Housing Availability and Homelessness in Nevada*

Introduction

Housing availability is a crucial issue for most citizens, and it serves as a basic indicator of quality of life in a region. The United States has a long history of programs encouraging access to housing. The Homesteading Act of 1862 helped develop the Western United States, and it continues today. The act originally allowed 160 acres of land to be given to a citizen through a lottery, provided that he or she make improvements to the property, including clearing a portion of the land, building a house, and paying land tax. The G.I. Bill of Rights, signed in 1944, also helped many families afford a home after World War II. However, housing has not always been available for all citizens in search of the American dream.

The original thirteen colonies received many homeless people from Britain, immigrants who worked mostly as laborers and servants. In colonial America, homeless transients were occasionally provided with “outdoor relief,” but at other times they faced difficulties while petitioning communities for settlement rights. Researchers agree that homelessness increased dramatically in the U.S. following the Civil War and during the Great Depression. The rise of the “hobo” – homeless vagrants – corresponded with the period of Western expansion in the U.S, as migrant workers traveled the country by railroad and returned to “main stem” areas (in cities like Chicago) where cheap housing and services were centralized.

Homelessness decreased dramatically during World Wars I and II, as formerly homeless men were recruited for the war efforts. Veteran’s assistance was implemented after World War II, the main reason why the number of homeless people did not grow substantially after the war. “Skid-row” areas in cities began slow development, and then saw declines in the 1960s. Homelessness across the U.S. went unexpectedly up in the 1980s. The characteristics of homeless people changed as well. Homeless people were becoming younger, more ethnically diverse, better educated, with more women and whole families failing to find suitable housing. Homeless people were now more visible in urban areas across the country (Snow and Anderson 1993).

The U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) is a federal agency currently working to increase homeownership, assist in community development, and reduce housing discrimination. The agency was formed in 1965 to replace the Housing and Home Finance Agency. HUD’s programs provide housing assistance to the most vulnerable and marginalized citizens in the U.S., including elderly, disabled, low-income, and homeless people.

In 1987, the Federal government initiated the Stewart B. McKinney Homeless Assistance Act which provided billions of dollars for many housing and homeless service programs. In 1990, the Section 811 of the Supportive Housing for Persons with Disabilities Program was created by Congress to provide permanent housing for disabled people who might otherwise have difficulty attaining it.

Three federal agencies now work together on issues related to housing and homelessness – the U. S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). In 2002, HUD Secretary Mel Martinez announced the Bush Administration’s plan to help homeless people. National in scope, the plan promoted a “multi-faceted approach toward meeting the goal of ending chronic homelessness in America” and called for a close collaboration between all three agencies involved with housing issues (O’Hara 2003, n.p.).

Since President Bush told Congress in 2002 that a new ten-year plan to end homelessness in the U.S. would be a top priority for his administration, cities across the U.S. have developed or began to develop their own long-term plans to end homelessness. In January 2005, Nevada Governor Kenny Guinn issued an executive order creating the Nevada Interagency Council on Homelessness. The council works to bring together business, state agencies, nonprofits and other organizations that will prepare annual reports on homelessness and make recommendations to the governor.

Housing Availability in the U.S. and Nevada

Housing has been less available and more prohibitively priced throughout the nation in heavily populated urban areas, on the northeastern coast and, more recently, on the northwestern and southwestern coast. Large portions of Nevada have historically been affordable areas to purchase land and develop homes. The state’s harsh climate is largely responsible for the fact that many Nevada counties have low population density. In 2000, the U.S. Census Bureau ranked counties across the country by fewest people per square mile. The survey revealed the Silver State to be among the least populate in the nation (U.S. Census Bureau County and City Data Book, 2000).

• Esmeralda County, Nevada, tied with six other counties in the U.S. as the seventh least populated county.
• Nevada’s Eureka County and Lincoln County tied with seven other counties in the U.S. as the fourteenth least populated counties.

