LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Boulder Highway business owners say a growing homeless encampment in nearby vacant lots is hurting business.
The lots sit near the intersection of Boulder Highway and Russell Road. According to Clark County’s mapping website, they are privately owned.
“They come and harass customers. They come and beg for money, they come into the store, they grab anything they want, they walk away,” FlowerEve Gift and Home Owner Evelyn Guin says.
She and her husband have owned FlowerEve Gift and Home for seven years, but recently business has slowed.
“We attempted to shut down the business many times because of this,” she says. “It’s not a good place to do business, and a lot of our customers are afraid to come.”
Duck Creek RV Park sits across Boulder Highway from Guin’s shop. The park’s Maintenance and Security Manager, Gerald, agrees the camp is growing.
“It has, I’ve noticed a big difference over the last few years,” Gerald says.
He says he thinks Metro is doing everything that they can.
“I don’t know what the solution is,” he says.
Metro’s Homeless Outreach Team says this area has been problematic for years. They say they’ve offered resources to this specific encampment several times, most recently on Wednesday, but the majority of the group declined.
After a group declines resources, they say they eventually have to get the nearby Area Command involved, which is the Southeast Area Command in this case.
Because these lots are private, officers have to work with Clark County Code Enforcement and the owners of the property to clear it.
“They’ll say, ‘Hey, we need to schedule a cleanup and a time where we’re going to be getting these people off your property,’” Officer Baron Bybee, with Metro’s Homeless Outreach Team, says.
He says they work closely with code enforcement to conduct cleanups and offer resources at the same time.
“So they’re not just being told, ‘Hey, it’s time to leave and all your stuff is being thrown away,’ we want to make sure we give them appropriate time and attention,” he says.
He advises nearby business owners to stay proactive by contacting either Southeast Area Command, or Metro’s Homeless Outreach Team directly at: [email protected].
FOX 5 reached out to the owners of the lots to see if they have plans for the area moving forward and have not heard back yet.
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