AHS-L1-2. Visualizing the Southern Nevada Homelessness Crisis
Vanessa Booth1
Faculty Mentor: William E. Brown Jr.2
1College of Liberal Arts, Department of Political Science
2Brookings Mountain West
ABSTRACT
Presented in this policy study, is an in-depth analysis of the growing Homelessness Crisis occurring across the state of Nevada while focusing on the state of play scenario that the Las Vegas Metropolitan Area presents. The data synthesized in this study primarily focuses on predicted homelessness rates, the current scope of the homelessness crisis, housing affordability, accessibility to poverty alleviation services, alongside notable policy recommendations. The scope of the study calls into question the funding formula and allocations of federal funds to solve the current homelessness crisis. Research methodologies in this study include but are not limited to, several mixed-methods like policy data analysis, data interpretation, observations, and archival research. The findings of this study indicate that immediate policy remedies/solutions are needed to alleviate the exacerbating homelessness crisis in Southern Nevada.
Date
- Nov 15 - 19 2021
- Expired!
Time
- All Day
Labels
- AHS: Lighting Talk Session 1
Organizer
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The Office of Undergraduate Research
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Phone
702-895-4771 -
Email
our@unlv.edu -
Website
http://unlv.edu/our
Speakers
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William E. Brown Jr. | Brookings Mountain West
Hi Vanessa,
Your topic in particular really interested me, because it is clear as someone that was born in raised in Las Vegas that homelessness has become a bigger problem over the years. I found your presentation very informative and well structured. You provided the perfect amount of visual aids for your presentation that kept me engaged as the viewer, and your use of key terms in the beginning gave a baseline understanding of what homelessness can look like. You explained what the issue is, but also provided causes, and your own opinion on what the best course of action would be. You sounded well rehearsed an knowledgeable on the topic you presented, but you were also concise. Overall, great job!.
Hello Vanessa,
I want to start by saying great presentation and I really found this informative. I enjoyed the visuals you provided because they were very effective and helped demonstrate your research further. I believe that the homeless population in Nevada is a problem and it needs more attention. This shouldn’t be taken lightly and more resources need to be used in order to help address this topic. I liked how you compared Utah’s allocations to Nevada’s, as it shows how much of an issue this is. Once again, great presentation and thank you for speaking about this topic.
Hello, Vanessa!
Great job on your presentation! It was very informative on the homelessness crisis in Southern Nevada. I like how you started off by explaining some key terms so the audience can better understand the terms you are using in your presentation. I also like how you included charts and graphics to help the audience better visualize the statistics you are presenting. Thank you for sharing this information to bring awareness of the homelessness crisis and suggesting solutions to this problem.
Hello Vanessa,
I found your presentation to be very insightful and I enjoyed listening to your present this issue. Homelessness is a serious issue here in Nevada and that is very evident if your live near UNLV. The Las Vegas area has an incredible amount of homeless people and it is very clear. There are many homeless that sleep around UNLV, there should be more outreach for the homeless in the area as I have personally meet people that are homeless that have been homeless for the entire three plus years I have lived here. There should be more action being taken by the government to help that are homeless in any capacity. The issue of homelessness in Las Vegas has gotten so bad you see many videos, new reports and documentaries exposing the population of homeless people that live in the sewers and run off drains. I knew of the homeless issue in Las Vegas years before I ever moved here. This is a bad image for the city and the state of Nevada. There must be additional action taken by the Federal and local government or this issue will continue to get worse.
Hello Vanessa,
I enjoyed listening to your presentation. Great work! I definitely learned something new today. I did not know that Nevada had that many homeless, let alone it being the 8th highest-ranking of homelessness. I am from California so when I went to Nevada, I would go to the strip and I would rarely see homeless people. I have yet to go outside of Las Vegas but I am now made aware that there are lots of homeless people in the state of Nevada. It was interesting as I did not know that there are different types of homeless people. From your results, I can clearly see Arizona has more but since I have never been there I can’t speak from experience. I thought Nevada had close to none because outside of the strip, I would often visit Henderson and I would rarely see homeless people as well. Compared to California, I would often see homeless people. Thank you for sharing this information, it was easy to follow. Your suggestion for affordable housing would, in my opinion, definitely decrease homelessness.
Hi Vanessa,
This was a great and relevant study. Thanks for taking the time to break all of this down and putting in the time to research this huge problem in Nevada. It is sad that this problem is getting worse with no upside in the near future. Inflation is getting out of control, and the housing market is becoming unsustainable as rent and mortgage prices are increasing at a fast rate. I agree with your recommendations for affordable housing, but I also feel we need need to get to the root of the problem. Which is substance abuse, and mental health as you stated earlier. I think Nevada needs to do a better job getting people the help they need so the ones that are struggling can become productive members of society again.
Hi Vanessa,
Thank you for taking the time to conduct meaningful research and shed light on the homelessness crisis in Nevada. I personally didn’t know the distinction of unsheltered individuals versus sheltered individuals, so having a break down of key terminology in your presentation was insightful. I agree with the point you discussed of allocating federal dollars towards policy for this issue. The homelessness crisis in Nevada, specifically Las Vegas is very prominent and more should be done to help those with disabilities or other factors that have lead them to the position they are in. I am passionate about human rights, and this conversation aligns with my values and I found your work to be very informative and significant. Great job!