At the same time, there are areas in Nevada where population growth and building have surged. According to the U.S. Census Bureau,

• Nye County and Clark County are the seventh and twenty-second ranked counties, respectively, with the highest percent change in households from 1990 to 2000.
• Nevada has posted the highest percent of population change by state in the nation from 1990 to 2000, with a 66.3 percent population gain.
• Clark County was the second ranked county in the nation by the number of new private housing building permits issued in 2000.

Although the price of rented and owned housing varies greatly from state to state and city to city, most regions in the U.S. have posted impressive gains since 1998.

• San Diego, New York, Miami, and Los Angeles saw the value of an average family home nearly double since 2000.
• Though not as dramatic, the rest of the country has followed suite: twenty years ago, the average price of a middle-range home equaled about five years of income for the house-holder, while today that price represents nearly eight years of income.
• The cost of living index published in 2004 by the American Chamber of Commerce Researchers Association rated Las Vegas housing as 122.5 (a baseline national average is 100). This is a substantial jump from Las Vegas’ 2003 ranking of 96.6.
• In Reno/Sparks, the housing index for 2004 was 114.7.
• According a 2004 report by the Office of Federal Housing Enterprise Oversight, Nevada had the greatest housing appreciation in the country, standing at 32.4 percent (Smith 2005a).
• Although Las Vegas/Paradise has the second highest housing appreciation in the U.S in the first quarter of 2005, the area dropped to twenty-first in the nation by the second quarter.
• Reno/Sparks had the fourth-highest housing appreciation rate in the U.S. in the second quarter of 2005, falling one spot from the third-highest in the previous quarter (Shubinski 2005b).

Overpricing is starkly evident in Southern Nevada where over 71% of the state’s population now lives (Center for Business and Economic Research 2005).

• On August 17, 2005, www.Economy.com listed Las Vegas as the 18th most overpriced housing market in the country.
• The growth rate for Las Vegas fell from 48.7 percent in 2004 to 11.2 percent by middle 2005, perhaps reflecting the prior overpricing.
• By August 2005, the median sale price for a single family home in Las Vegas set a new record at $309,000, up fifty dollars from the previous month (Smith 2005b).

Such trends represent dramatic changes for Southern Nevada, where the previous availability of reasonably priced houses allowed service industry workers to achieve home ownership. As the majority of jobs in Southern Nevada are in the service sector, it is useful to contrast the cost of housing compared to the average income and average worker’s ability to pay. The National Low Income Housing Coalition, a research organization that ranks states in terms of housing affordability, found the following trends in Nevada:

• Nevada ranks 9th nationally among the least affordable housing markets in the U.S.
• Fair Market rent for a two bedroom unit in the state is $880; for a one bedroom unit the rate is $770.
• Nevada’s Housing Wage is $16.92, which represents the hourly wage someone working a 40 hour work week must earn to afford a two-bedroom unit at Fair Market rent.
• A worker earning Minimum Wage in the state ($5.15 an hour) would have to work 131 hours per week to afford a two-bedroom unit at Fair Market rent.
• If housing would cost no more than thirty percent of a person’s income – the baseline representing affordable housing in the U.S. – a minimum wage worker should only pay $268 a month for a Fair Market Rent two-bedroom unit.
• An extremely low income household in Nevada – one earning $16,923, or 30% of the Area Median Income of $56,412 – should afford monthly rent of no more than $423.
• An SSI recipient with $600 monthly payment could afford rent of no more than $180 a month.

Homelessness is not always linked to housing availability, yet there is a correlation between the cost of living and the rate of homelessness in a region. Changing values of property and rates of population are easier to document than are changing rates of homelessness.

Homelessness in the U.S. and Nevada

Counting homeless people across a state or country is not an easy exercise, as government agencies and independent researchers agree (Hopper 2003; Ropers 1988; Snow and Anderson 1993).

