Essay on Homelessness in Las Vegas

Without any doubt, with this stats, everyone now will agree with me that homelessness in this city is a huge problem that needs the attention of both levels of governments (Munks). A study conducted in January 2017 famously known as a point-in-time survey, established that 6,490 people in Las Vegas are homeless these statistics were not good at all since it ranked the region on the eighth position in terms of homeless population. This figure was an increase of 282 persons or four percent compared to a similar study conducted in the year 2016. However, this study normally conducted on one night does not account for all individuals who will be homeless at a given time in the year thus one especially the local officials may argue the study lacks merit.

Statistics further reveal that large percentage (67) of the homeless population in La Vegas were unsheltered, that is they basically live outside (Munks). S, in general, saw United States Interagency Council on Homelessness come up come with the special unit “Opening Doors” in the year 2015 to combat homelessness with aim of ending the trend. The unit asserted that homelessness in expensive burden to the taxpayers since persons who are homeless time to time require publicly backed services and infrastructure. It was also said that homelessness is expensive considering its regressive influence on human life, production, and health (Julie). We all agree that unsheltered homeless population has raised the risks of contracting communicable diseases. Perhaps the nothing can articulate this concern more that report given by California Department of Health which indicated that on February 2018 California having biggest number of individuals diagnosed with hepatitis A which was not linked to normal source spoilt food commodity in United States in post-hepatitis A vaccine era, as result the disease was spread quickly in four counties which mainly had a high number of unsheltered persons.

Do communities surrounded by homeless population get affected? The answer to this question is simply yes but how? The communities surrounded by homeless population get to feel financial and physical as result of this population. The financial impact can well be highlighted considering the amount of money local authorities spend when engaging the homeless population this money would otherwise be used to provide services to the taxpayers of the respective regions. Some regions to be specific Los Angeles in the year 2015 it was reported that even though four departments had been allocated budget to engage homeless population, other more departments at least 10 ended up incurring expenses while engaging the homeless population. It clear from this that the homeless population is a threat to the economy of the region since these regions spend a lot of resources on the population whose productivity is low.

Education has not been spared either an increase in the number of the homeless population has coincided with simultaneously with an increasing number of homeless students in public schools. The camp would have bathrooms, sleeping mats, shades at least according to suggestions by those closed to local authorities. The good news is some social services are in place in the said camp, and also the authority plans to add more facilities in the camp and even come up with ways creating employment opportunities to this specific type of group. On a long-term basis, the aim is to create stability to ensure reduction of homelessness and ultimately eliminating the problem in near future (Brey). However, the trend cannot be reversed if the source of homelessness is not adequately dealt with.