LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Las Vegas Valley leaders are looking forward to a tangible solution to the region’s growing homeless crisis: a transitional housing campus with hundreds of millions of dollars of funding.
In 2023, lawmakers passed AB528, providing $100 million to social services for the homeless. Las Vegas resort leaders helped spearhead the bill and promised to donate a contribution of around $100 million.
The bill requires the creation of a non-profit and a board to oversee the project. Wynn, MGM Resorts and Caesars Entertainment are founding board members. Other resorts voicing support for the cause: Boyd Gaming, Red Rock Resorts, South Point and Venetian, which all announced support for the project.
“Almost everyone in the community recognizes that there is a housing problem. There are a lot of people who are working to solve this problem, and we want to make a contribution,” said Virginia Valentine of the Nevada Resort Association.
The board is working to finalize a possible location for a campus, which could be the size of 22 to 26 acres.
The model for the campus is inspired by a similar-size facility in San Antonio called the Haven for Hope, which describes itself as a housing community with all-inclusive services for different demographics.
In San Antonio, the transitional housing campus has a medical facility, childcare center, detox center, chapel and other resources. The facility can house and assist 1,700 people.
The board is still working to finalize how many people could live on the campus at any given time.
Valentine explains the purpose of transitional housing, and why it is crucial to helping people get off the streets permanently. Facilities like the Las Vegas Courtyard are considered “emergency housing”; transitional housing is the next step in rehabilitation.
“You can’t go straight from being unhoused into permanent housing and paying rent. What this facility is designed to be is one of the interim steps. It gets people into a place where they get the services they need. They get stable, they get on their feet, they live there for a brief period of time. Then they can move into some kind of supportive housing. The goal is to get everyone into permanent housing,” Valentine said.
The project submitted an application to the state last week.
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