• First, homeless people are by definition nomadic. To paraphrase homeless advocate Mitch Snyder, trying to count homeless people is like trying to count the grains of sand on a beach as the tide rolls in and out.
• Second, there is no consensus among researchers as to how homelessness should be operationally defined. The number of homeless people “found” in a given study will therefore depend on what “counts” as homelessness (is a person with no rental contract sleeping on your couch homeless?).
• Third, some homeless people avoid social services and outreach programs, rendering them “invisible” to government bureaucracies responsible for counting citizens.

Despite such issues, researchers across the U.S. persevere in their efforts to count and assess the characteristics of homeless people.

• In 1993, Snow and Anderson indicated that between 250,000 and 3 million people might be homeless on any given night (the former figure is based on HUD calculations, the latter comes from Hombs and Snyder, 1982, though these two authors do not provide a clear basis for their calculations).
• More recently, O’Hara has estimated that between 700,000 and 800,000 people are homeless on any given night.
• Over the course of a year, between 2.5 and 3.5 million people will experience homelessness in the U.S.

In 2000, The U.S. Census Bureau issued a report based on counts of those living in emergency and transitional shelters across the U.S. Although not a true count of all those who could be considered homeless, the report provides some state-level information about people without traditional housing.

• Nevada had 1,553 people living in shelters in 2000. Of those, 188 were under 18 and 1,365 were over 18; 1,158 were male and 395 were feale. The total number of people in emergency and transitional shelters was 170,706.
• Nevada’s figure of 1,553 people represents 0.9% of people in emergency and transitional housing counted across the U.S., up from 0.6% of the total population in 1990.
• 1,013 people were living in Nevada shelters in 1990 (Smith and Smith 2001).

Now if we compare the Nevada figures with those of other states in the year 2000, we can see that

• New York had 18.7 of the total number of people in emergency and transitional shelters across the U.S., California had 16.2 percent, and Texas was third with 4.5 percent.
• North Dakota and Vermont tied in 2000 for the lowest percent of the total number of people in emergency and transitional shelters across the U.S., with 0.1 percent. South Dakota and Wyoming tied for the second lowest, with 0.2 percent each.
• While California’s percentage of people in emergency and transitional shelters dropped by 10% percent from 1990 to 2000, next-door neighbors Nevada and Utah saw an increase of 0.3% and 0.4% respectively in the same period.
• Arizona’s percentage declined by 0.1% during this period. (Smith and Smith 2001)

A statewide Nevada survey conducted on January 27, 2005, revealed that

• Over 19,000 people in Nevada are homeless.
• Approximately 13,000 homeless people were counted in Las Vegas .
• 2,430 homeless people live in the Reno/Sparks area.
• 3,527 homeless people were counted in the rest of the state. ( Dornan 2005)

Officials conducting the survey acknowledged that despite their earnest efforts, there were undoubtedly many more homeless people who did not make the count.

Comparing Nevada regions, we can see that the largest increase in homelessness in the state is likely occurring in Southern Nevada. A survey that UNLV sociologist Frederick Preston conducted in 2004 for the U.S. Census Bureau found that Clark County had 12,949 homeless people.

While this appears to represent a 64% percent increase in the number from the previous year’s figure of 7,877, the 2004 figure should also be understood as a political artifact of changing definitions of who counts as homeless (Hopper 2003). The U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development allowed the 2004 figure to include people who were “doubled up,” or who share housing because they are too poor to live alone (Casey 2005).

Criminalizing Homelessness and Demographic Trends

As Joanne Passaro (1996) has noted, U.S. citizens have no federal right to shelter. Federal welfare funds have been cut in the last twenty years, leaving cities to deal with the problem of homelessness on a regional level. Rather than investing in social services, which some critics believe attract impoverished people, many cities chose to criminalize homeless living. The practice has become a popular tactic in many regions, especially in urban areas, as a way to reduce visible homelessness by stigmatizing homeless people, shaming them into oblivion. Taking note of this trend, civil libertarians now work with groups such as the National Coalition for the Homeless in documenting cities that resorted to a particularly aggressive tactic designed to criminalize homeless people.

