LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — Homelessness is on the rise in Nye County, and native leaders say it’s creating new challenges for each residents and regulation enforcement.
In Pahrump, county officers say they’re seeing extra encampments forming on public land and even inside vacant properties.
“We have so few first responders for the community that we have that when we have increase of people from out of town who are homeless and come here and think this is a good place to go then we are depriving other people of that care,” mentioned Ian Bayne, Nye County commissioner for district three.
Bayne mentioned homelessness in Pahrump has been growing steadily over the previous 12 months, and the county merely doesn’t have the assets or shelters to fight the difficulty.
From makeshift tents to RVs parked off the freeway, Bayne mentioned it’s a disaster that has effects on public security, property, and the flexibility to reply.
“We have a lot of people with un-extraditable warrants out of Clark County, so they come here to hide from the law, so they will not get arrested here, but they will get arrested in Clark County, so they come here and hide,” Bayne mentioned.
Bayne took 8 Information Now to a burned-out house just some miles from the encampments. Inside, investigators discovered pipes and paraphernalia. Bayne mentioned that the ripple results of homelessness are touching practically each nook of the neighborhood.
“If we start to have more homeless people who overdose on drugs or have medical urgency needs, and we send those people over the hill to Las Vegas, we have to shut down a fire station. People are shocked to hear that, but if the fire station is shut down, response time for residents in that area increases,” Bayne mentioned.
The scenario has reached a degree the place the county has needed to take motion by passing new legal guidelines to assist filter the encampments.
There are at present no plans in place for a shelter in Pahrump, and enforcement alone will not remedy the issue. Bayne mentioned with out extra state and federal assist for housing and habit restoration, Nye County will maintain preventing an uphill battle.
Studies from late 2024 recommend Nye County’s homeless inhabitants stays the best amongst rural communities throughout the state.
