Las Vegas NowNumber of Las Vegas Homeless Jumps

Number of Las Vegas Homeless Jumps

There are almost 2,000 more people living on streets in Las Vegas than there were two years ago and more than half of them have been homeless for less than six months.

The results of the new homeless census are in and county leaders say the economy is to blame for the higher numbers.

Tents still line the streets of Main and Foremaster, even though the number of homeless living in them has gone down. But shelters saw an 80-percent increase in the last two years.

"People can't afford to hardly live anymore. It's a choice you make, pay rent or live on the street," said Harry Batiste.

The number one reason people are homeless is unemployment.

Batiste fell victim to the recession and has been living at the Salvation Army for the last few months, "I'm a concrete finisher by trade. I'm a construction worker and when the construction field started to go, I was the first to go because I was new to the area."

According to the new census, 13,338 people are homeless compared to the 11,417 in 2007. The county's two largest shelters, Catholic Charities and the Salvation Army, only have a total of 552 beds.

"How are you going to punish somebody because they're poor? How are you going to punish somebody because they're broke? How are you going to punish a father that lost his job, or a mother that lost her job because they're poor? What are you going to do with their kids, bill all the taxpayers for it?" asked Batiste.

Clark County Commissioner Rory Reid said he hopes some of the federal stimulus money Nevada is scheduled to get will go to social services.