As a state heavily dependent on tourist revenue, Nevada works hard to maintain its public image. The underside of this endeavor has been the drive to criminalize homelessness. The effort to sanitize its public image is particularly strong in Southern Nevada. In 2004, the National Coalition for the Homeless issued a report based on quantitative and qualitative data from 179 communities in 48 states, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. Nevada received low marks in this survey.

• The report ranked Las Vegas as the fourth meanest city in the United States for its handling of homeless people.
• That is an improvement, however, for just a year earlier, Las Vegas had earned the title of the meanest city in the U.S. for its heavy-handed approach to the problem of homelessness in the city.

The survey administrators weighed several factors in evaluating the seriousness of the problem, including

• the presence of anti-homeless laws in a given locality;
• the harshness of law enforcement efforts and the severity of penalties;
• the general attitude toward homeless people in the area;
• a consensus among local activists about the seriousness of the area problem;
• a history of criminalization of homelessness by the city or pending criminal legislation. (National Coalition for the Homeless 2005)

As long as there is no federal right to shelter and stigmatizing the homeless is seen as a cheaper alternative, tourist-oriented cities like Las Vegas, New York, San Francisco, and Seattle are likely to pursue the policy of criminalizing homelessness.

As it is both important yet difficult to accurately count homeless people, so too is it important yet difficult to accurately determine their demographic characteristics. It is commonly believed that a large number of homeless people are mentally ill. There is a consensus that approximately 30% of homeless people experience some form of mental illness in the U.S., though many researchers note that such figures depend on how mental health is defined and that homelessness itself is not a normal form of existence (Snow and Anderson 1993). Although it is impossible to know how much mental illness influences the occurrence of homelessness, at least one homeless services provider in Las Vegas urges that helping such individuals is one of the biggest challenges facing those working with the homeless population (Borchard 2005).

The results of one survey of 1,800 people conducted during the “Stand Down for the Homeless,” held in Las Vegas in November 2004, reveals the following demographic characteristics of homeless people in Southern Nevada.

• 35 percent were high school graduates, and 20 percent had college or trade school training.
• About 30 percent were veterans.
• Almost 85 percent were currently unemployed.
• Over 50 percent were Caucasian.
• The average respondent was 44 years old. (Burns 2005)

Asked about their ability to access basic amenities, the respondents provided these answers:

• Nearly one third of respondents said they did not have access to a bathroom.
• Nearly one fourth of respondents said they did not have access to clean drinking water. (Burns 2005)

What to Do If You Are a Homeless Person or Wish to Help One

A list of community resources at the end of this chapter describes organizations where a homeless person or a volunteer can turn to receive or provide help in different regions of the state. In Las Vegas, most of these are located in the “homeless corridor,” which is between A Street, Las Vegas Boulevard, Bonanza Road, and Owens Avenue. Regardless of city or county, homeless people often say that the best source of current information on services and hours of operation is the “street network” of other homeless people. Although recently homeless people might sometimes avoid associating with other homeless people, fellow street people are usually in the best position to evaluate local resources and give practical advice (Borchard 2005).

If you want to help a homeless person you know, start by acknowledging that person. Homelessness can cause a person to feel painfully isolated, wary of others, and depressed. Our culture tends to “blame the victim” for his, and somewhat less frequently, her homelessness. People without homes, especially in public view, are typically treated as a nuisance rather than a full-fledged person (Burns 2005). Even if you can’t offer money or food, positive human contact – especially talking with someone – can help.

If you are uncomfortable offering money directly to a homeless person, offer him or her food. As dental problems are common among homeless people, offering soft food is best.

Those wanting to volunteer to help homeless people or donate directly to specific agencies can contact any of those listed in the community resources section of this chapter.

