LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – For over two hours Tuesday night, a Las Vegas City Councilmember listened to neighbors in the west valley about a proposed solution to the homeless crisis in the valley.
It’s called the Campus For Hope. But many residents hope the center is built somewhere else!
Neighbors worry about crime, safety issues, and property values with the new facility slated to go in at Jones Blvd. and Charleston Blvd.
Specifically, the location of the project, which was chosen by state leaders without hearing from residents.
But they had a lot to say tonight!
Neighbor Paul Lineberry asks, “why does it have to be in a neighborhood?”
James Root tells FOX5, “I understand it’s state property, but there’s a lot of state properties that they could use.”
More than 50 neighbors packed The Bagel Cafe in the west valley for the meeting with city councilmember, Brian Knudsen.
His goal was to hear them out and take their concerns to the governor and state lawmakers.
“I understand they’re afraid. They don’t want more homelessness,” Knudsen said. “They don’t want encampments in their neighborhood. My job is to protect their neighborhoods from encampments. I think this is a strategy that Campus For Hope is a strategy to prevent homelessness, and my job is to continue to fight for those residents and prevent more encampments and neighborhoods throughout the valley.”
Campus For Hope isn’t a shelter. Instead, the 26-acre facility will have 900 beds, and offer wrap-around services to get people back on their feet.
But the valley currently has about 8,000 homeless people.
The math worries neighbor, Paul Lineberry.
“When they find out that you can go there and get help or treatment or, you know, help with a job. They could come to the area and get turned away,” Lineberry said. “Well, they don’t just get in their car and go home. They end up wandering around in in our neighborhood. That’s what we’re worried about.”
Councilman Knudsen says he’s not sure it’s a done deal just yet.
That’s why he’s going to take neighbor feedback and offer a suggestion of his own; asking state leaders to put businesses on the Charleston side to help boost the economy.
The site was chosen because it’s state-owned land, is large enough, and already on mental health facility land. Specifically, the plot of land at the Southern Nevada Adult Mental Health Services Center at the corner of Jones Blvd. and Charleston Blvd.
James Root just worries the complaints will be disregarded, and the project will go on as planned.
“I think councilman Knudsen did a great job of listening. But I think what came up more often than anything was that he wasn’t in a position to do anything, and that’s frustrating that the process is so far along,” Root said. “Things were done without public knowledge and that really that’s kind of frustrating.”
The councilman says he’s happy to have more formal meetings since so many people showed up.
Neighbors asked that he get a hold of the governor and state lawmakers so they can hear the impact of their decisions.
Councilman Knudsen says he’s on it.
Campus For Hope has an expected opening date of early 2027.
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