The Supreme Court recently sided with states like Nevada that have laws banning people from sleeping in public spaces. While Clark County and Southern Nevada cities has cleared homeless encampments, they’re spending millions of dollars every year to place people in temporary and permanent housing.
1. How does the Supreme Court ruling impact how people experiencing homelessness are treated in Clark County?
A: It might not be much of an impact. Nevada makes it a misdemeanor to camp or sleep on public or private property without permission.
What could have happened if the Supreme Court ruled the other way and said, you can’t have laws that ban people from sleeping in public spaces, is officials wouldn’t be able to clear out encampments, people could just continue to take over the spaces.
2. How many people are homeless and how much is Clark County spending on homeless services?
A: At its most recent count in January, Clark County had almost 8,000 homeless. That’s over 4,200 people found on the streets and over 3,700 who were at shelters, transitional housing and safe havens.
That almost 8,000 is higher than it has been in a decade — almost, 1,500 more than the year before.
The number increased 56% since 2021.
Clark County spends about $313 million a year on homeless services — emergency homeless shelters, transitional and permanent housing programs, and indigent nursing home care.
It receives $15 million annually from the federal government, the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
Then there’s the $100 million that the state legislature pledged to match if an organization designs and builds a homeless assistance facility to help people get permanent housing. That hasn’t gotten off the ground yet.
So, while Clark County has cleared out encampments, and the Supreme Court says they can continue to do so, they’re also putting a lot of money into housing people who need it.