Agenda for the Future

Until 1998, housing prices were reasonable in Las Vegas and Reno. The market situation has changed dramatically since then.

• The price of vacant lots in Las Vegas has topped $600,000 an acre in 2005.
• The most expensive high-rise condominiums planned around the Las Vegas Strip are running from $450 to $1000 per square foot (Smith 2005c).
• Two Nevada Zip codes were listed in Forbes Magazine among the top ten most expensive in the U.S. for 2005 – Crystal Bay (89402) was the 7th most expensive, and Glenbrook (89413) was the 9th.
• Over 80 high-rise towers are currently being built or are planned to be built on or near the Las Vegas Strip.

A surge in the cost of housing in the Las Vegas and Reno areas has raised the question of whether the people employed in the service sector will be able to continue to reside and work in the state. The decline in affordable housing is a challenge to Nevada and its many residents. The explosion of high-rise building in Las Vegas has been called “the Manhattanization of Las Vegas” (Rothman 2005). A process of gentrification now sweeping through Southern Nevada will displace thousands of low-income renters. Land that currently holds mobile homes is being purchased by developers, which results in the displacement of local residents (Hubble 2005d, Kim Bach 2005). Unless dramatic steps are taken by local government officials, the city risks pricing those that work in the service industry – the city’s dominant job sector – out of the area housing market. The decline of affordable housing stock is also evident in the Reno/Sparks area, albeit the change is less dramatic.

Kim Hopper (2003) has applied the term “abeyance” to refer to a mismatch between a limited resource, such as housing, and all those people who cannot attain it. In cities like New York, “doubling up” became more widespread in the 1900s, as housing became harder to afford. Hopper also notes that local authorities became more willing to close their eyes on the illegal housing practices, such as overcrowding and the rental of units not designed for human habitation. It is not too far fetched to imagine such scenarios playing themselves out in Southern Nevada if the decline of affordable housing stock in the city continues.

Here are two recommendations that might help reduce the surge in housing prices in Las Vegas and Reno:

• Support tax reform to reduce tax breaks on mortgage interest for people purchasing second residences or spending over one million dollars on housing.
• Encourage legal reform or tax penalties to reduce “flipping,” or the purchase of property that is quickly sold for a profit.

A panel appointed by President Bush is searching for ways to modify tax deductions for mortgage interest (Felsenthal 2005). Although some fear that such a change will bring the price of housing down, this seems to be needed in parts of Nevada. An increased availability of lower-priced homes might also increase Nevada’s rate of home ownership, which is lower than the national average.

Conclusion

Much of Nevada’s future economic health is contingent on housing availability. As Wyndham President and Chief Executive Officer William Hettinger pointed out, Nevada is facing a serious situation: “Skyrocketing prices of second homes drive up all housing costs, forcing year-round residents to move. Local businesses can’t find or keep workers as rents become unaffordable. As a result, communities risk losing the sense of community and quality-of-life benefits that made them attractive in the first place” (Smith 2005, n.p.).

The situation is much worse for thousands of homeless persons living on streets and in the shelters of Reno and Las Vegas. In the case of Las Vegas, the city’s solution to increasing homelessness has been criminalizing homelessness, and shunning the homeless people to shelters in what has been called the “homeless corridor.” The skyrocketing housing prices will widen the gap between the haves and the have-nots in Nevada and sap its vitality by undermining the service worker’s ability to find housing close to their employment.

Policies aimed to stigmatize and criminalize homelessness are likely to backfire as well. The state, particularly in its tourist friendly cities, would be wise to look for ways to make social investments that can counter the rising cost of housing for service workers and to alleviate the plight of the homeless.

Data Sources and Suggested Readings

Amster, Randall. 2003. Patterns of Exclusion: Sanitizing Space, Criminalizing Homelessness. Social Justice 30.

Borchard, Kurt. 2005. The Word on the Street: Homeless Men in Las Vegas. Reno: University of Nevada Press.

