Nevada

Homelessness rates in Southern Nevada up 36% over past two years

Published

1 week ago

September 5, 2024

Homelessness rates in Southern Nevada up 36% over past two years

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — The number of people facing homelessness in Southern Nevada continues to grow.

On Wednesday, Clark County released the results of their annual census, which was carried out by volunteers on Jan. 25, 2024.

On any given night, 7,906 people in Clark County are experiencing homelessness. That’s a 20% jump compared to 2023 and a 36% jump compared to 2022.

Clark County

According to county data, the most impacted groups are women, African Americans, and those between 35 and 44 years old.

County officials add that while individuals experiencing homelessness currently represent less than 1% of the overall population, the number of people and proportion relative to the total population have been rising.

Those trends “indicate a potential shift towards increased homelessness” and allow county officials to plan for the future, including putting proactive measures in place like adding additional shelter locations and adding affordable housing and permanent supportive housing programs.

How do we compare to other cities?

When looking at national data, Las Vegas is number 11 when it comes to the largest population of those experiencing homelessness on a single night.

(Note: Las Vegas numbers include those people in shelters as well as people on the street. Other major cities ranked lower on the list below only provided shelter-only counts. Based on shelter-only rates, Las Vegas would rank in the 20 to 25 range.)

What is causing homeless rates to go up in Southern Nevada?

One of the biggest factors in the rise of homeless rates is housing affordability and income.

For example, between 2021 and 2022, median household prices surged by over 35%, according to Clark County. Officials add that income did increase but was “comparatively slower, growing at approximately half the rate of the surge in median household prices and Fair Market Rents.”

That tracks with data from the Princeton University Eviction Lab, which tracks housing and rent costs across the country.

Over the past year, there have been 51,825 eviction filings in Las Vegas, which is up 42%, compared to an average year before the COVID-19 pandemic. Looking closer, there have been 4,983 eviction filings in just the last month, which is up 63%, compared to an average year before the COVID-19 pandemic.

Many of those evictions are in the central or eastern part of the valley.

Princeton researchers say the data in Clark County is likely an undercount because those records “are only available with a delay”.

What are valley officials doing to help those experiencing homelessness?

In Clark County, there are 9,013 total beds for people experiencing homelessness. That number includes emergency shelters, transitional housing, permanent supportive housing, other than permanent housing, and rapid rehousing.

According to the 2024 census data, only 7,635 of those beds were used on any given night, or about 85%

Clark County has been looking for ways to add beds and last year, they opened the Clark County Navigation Center. A former Motel 6 was converted into temporary housing for up to 70 people. The Vintage Safari Motel was also converted into transitional housing.

WATCH: Vacant motel transformed into Betterment Community for homeless populations in Las Vegas

Vacant Las Vegas motel transforms into shelter for homeless Nevadans

In response to the 2023 homeless census, Clark County also added non-congregate shelter beds to help individuals find safer and more suitable accommodations and get more people off the street.

In May, Clark County commissioners approved over $66 million in funds to go towards constructing and rehabilitating affordable housing units for low to extremely low-income residents. That round of funding is going to nine projects, which will create 1,273 units.

The City of Las Vegas also has the Courtyard Homeless Resource Center, which has case managers to help people navigate the resources they need to get off the streets. That includes a computer lab, medical care, laundry room, showers, bathrooms, and a kennel for people’s animals.

The Courtyard also has a free Arrow shuttle that transports people to service providers such as the DMV, Nevada Job Connect, and the Goodwill Career Center.

Las Vegas also has a Multi-agency Outreach Resource Engagement, or MORE, team. They provide mobile intervention and outreach services to homeless individuals that live in encampments, the street, flood control tunnels, and outlying uninhabited areas around Las Vegas.

You can learn more about those resources here.

WATCH: Learn more about the MORE Team and the work they do in Las Vegas

13 Investigates: What’s being done to address homelessness in the Las Vegas Valley?

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Nevada

Nevada to allow pregnant women to use taxpayer money to fund abortions

Published

5 hours ago

September 15, 2024

Press Room

Nevada to allow pregnant women to use taxpayer money to fund abortions

Nevada is set to become the 18th state to allow low-income pregnant women to use Medicaid funds to pay for abortions.

The state government declined to appeal a judge’s ruling earlier this year that found denying coverage for abortions violated Nevada’s equal rights protections adopted by voters in 2022.

It’s unclear when the coverage will begin, but the ruling judge said it should be no later than early November.

“Nevadans who have Medicaid as their health insurance will no longer need to fear that they will be forced to carry a pregnancy against their will,” Rebecca Chan, a lawyer with the ACLU Reproductive Freedom Project, which sued in the case, said.

The issue of abortion has become a key voter issue across the country since 2022 when the US Supreme Court struck down Roe v. Wade, which had federally guaranteed abortion access for women for half a century.

Most GOP-controlled states have implemented bans or restrictions — including 14 that have barred abortion at all stages of pregnancy, with some exceptions, and four more that generally prohibit it after about the first six weeks of pregnancy.

Conversely, most blue states have moved to protect and expand access to abortions. Nevada, whose legislature is controlled by Democrats, is among the states that has protected access.

Just this past week, a judge struck down North Dakota’s abortion ban and Arizona repealed its long-dormant 1864 law that criminalized all abortions except when a woman’s life was jeopardized.

Voters in The Silver State will consider enshrining the right to abortion in the state constitution in November. If the referendum passes, there will be a second vote in 2026.

However, a major issue even in states where abortions are readily available to women is whether the procedure is covered by Medicaid for patients on the joint state-federal program for those with lower incomes.

