The Clark County council praised the efforts of staff and the Council for the Homeless in simplifying and improving the focus of its annual homeless action plan.
The Community Services Department, with assistance from the Council on Homeless, overhauled its homeless plan to better focus on high-need homeless populations — families with children, the chronically homeless and unaccompanied youth — and more short-term goals with immediate impacts on the community.
Councilor David Madore said the plan’s length — which went from 82 pages to 16 — is on its own a sign that the county’s focus is improving.
Andy Silver, executive director of Council for the Homeless, said while Clark County’s previous ten-year action plan helped guide the creation of services for Clark County’s homeless, the recent update will allow the county to more immediately address people’s needs.
According to Clark County’s 2015 point-in-time homeless count, there are 114 families and 64 unaccompanied youth without homes, and 103 people are chronically homeless. Silver noted that there may be many more than that.
Among Clark County’s greatest challenges are a lack of affordable housing, Silver said, both for families and for those who need rehabilitative services. Currently, Clark County’s housing vacancy rate sits at about 2 percent, he said, increasing demand and driving up rent costs.
Councilor Tom Mielke agreed that the lack of affordable housing is a concern for the council.
“We kind of defeat ourselves if we have a cost of living that is soaring faster than anyone’s salary can keep up with,” Mielke said. “It’s definitely a challenge.”
Councilor Jeanne Stewart, meanwhile, thanked Silver for his explanation of the different at-risk populations. As a downtown resident, Stewart said she often sees homeless people who likely fit into one of the three categories, and she’s glad to see community services focusing on those groups.
“I think you have summed up the very best understanding I’ve ever heard about the different categories of homelessness,” Stewart said.
The County Council will vote whether or not to approve the plan during a council meeting in the coming weeks.
