Annual survey provides snapshot of homeless in Clark County

It is known for the glamour and opulence of the Las Vegas Strip, but Clark County also had the U.S.’s eighth largest homeless population last year.

To determine where the county stacks up in 2018, hundreds of volunteers navigated sidewalks, vacant lots and drainage tunnels overnight Wednesday into Thursday to count the homeless as part of the annual census done across the country.

“A lot of people only know homelessness to be at Foremaster Lane and Main Street, or on Las Vegas Boulevard,” said Phillip Hollon, director of social services for The Salvation Army’s campus in North Las Vegas. “They don’t realize the hidden homeless are out here.”

Hollon and about 15 volunteers worked together to count homeless people sleeping around the “Corridor of Hope,” a stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard North where many homeless people congregate because of its proximity to Catholic Charities and other service providers.

With the distant neon glow of Downtown Las Vegas as their backdrop, the group passed dozens of blanket-covered bodies, clusters of tents and other makeshift shelters. Each was recorded, with distinctions made between men and women when possible.

Local homeless shelters also will submit counts of their populations from the same night; and a separate census for homeless youth is being done during school hours on Thursday.

The counts taking place nationwide this week and into early next are part of a mandatory effort by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development to estimate the country’s homeless population.

The 2017 census counted 6,490 homeless people in Clark County.

And while the county will not release the official numbers from this year’s census until the spring, Hollon said he expects even more people will be counted this year because it has been a dry winter.

“It’s ideal conditions for people who are going to be out on the street to be visible for us,” he said Wednesday night. “In past years we’ve seen some rain. We’ve seen some really cold conditions.”

Last year’s census found that for every one person sleeping in a local shelter at least two others were sleeping outdoors.

Mark Evans, a 43-year-old volunteer who intermittently lived on the street before staying at the Catholic Charities shelter, said he knows some people prefer sleeping outside. He’s still trying to wrap his head around it.

“No restrooms, no shower. I couldn’t do it,” he said. “It’s hell, man. It’s not fun.”

Contact Michael Scott Davidson at sdavidson@reviewjournal.com or 702-477-3861. Follow @davidsonlvrj on Twitter.