Burns, Shayna. 2005. Statistics Revealed on Homeless.Rebel Yell, 10 March.

Casey, Juliet V. 2005. Shift Seen in Homeless Count. Las Vegas Review-Journal, 24 February.

Center for Business and Economic Research, University of Nevada-Las Vegas. 2005. ClarkCounty and Nevada Populations, 1970-2004. Retrieved October 3, 2005 from: http://cber.unlv.edu/pop.html.

Dornan, Geoff. 2005. Growing homeless population gets attention in Legislature. Nevada Appeal. 22 February.

Felsenthal, Mark. 2005. U.S. panel mulls caps on tax deductions. Boston Globe. 12 October. Retrieved Oct. 3, 2005 , from
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/10/12/us_panel_mulls_caps_on_tax_deductions/.

Homes, Mary Ellen, and Mitch Snyder. 1992. Homeless in America: A Forced March to Nowhere. Washington, D.C.: Community for Creative Nonviolence.

Hopper, Kim. 2003. Reckoning with Homelessness. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.

Kim Bach, Lisa. 2005. More Mobile Home Owners Must Move. Las Vegas Review-Journal. 25 September.

Lufrano, Jill. 2004. Carson 's Homeless: Few options available for the estimated 1,510 homeless in Carson City. Nevada Appeal. 20 June.

National Alliance to End Homelessness. 2005. Retrieved September 17, 2005 from: http://www.endhomelessness.org/pub/tenyear/demograp.htm.

National Coalition for the Homeless. 2005. Retrieved October 3, 2005 from: http://www.nationalhomeless.org/.

National Low Income Housing Coalition (NLIHC). Retrieved September 17, 2005 from: http://www.nlihc.org/.

O’Hara, Ann. 2003. Permanent Supportive Housing: A Proven Solution to Homelessness. Opening Doors A Housing Publication for the Disability Community. January: Issue 20. Retrieved September 27, 2005, from: http://www.c-c-d.org/od-Jan03.html.

Passaro, Joanne. 1996. The Unequal Homeless: Men on the Streets, Women in Their Place. New York: Routledge.

Ropers, Richard H. 1988. The Invisible Homeless: A New Urban Ecology. New York: Human Sciences Press.

Rothman, Hal. 2005. Manhattanization: Beyond their Reach. Las Vegas Review-Journal. 25 September.

Shubinski, Jennifer. 2005. Why You Can’t Buy a House in Las Vegas. Las Vegas Sun, 2 October, P. 8.

Shubinski, Jennifer. 2005b. Las Vegas plummets in housing appreciation for second quarter. Las Vegas Sun. 27 March Retrived September 17, 2005, from http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Mar-27-Sun-2005/news/26145726.html

Smith, Hubble. 2005a. COST OF LIVING: State losing ground in affordability. Las Vegas Review-Journal. 27 March. Retrieved September 17, 2005, from: http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Mar-27-Sun-2005/news/26145726.html.

Smith, Hubble. 2005b. No Signs of Slowdown; Home Prices Set Record. Las Vegas Review-Journal. 9 September. Retrieved September 17, 2005, from: http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Sep-09-Fri-2005/business/3280245.html

Smith, Hubble. 2005c. High Rises, High Doubts. Las Vegas Review-Journal, 29 September. Retrieved October 16, 2005, from: http://www.reviewjournal.com/lvrj_home/2005/Sep-29-Thu-2005/business/3552910.html.

Smith, Hubble. 2005d. Vacant Acre Lot Tops $600K. Las Vegas Review-Journal, 30 September. Page 1A, 10A.

Smith, Annetta C., and Denise I. Smith. 2001. Emergency and Transitional Shelter Population, 2000. Washington, DC : U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Economics and Statistics Administration, U.S. Census Bureau. Retrieved October 8, 2005, from:
http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/censr01-2.pdf.