Under a 1977 law, federal funds are prohibited from paying for abortion except in cases of rape, incest and when abortion is necessary to save the life of the pregnant person. States are permitted to use their allocations to pay for abortion under certain circumstances.

The Guttmacher Institute, a research organization that supports abortion rights, says that most follow the federal law for the state funds, too — or do so but with some additional exceptions.

Seventeen states cover abortion without limitations. Nine of those are under court orders and eight cover abortion voluntarily.

Roughly one-third of American women between the ages of 15 and 49 live in states where abortion is accessible and Medicaid covers abortion but only in limited cases, according to the healthcare nonprofit KFF.

About one in five women in those states has Medicaid insurance coverage.

Those with Medicaid are disproportionately low-income, Native American and Black.

With Post Wires

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Nevada

We asked Donald Trump questions on the issue that matters most to locals in Southern Nevada

Published

13 hours ago

September 14, 2024

Press Room

We asked Donald Trump questions on the issue that matters most to locals in Southern Nevada

LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Former President Donald Trump was in town this weekend for events both large and small in the swing state that he knows is critical on his path to the White House.

“We win this state, we’re going to win the whole thing. We win this we’re going to win the whole thing,” Trump said at his rally on Friday.

I met with the former president here at the Trump International Hotel to ask him about an issue that’s been on the minds of locals since this campaign began…

The Economy

Steve: I wanted to find out from you, what one policy or program would you pursue that you think is most important that would help local Las Vegans in terms of the economy?

This is what the former president had to say:

“As far as hotel workers and things as you know, no tax on tips is going to be very good. Also as we announced last week, and I think it’s going to be — even maybe in a certain — way more important, no tax on overtime. And then for the seniors, which will be fantastic because they’ve been devastated by inflation — this makes up for it, this would just about make up for it — we’re going to have no tax on social security benefits. So those three things are going to be great for this area.”

Earlier this year, Trump proposed a “No Tax On Tips” policy at a rally in June and recently held an event in August specific to the proposal here in Las Vegas. The push for no taxes on tipped income was again mentioned during his campaign rally on Friday, and now Trump has gone further with these proposals for no taxes on overtime pay and social security benefits.

Nevada is home to plenty of hourly workers and retirees who would benefit from those proposals, but I also wanted to know how Trump planned to pay for the revenue lost when those taxes are cut and what effect it might have on the federal debt.

Steve: Once you take that revenue out of the federal budget, how are you going to replace that?

Trump said:

“We’re going to have tremendous growth — you know, drill, baby, drill. We have more liquid gold under our feet than anybody else, and we’re going to be charging countries that have been ripping us off for years with tariffs. And the tariffs will make us… we’ll have money like we never had before.”

I followed up in our exclusive interview to ask the former president if tariffs wouldn’t undercut the gains people would see with tax cuts since economists believe prices would rise in response to tariffs.

Trump told me tariffs were necessary to cut trade deficits and might even end up creating jobs in the United States.

Trump said:

“You know, when you have a 100% tariff on a nation, better than the money is the fact that they’re not going to pay it very long, and they’re going to build a plant here. If they build a plant here, there is no tariff.”

The idea of tariffs is one of the things that old-school, free-trade Republicans find frustrating about Trump.

I asked him about the group “Republicans for Harris,” members of the GOP who say that while they disagree with Harris on issues, Trump presents a threat to democratic governance.

Steve: If there was a Republican for Harris in the room with us, what would you tell them in terms of persuading them to vote for you as opposed to vote for Harris?

Trump said:

“I probably wouldn’t tell them anything because maybe it would be a personality problem, maybe they don’t like the way I was tough on China. You know, a lot of them don’t want me to be tough on China. A lot of them don’t want me to be tough on anybody.”

This weekend will not be former President Trump’s last visit. He’s promised to return to the Silver State before the election on November 5.

You can watch our full interview with the former president in the video player above.

If you have a question about politics, elections or government, you can Ask Steve via the link on our website. He will endeavor to answer your questions on air or online.

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Nevada

What time, TV channel is Nevada vs Minnesota football game on today? Free live stream, spread, odds

Published

20 hours ago

September 14, 2024

Press Room

What time, TV channel is Nevada vs Minnesota football game on today? Free live stream, spread, odds

Coming off a dominant 48-0 win over Rhode Island last weekend, the Minnesota Golden Gophers square off against the Nevada Wolf Pack, who come into the contest at 1-2. This game kicks off at 12:30 p.m. PT/3:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. CT) on Saturday, September 14 with a live broadcast on Big Ten Network, and streaming live on demand.

• WATCH: Minnesota vs. Nevada live for free with Fubo (free trial) or with Sling (cheapest streaming plans, $25 off your first month) or see more streaming options below.

What TV channel is the Minnesota vs. Nevada game on?

When: Kickoff takes place at 12:30 p.m. PT/3:30 p.m. ET (2:30 p.m. CT) on Saturday, September 14.

Where: Huntington Bank Stadium | Minneapolis, MN

TV Channel: Big Ten Network

How to watch live stream online: If you don’t have cable, you can still watch this game live for FREE with Fubo (free trial). If you are out of free trials, the cheapest and best way to watch this game and more football this month is by signing up for Sling (promotional offers, cheapest streaming plans), which is $25 off for the first month if you add the “Sports Extra” package that includes Big Ten Network, SEC Network and a few other sports channels. If you already have a cable or satellite subscription, you can watch the game on FOX Sports Live by signing in with your provider information.

What TV channel is Big Ten Network on?

You can find out more about which channel Big Ten Network is on in your area by using the channel finders here:: Comcast Xfinity, DIRECTV, Dish, Verizon Fios, Spectrum/Charter, Optimum/Altice.