Nevada

Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada marks 85 years, now serving 4,500 daily

Published

3 days ago

April 16, 2026

Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada marks 85 years, now serving 4,500 daily

LAS VEGAS (KSNV) — Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada is marking 85 years of service on April 16th, a milestone that leaders say reflects both the organization’s growth and the region’s ongoing needs.

The nonprofit says it traces its early roots to Northern Nevada and later expanded into Southern Nevada to help people after the building of the Hoover Dam. Historical photos from the organization show its footprint widening over the decades as Las Vegas grew.

Today, Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada operates 16 programs and serves about 4,500 individuals every day, according to President and CEO Sara Ramirez, who adds the organization’s work is driven by three core values: families, food, and housing.

“No one promised us an easy life. If you have a solid family base around or support system around you, you’re more likely to overcome the crisis and not only overcome but overcome it quickly back to a state of normalcy,” Ramirez said.

On food security, Ramirez said, “Food is life and that is imperative regardless of whether your are a newborn child or a senior in our Meals on Wheels program.”

For housing stability, Ramirez noted the 400-bed men’s shelter and the St. Vincent Apartments, a 120-unit apartment complex on the Catholic Charities campus that provides a place to stay for people who are unhoused or facing housing instability.

The anniversary comes as Clark County awaits results from the annual point-in-time count, a census of people living without a permanent home that took place in January. The last census found nearly 8,000 people experiencing homelessness on a single night.

While the official count is still being tallied, Nicole Anderson, vice president of social services, described what she witnessed during the count.

“To go out in the community at 4, 5 in the morning, and intentionally look for people and see the areas they’re sleeping in; to see a young woman, under a blanket in a corner because that’s the only place she can stay warm, it’s heartbreaking,” Anderson said.

Anderson spoke with us in a classroom. “Clients work off these computers,” she said, describing the space where people can learn — or in some cases re-learn — employment skills, including how to interview, as they work to regain stability.

“They have to be ready, seeing them, make those changes and be confident again, and lean on these case managers and on each other, there’s a cool thing that happens naturally and organically,” Anderson said.

Ramirez also described what she called a growing trend of older people experiencing homelessness and shared what a daily meal can mean for someone struggling. “He had shared, Sara, my life is hard but for one hour every day, I can come to the dining hall, find a meal and find peace,” Ramirez said.

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Nevada

IN RESPONSE: Cortez Masto lands bill would keep the proceeds in Nevada

Published

2 hours ago

April 19, 2026

Press Room

IN RESPONSE: Cortez Masto lands bill would keep the proceeds in Nevada

A recent Review-Journal letter to the editor mischaracterized Sen. Catherine Cortez Masto’s Southern Nevada Economic Development and Conservation Act, also known as the Clark County Lands bill. As the former executive director of the Nevada Conservation League, I wholeheartedly support this legislation, so I wanted to set the record straight.

Sen. Cortez Masto has been working on this bill for years in partnership with state and local governments, conservation groups like the NCL and local area tribes. It’s true that the Clark County lands bill would open 25,000 acres to help Las Vegas grow responsibly, while setting aside 2 million acres for conservation. It would also help create more affordable housing throughout the valley while ensuring our treasured public spaces can be preserved for generations to come.

What is not correct is that the money from these land sales would go to the federal government’s coffers. In fact, the opposite is true.

The 1998 Southern Nevada Public Lands Management Act is a landmark bill that identified specific public land for future sale and created a special account ensuring all land sale revenues would come back to Nevada. In accordance with that law 5 percent of revenue from land transfers goes to the state of Nevada for general education purposes, 10 percent goes to the Southern Nevada Water Authority for needed water infrastructure and 85 percent supports conservation and environmental mitigation projects in Southern Nevada. This legislation has provided billions to Clark County and will continue to benefit generations of Southern Nevadans. Sen. Cortez Masto’s lands bill builds upon the act’s success.

So here’s the good news: All of the money generated from land made available for sale under Sen. Cortez Masto’s bill would be sent to the special account created by the 1998 law. Rather than going to an unaccountable federal government, the proceeds would continue to help kids in Vegas get a better education, bolster outdoor recreation and modernize Southern Nevada’s infrastructure.

I know how important it is that money generated from the sale of public land in Nevada stay in the hands of Nevadans, and so does the senator. That’s why she opposed a Republican effort last year to sell off 200,000 acres of land in Clark County and other areas of the country that would have sent those dollars directly to Washington.

Public land management in Nevada should benefit Nevadans. We should protect sacred cultural sites and beloved recreation spaces, responsibly transfer land for affordable housing when needed and ensure our state has the resources it needs to grow sustainably. I will continue working with Sen. Cortez Masto to advocate for legislation, such as the Clark County lands bill, that puts the needs of Nevadans first.

Paul Selberg writes from Las Vegas.

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