The Homeless In Vegas

[Blonde4ever]

My New Vegas Bright Article
The Homeless In Vegas

http://www.vegasbright.com/2016/01/18/the-homeless-in-vegas/

[StatFreak]

I think your post is closer to a solution for individuals than you think. Why did you give that one man money and no one else?

I always say no to everyone -- except when I didn't. That one exception was a man looking for either a bus ticket to go to Reno looking for ranch work or for help finding a job. I ended up paying $40 for a hotel room at Fremont and driving him all the way out to Pahrump and back the next day because there was a rodeo and carnival out there and he was a 20-year carnie veteran and livestock person. He didn't get the job because they were full but not because he didn't give it the college try. Even the head boss was impressed enough to go into the trailer and try to find a spot for him. I bought him dinner in Pahrump and got him signed up for a players card for free play. He got lucky and hit a quad. I also hooked him up with a job placement place here in town. Ultimately, I don't know if it did any long-term good but I gave it my best shot.

Why him? First, he wasn't asking for a hand out, but a hand up. Second, like you, he touched my heart and I knew inside that he wasn't a scam artist.

Unfortunately, almost everyone you meet in this town with a sob story is a scammer. That's just the way it is. In the end, it is still best practice to say no and to walk away from almost everyone who has a story. In fact, the better the story, the faster one should walk away. Still, it behooves us to keep a sharp eye (and perhaps heart) open for that one honest exception in a sea of crooks.

[Bob B]

Good for you Stat. You are to be commended for your good deed. 

[Blonde4ever]

Thanks for sharing that story...and yes, that was a wonderful thing you did.

[uknowme]

Good for you Stat.

If you haven't driven down Main from the Plaza to Jerry's Nugget you haven't seen the homeless problem in Vegas.  The streets are lined with homeless camps.

Fresno has always had a big homeless problem too.  It never snows, rarely freezes and is less expensive to live than most of California....homeless people come here to live on the streets.  We had 300 - 400 people living in several of the worst encampments anyone had ever seen in the US and thousands of people in total.  In the last 2 years, we've cut the homeless population by 55% via a public/private partnership that has made all the difference.  We hope to eliminate chronic homelessness in Fresno in the next 2 years.

Our Mayor has led the campaign to eliminate homelessness.  We created an organization, Fresno First Steps Home that raises funds for the effort.  We have a public/private partnership focused on the problem.  The key has been getting people off the streets and into housing immediately.  Each individual works with a "Homeless Navigator" to first get them off the streets and then to resolve the laundry list of issues that created the problem in the first place.  The longer you're on the streets, the harder it is to return to society.

And that leads me to my real point.  The organizations working the issue here don't want us to give Fresno homeless people money because it just extends their life on the streets and postpones the real help they need to break the cycle of chronic homelessness.    Stat was acting as the Navigator to really help that man...kudos to him....that's what most of these folks need.   It goes a lot further than a five dollar bill or spare change.

http://fresnofirststepshome.org/