in the custody of the DOC, not the private prisons.
 


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