As Nevada’s unhoused population grows, some cities crack down on where to sleep – KNPR

We’ve all encountered cost-of-living increases. Since the pandemic, everything has gotten more and more expensive: gasoline, food, childcare.

However, rent might have seen the most drastic increase. During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, average rent in the Las Vegas Valley increased by $300.

So, what happens when you can’t pay? You’re evicted, and potentially become a new member of Nevada’s growing unhoused population. 

Southern Nevada experienced a 16% increase in the number of unhoused people over the past year. And with more people on the streets, both Las Vegas and Henderson now have anti-encampment laws. Sleeping or camping on public streets can net someone a $1,000 fine or up to six months in jail.

In September, Las Vegas and Henderson also joined 13 other Western states, supporting a petition to the U.S. Supreme Court to overturn two previous circuit court decisions that deemed similar anti-encampment laws unconstitutional. 

The cities say those rulings hurt their ability to address homelessness. Others say overturning those decisions would further criminalize homelessness.

Is there a middle ground? Should cities have the right to sweep homeless camps off sidewalks and public areas? Will it improve or make the situation worse? 

Homelessness in Southern Nevada, by the numbers:  

• This year’s Point-in-Time (PIT) Count found 6,566 people staying in shelters or on the streets on January 25, 2023 — That’s up 16% from last year’s count  
• That same Homeless Census estimated there would be over 16,000 Las Vegans who would experience homelessness at some point during 2023, up from 14,000 last year  
• 2023 marked the highest number of unhoused recorded by the PIT Count since 2018  
• Of those numbers, 15% were veterans, 5% were unaccompanied minors, and 12% were families with children (Help Hope Home)  
• Nevada has the 9th highest homeless rate in the nation (Security.org)  

Local law, as it stands now:  

• The City of Las Vegas’ encampment ordinance was passed on a 5-2 vote by the City Council in November 2019, with criminal provisions going into effect on February 1, 2020  
• LV’s ordinance makes it a misdemeanor to camp or sleep on public sidewalks or streets when shelter beds are available  
• Penalties are up to 6 months in jail and a $1,000 fine  
• The City of Henderson adopted an ordinance this June similar to Las Vegas’, which makes it a crime punishable by a $1,000 fine or 6 months in jail to sleep, cook, or camp on the streets when shelter beds are open  

National law, as it stands now:  

• In 2022, in Johnson v. City of Grants Pass (Oregon), the 9th Circuit Court ruled in favor of unhoused people, overturning a law that jailed and fined people for living on the streets, even if there was no shelter space available  
• In 2018, in Martin v. City of Boise (Idaho), the court ruled the same: that it’s unconstitutional to punish unhoused people for sleeping on the streets when there are no shelter beds open  
• Henderson and Vegas were among the 15 Western cities to put their names on an amicus curiae brief to the U.S. Supreme Court, submitted September 25, seeking the overturning of both Martin and Johnson  

Guests: Michael Lyle, reporter, Nevada Current; Merideth Spriggs, chief kindness officer, Caridad; Christopher Peterson, legal director, ACLU of Nevada

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