Homeless people slept in a parking lot, separated by white boxes drawn on the pavement to allow for social distancing, after a Las Vegas shelter closed.
Clark County and the City of Las Vegas issued a joint statement over the weekend, saying the Catholic Charities shelter would be temporarily closed because a homeless person who was using the facility tested positive for the coronavirus. Catholic Charities plans to reopen its shelter by midweek.
The closure left 500 homeless people scrambling for a new place to stay.
Officials said they set up a temporary shelter in the parking lot of Cashman Center. The city said it was saving the space inside the building for potential hospital overflow as confirmed cases of the coronavirus rapidly increase.
Volunteers originally laid out 24,000 square feet of carpet, which was supposed to serve as sleeping mats, but photos early this week showed the people sleeping on thin white blankets.
A spokesperson for the city told CBS News that the carpeting could not “adequately be sanitized.”
“We don’t have enough mats for everyone,” the spokesperson said. “We are trying to get more but are having a hard time. We’ll continue to provide this temporary respite, while practicing social distancing, for anyone who is suffering from homelessness.”
Photos of the makeshift shelter prompted outrage.
“After criminalizing homelessness this year, Las Vegas is now packing people into concrete grids out of sight,” Julian Castro, a former Democratic presidential candidate, tweeted. “There are 150K hotel rooms in Vegas going unused right now. How about public-private cooperation (resources) to temporarily house them there? And fund permanent housing!”
After criminalizing homelessness this year, Las Vegas is now packing people into concrete grids out of sight.
There are 150K hotel rooms in Vegas going unused right now. How about public-private cooperation (resources) to temporarily house them there? And fund permanent housing! pic.twitter.com/wxZ4ZD6Jtc
— Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) March 30, 2020
“We need to do better,” the Nevada Homeless Alliance wrote on Facebook, including a photo of people sleeping on the pavement.