Snow, David, and Leon Anderson. 1993. Down on Their Luck: A Study of Homeless Street People. Berkeley: University of California Press.

U.S. Census Bureau. 2001. Emergency and Transitional Housing Population: 2000. Retrieved September 27, 2005. Available: http://www.census.gov/prod/2001pubs/censr01-2.pdf.

Community Resources

The Housing and Urban Development (HUD) website (http://www.hud.gov/local/nv) has information on subsidized apartments, how to purchase HUD homes, and how to file housing discrimination complaints. A listing of most of the state’s homeless shelters and soup kitchens (divided by what population the facilities serve) can also be found on their website, http://www.hud.gov/local/nv/homeless/shelters.cfm.

HELP of Southern Nevada provided a range of assistance last year to individuals and families, including food, clothing, shelter, bus tokens, gasoline, rental assistance and utility assistance. They are located at 1640 E. Flamingo Road #100, Las Vegas, NV 89119. Tel. 702-369-4357, Email info@helpsonv.org. Office hours are Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM - 4:00 PM.

Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada, serving Clark, Esmeralda, Nye, Lincoln, and White Pines counties, provides a range of services for homeless men, women and children. These include transitional housing, emergency beds, employment services, residential work programs, St. Vincent’s apartments and dining facility. For more information, visit their Administrative Office at 1501 Las Vegas Boulevard North Las Vegas, NV 89101  or call 702-385-2662. Their office hours are Monday – Friday, 8:00 AM - 4:30 PM.

Homeless Veterans needing medical assistance should contact the Homeless Veterans Community Based Outreach Clinic A. The clinic is located at 900 W. Owens Avenue, Las Vegas, NV 89106. Tel. 702-386-3140.

The Salvation Army at 35 W. Owens Avenue in Las Vegas participates in the PATH (Projects for Assistance in Transition from Homelessness) program, which means that they receive funding for programs helping people with serious mental illness. A Safe Haven building was constructed in 1999 specifically to help those with serious mental illness. Tel. 702-642-0727.

The Shade Tree (1 W. Owens, North Las Vegas, NV) is a 24 hour emergency shelter for homeless women and women with children in crisis. Over 16,000 clients have been served since Shade Tree opened its doors in 1990. Tel. 702-385-0072, URL: http://www.theshadetree.org.

Las Vegas Rescue Mission, located at 480 West Bonanza Road, Las Vegas, NV 89106-3227, provides shelter. Their phone number is (702) 382-1766, and their web address is http://www.vegasrescue.org.

Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission has a men’s and women’s shelter. For more information, visit them at 145 W. Third Street, Reno, NV 89513-5956, or call 702-323-0386.

In Carson City, Nevada, a men’s shelter is run by Friends in Service Helping (FISH).
It is located at 138 East Long Street.

 
This report was prepared by Dr. Kurt Borchard, Associate Professor, University of Nebraska at Kearney.

I wish to thank Dr. Dmitri Shalin, Director, UNLV Center for Democratic Culture, for his assistance. This report was written while the author was on Professional Development Leave from his home institution. I wish to thank the University of Nebraska at Kearney and the UNK Graduate Studies Office for their financial and technical support.

Supplementary Materials

Table 1

Table 2

Table 3.

Table 4.

*This report stems from the Justice & Democracy forum on the Leading Social Indicators in Nevada that took place on November 5, 2004, at the William S. Boyd School of Law. The report, the first of its kind for the Silver State, has been a collaborative effort of the University of Nevada faculty, Clark County professionals, and state of Nevada officials. The Social Health of Nevada report was made possible in part by a Planning Initiative Award that the Center for Democratic Culture received from the UNLV President's office for its project "Civic Culture Initiative for the City of Las Vegas." Individual chapters are brought on line as they become avaialble. For further inquiries, please contact authors responsible for individual reports or email CDC Director, Dr. Dmitri Shalin shalin@unlv.nevada.edu.