LAS VEGAS (KTNV) — Temperatures in Southern Nevada are getting hotter.
Las Vegas has already shattered 36 daily heat records this year — and it is not even summer yet — adding an extra challenge to the already difficult lives for the homeless population in our valley.
“Soon as this month rolls around, I start praying," said Tasha M. at Cashman Park on Monday, "With the shuffling around with homeless people, moving them park to park, bench to bench, it's not fair. Especially in the summer."
WATCH | Climate Reporter Geneva Zoltek shadows HELP of Southern Nevada during extreme heat:
Tasha told Channel 13 she had previously been unhoused for seven years in Las Vegas, but now has an apartment thanks to local support services. She said this time of year poses significant challenges to those living on the streets.
"It can be life and death," she said.
In an effort to combat the crisis, every day crews with HELP of Southern Nevada visit parks, tunnels, abandoned buildings and encampments across the valley.
"On the street, out in the desert, anywhere there are people living in places that aren't suitable for human habitation," explained Louis Lacey, director of Homeless Response Teams.
Their mission can be as simple as offering water or as complex as navigating a maze of housing, healthcare and paperwork for those ready to seek help. This week, outreach teams also began asking new questions during surveys: how people are staying cool, whether they are using cooling centers and what they need to survive the summer.
"The thing that keeps me up at night worrying about homeless individuals when it gets really hot outside is the fact that oftentimes they have nowhere to escape to," Lacey said.
On Monday, the organization started what they call a "heat protocol."
"We are traveling around the city looking for individuals that are homeless as well as individuals that are not homeless that are in heat distress. So we are there to provide cold water. We are there to provide transport to the cooling stations, if necessary. We are there to call for an ambulance to make sure that somebody gets the medical attention that they need," Lacey explained. "Our team is literally on the front line of the heat crisis to offer assistance and render aid."
For many clients, recovery happens one small step at a time: a hospital stay, a shelter bed, medication, food. During the hottest months in the valley, even those small steps can hit a bottleneck. Resources get stretched thin this time of year as people seek relief from the relentless heat.
Cooling centers like libraries can help during the day, but most are not open 24 hours. Emergency shelter space can be harder to find when demand spikes. Sometimes, there are just no beds available.
"That's why housing is so important," Lacey said. "People being housed get them out of the heat. It saves their lives."
Outreach workers say the work can be frustrating. Progress can be slow, and not every interaction ends with someone accepting help. But they stay motivated by the small victories that still matter in a crisis this large.
"Let's assist people getting off of the streets. Let's wrap them in meaningful, supportive services, and let's walk with them until we can get them to their highest degree of independence," Lacey said. "That is what would stop a lot of heat-related deaths."
Channel 13 will continue to follow HELP of Southern Nevada through the summer months to document how those living on the front lines of extreme heat are coping.