Hello Vanessa,
I enjoyed watching your presentation and learned a lot about the growing homelessness crisis. Your content was relevant and your format was visually appealing, easy to follow, as well as to understand. Your topic is very interesting since I do not know much about the status of the homeless and in just almost four minutes of your presentation, I learned so much. It is so devastating that there are 22.4 in every 10,000 people experiencing homelessness. It is helpful for the audience that you mentioned the differences between unsheltered and sheltered homeless. Also, you speak at a good speech rate, not so fast, and at the same time not too slow. Overall, you did a very good job in this presentation!
Hi Vanessa,
I really liked your presentation it was very informative and you can tell you did a lot of research. I think its insane that there’s is 23.3 homeless people for every 10,000 residents its honestly a shame there even is any but I think its good that they at least are trying to decrease it. I hope that soon they are able to increase the funding they have per person from 500 to 10,00 like in Utah. Finally I think that your policy recommendations a great they might be difficult but they are doable and hopefully things will change soon.
Hello Vanessa!
Thank you for presenting such interesting facts about the reality of homelessness in Nevada. It’s often a concern that doesn’t receive enough attention or funding. I was surprised that Nevada is 8th highest in the nation. I didn’t realize it was so high. I also was surprised by the hundreds of unaccompanied minors or families with children who are homeless. It is so unfortunate that there are not better programs to protect kids. Thank you for pointing out the difference between sheltered and unsheltered homelessness. I hadn’t considered that 40% of homeless people are not even in shelters. I completely agree with you that there needs to be more federal funding to combat this problem. I think providing more affordable housing is vital. As someone who works in real estate, it is awful to see how hard it is for families to find suitable housing even if they do have a voucher. Nowadays, they are not given a high enough budget to be in a good part of town. With rent prices skyrocketing, there definitely needs to be an adjustment to account for the inflation. Your idea of using empty apartment buildings to provide shelter is a wonderful idea. If even one shelter was built, it would keep dozens of families off of the streets.
Hello Vanessa! Your presentation was very informative and organized, and I enjoyed hearing you talk about this issue. Homelessness is definitely a significant issue we need to address. It was shocking to hear the difference in the amount of support Utah provides as opposed to Nevada. In regards to the lack of resource allocations to the homeless, I wonder if the perceptions of homelessness in Nevada may play a role, and I am curious to know what we are spending the money on instead of providing the much needed support. On top of just providing more funding, however, I believe it is just as important to make sure that the support being provided is being efficiently distributed and used.
Hello Vanessa! I would like to first say that your presentation was very insightful and was put together well. Personally, I relate to this topic as someone who is from Hawai’i. As we all know, Hawai’i is also mainly focused on tourism, but most of us don’t know that homelessness has also been growing in the state. I agree with your solution that states like Nevada and Hawai’i should promote affordable housing to those experiencing homelessness. It would also be good to know what is causing the numbers of homelessness to grow in these states and identify ways the government can fix these problems. Other than that, you did an excellent job putting this informative presentation together!
Hey Vanessa! While watching your presentation about the homelessness crisis in Nevada it helped me understand that more effort needs to be done in this community. Growing up in the Las Vegas area I always seen articles about the homelessness in the valley, and how people suggest ways to help prevent being homeless. As more professional sports are relocating to Las Vegas, it would be nice to have more professional players try to make an impact to help create shelters and help those who are willing to get back on their feet. Being able to have a voice and have a platform can influence others to help in many ways . Overall, I enjoyed watching your presentation and showing us the information that needed to be informed!
Vanessa, I really enjoyed hearing your presentation about homelessness. As others have also stated, I was shocked to hear about the lack of resources that we provide to our own community. The difference between Nevada and Utah’s allocations to the homeless are frightening. More than anything, I like how you provided strategies as to how we can tackle this situation. Although I think that providing affordable housing or requesting federal funding for the homeless would be beneficial, I would be interested to see how home owners would react to receiving incentives for renting out their property. I’m curious to know how the market would affect the rates in which Nevada would be willing to incentivize the home owners, if it could be cheaper to build more shelters instead. Overall, I found this to be very insightful. Great job!
Hi Vannessa. I enjoyed listening to your presentation. I like how straightforward this presentation is. The homelessness crisis is one of the major problems that every state has to deal with. In the presentation, you stated that cities in Utah allocate ten thousand dollars for each homeless individual, and Las Vegas only allocates five hundred dollars for each individual. I think if Las vegas gives more money to homeless people, it will not end the homeless problem because no one knows how each person would spend the money. Aside from the affordable housing solution, I think it is also important to talk about substance abuse and other related problems that often lead to homelessness.
Vanessa,
I enjoyed your presentation and agree that much more needs to be done to help the homeless population in Nevada. With all the gambling revenues from tourism, you would think we could allocate more funds to help the homeless. I remember right when the corona virus hit, the national news criticized how Las Vegas painted squares in parking lots for homeless people to sleep when we had hundreds of thousands of empty hotel rooms. It just showed how little we cared about homeless and it is truly sad. Las Vegas really needs to do more for those with disabilities, mental illness, and substance abuse.
Hi everyone! Thank you for coming to my presentation! Please feel free to connect with me and leave insightful feedback. Thank you!