Support for homelessness in Las Vegas is good but mental health issues need to be addressed

Las Vegas has ranked in the top 10 major U.S. cities for individuals experiencing homelessness over the past several years, according to a U.S. Housing and Urban Development report.

At any given moment in Clark County there are more than 6,400 homeless people living “unsheltered,” meaning living on the street, in encampments, cars, tunnels and other places not meant for human habitation. The number continues to rise and shows no signs of slowing.

Catholic Charities currently feeds on average 1,000 of the city’s most vulnerable men women and children on a daily basis and provides shelter for 500 men every single night, while providing a variety of additional programs and services that can aid in our client’s return as a contributing member of society. We need to focus together to bring the appropriate resources and thoughtfully address the fundamental problem at hand: it’s extremely hard to get a job, buy a home, to care for a family, or achieve any level of financial independence when you don’t first have the mental capacity to deal with the foundations of your own personal health and wellness.

According to survey data gathered by Clark County Social Services, approximately 50 percent of the individuals who pass through our doors self-identified with mental illness and addiction issues as both the root cause of their homelessness, keeping them unemployed and a fundamental reason for continuing this particular way of life.

In my personal experience as CEO of CCSN, I can tell you that the real number is significantly higher, since many of our clients are afraid to say anything for fear of being discovered by authorities even though it would actually help them to do so; that is the anxiety of mental illness in control of them.

This systemic problem continues to grow, considering there are virtually no focused mental health resources near Downtown Las Vegas and in the newly opened Corridor of Hope Courtyard. Mental health and addiction resources must be the key focus for the programming for the permanent Courtyard project.

Modeled after the Haven for Hope in San Antonio, the Corridor of Hope Courtyard is an effort by Las Vegas to begin providing navigation to various community services in the immediate area, known as the Corridor of Hope; of which Catholic Charities is a major part.

This is a fantastic step in the right direction. But, until we as a community have the courage and commitment to take a legitimate step to address the mental health and addiction issues facing Las Vegas and the surrounding areas with increased programing and resources, services provided by organizations like CCSN will only serve as a Band-Aid to a community problem that needs emergency surgery.

We as a community must begin taking steps to develop a program that has the capacity to perfectly marry primary homeless services, such as food and shelter, with medical and behavioral services. This would allow us to treat the whole individual and give them the best chance at success when they’re moving toward breaking the cycle of homelessness and obtaining gainful employment and housing.

Our community and the most vulnerable people that live here deserve a legitimate solution to these issues that treat the mentally and behaviorally fragile with dignity, respect and appropriate resources.

Deacon Tom Roberts is the President and CEO of Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada.

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