LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The non-profit Help of Southern Nevada said homelessness has gone up across the valley and is working on a daily to get people shelter and other resources to get them back on their feet.
"We are here to provide meaningful services to people that want them," said Louis Lacey, homeless response team.
On Tuesday morning, Alyssa Johnson, a regional outreach coordinator for the non-profit, along with other workers and homeless organizations, visited a homeless encampment in the valley's east side.
The organization conducted a "resource fair" hoping to get people off the streets and connect them with vital resources.
"These are showers, and these are our service providers providing services to our unhoused neighbors," said Lacey.
"They are able to come in, get IDs, get medical checks, take a shower, and do everything directly at their encampment without having to visit several different offices," said Johnson.
According to data from the homeless census, homelessness has been on the rise over the last three years.
In 2021, 5,083 people were experiencing homelessness in Southern Nevada that year.
The following year, in 2022, the number went up to 5,645.
In 2023, the number of people experiencing homelessness in Southern Nevada was 6,566.
According to a homeless encampment map provided by Help of Southern Nevada, the uptick is not just concentrated in one area of the valley, it's being felt across different parts of the community.
In a homeless encampment map from January of 2023, a large portion of the homeless community was located in the valley's northeast, east, and south sides.
But if you look at the same map in January of this year, you can see the community is spreading to the northwest, west, and southwest sides of the valley.
Johnson said the non-profit is also seeing an increase in more families needing help.
"Family homelessness is on the rise in general in the nation and a lot of that really has to do with the cost of rent and, I mean, the cost of childcare alone is absolutely ridiculous," said Johnson.
Despite some people rejecting help and/or not being ready to accept the help at that point in time, Johnson said she will continue to fight to get people the help they need.
"I like the feeling that I am actually making a difference in people's lives and changing them and that is something that keeps motivating me to come back to this and keep doing it"
She said the non-profit hosts resource fairs at some of the valley's largest homeless encampments once a month.
At Tuesday's outreach, they were able to get five people to shelters and connect three others to veteran programs.
