Mikey's recommendations: Books about Homeless People
The dreams aren't broken down here - They're just walkin' with a limp. - Tom Waits
Homeless for
the holidays
they don't have much money. they don't have their families. they don't
have homes. but they still have the christmas spirit. with the holiday
approaching last week, three men from mexico set out to find a christmas
tree for their HOMELESS camp among the twisting ramps
of the spaghetti bowl, said one of the men, who wouldn't give his name.
they set out down bonanza road and started checking trash bins. it
didn't take long to find a 5-foot-tall fir tree that they hauled back to
camp and stood up using metal bars and wire. the other HOMELESS
residents of the camp brightened up when they saw the tree, the man
said. "even though we're on the street, at least we have some pride," he
said. the tree ...
http://www.lvrj.com/news/12771092.html 12/22/2007
UNEXPECTED
REUNION: Homeless No More
from her Ashland, Mass., home, the 52-year-old music teacher
worried and wondered about her only sibling who had disappeared in 2004.
"I asked friends to pray for me to find him," she said. "He was one of
the good things in my life. it really hurt me." In august, when their
79-year-old mother died in the family's hometown of Columbia Falls, near
Kalispell, Mont., Pulsifer became even more desperate to find him. Lyle
Casterline, meanwhile, was living a quiet existence in a
HOMELESS encampment on the bank of the Flamingo Wash in Las
Vegas. during the day, the 45-year-old Marine Corps veteran collected
aluminum cans, which he sold for $1 a pound. he used the few bucks he
made to buy beer and food. sometimes, he'd hang out and drink with his
girlfriend and HOMELESS buddies at Molasky Family Park,
about a mile and a half east of the strip. chronic back problems had
left him unable to work, and he had lived off the radar for a year and a
half. he ...
http://www.lvrj.com/news/12031996.html 12/02/2007
Action delayed
on homeless shelters
Las Vegas officials took no action Thursday on requested permits for two
HOMELESS shelters operating on a piece of downtown real
estate. the Las Vegas planning commission had been scheduled to consider
the permits for the Little Hotel and the Victory Hotel in the 300 block
of south main street, just blocks away from the Fremont street
experience. New Genesis, a Colorado-based nonprofit group, has been
leasing the hotels as transitional housing since may. consideration of
the permits was postponed to the planning commission's January 24 meeting.
http://www.lvrj.com/news/11964006.html 11/30/2007 Homeless may find shelter temporary City may lift permits for hotels across from bus station
When two downtown hotels reopened on Main Street in May, taking in people trying to escape HOMELESSness, it was a small ray of hope in the bleak housing picture for the poorest of the poor.
But New Genesis, the nonprofit that's operating the Little and Victory hotels right across from the Greyhound bus station, needs permits from Las Vegas to keep operating -- and city officials aren't keen on the idea.
http://www.lvrj.com/news/11911621.html
11/29/2007
CRISIS CHRONICLED: Veteran homelessness increasing
it's no surprise to U.S. air force veteran Earl
Sanders that, according to a report to be released today, Nevada has the
fifth highest rate of HOMELESSness among veterans in
the united states. after all, he said, Nevada is a state full of
habit-forming vices: gambling, drinking, drugs. and veterans like him
are particularly vulnerable. "we have unique problems, and we carry a
lot of baggage," said the 47-year-old who lives in a Las Vegas shelter
for HOMELESS vets. he added, "you can lose your job,
your home, your family in the blink of an eye." the new report, "vital
mission: en...
http://www.lvrj.com/news/11105406.html
11/08/2007
FREE SERVICES:
Homeless people get help
Lyle Casterline needed so much help that he wasn't sure where to start
at Tuesday's project HOMELESS connect. the 45-year-old
HOMELESS man had a bad tooth, a back injury and a
warrant issued for his arrest after he failed to take care of the
tickets he received for trespassing in the Flamingo Wash and for being
in Molasky Park after hours. he also could have stood a good haircut and
a hot meal, not to mention a place to live. "I'm looking for anything
I
can get," he said as he walked across Cashman Center's exhibit hall with
a noticeable limp. "I'm just trying to survive....
http://www.lvrj.com/news/11077471.html 11/07/2007
Homeless coming
up short
a large-scale count of Clark
county's HOMELESS population found a significantly
lower number of HOMELESS people living in the valley
than many officials and advocates had expected. on any given day, about
11,370 people are HOMELESS in the county, according to
results of an intensive January HOMELESS count released
Thursday by the southern Nevada regional planning commission's committee
on HOMELESSness. social service providers and advocates
for the HOMELESS had estimated 14,500 HOMELESS
people lived in the valley.
http://www.lvrj.com/news/7116711.html
04/20/2007
Attacks increase distress for homeless
Reno -- the city's
HOMELESS population is on edge after the beating death of a
HOMELESS man by two teenagers and other reported
attacks. "they think we're fair game for sports. it's a teenage ego
trip," said Charles Johnson, a HOMELESS and disabled
man living in Reno. Christopher Michael Maciolek, 19, and Finley
Byrdette Fultz, 18, were arrested Friday on suspicion of open murder for
the beating death this month of 55-year-old James Beasley. according to
an arrest affidavit, two teenagers witnessed...
http://www.lvrj.com/news/10031731.html
09/26/2007
Homeless man slain by second transient
a HOMELESS man was stabbed to
death by another transient on Monday night after the two got into a
fight over a bicycle, friends of the two men said. the victim,
37-year-old Randy Alloway, was found stabbed to death in a
HOMELESS encampment near Owens avenue and a street. friends
said Alloway had been HOMELESS for at least a year. "he
just said, 'I been stabbed,' and then he fell right in front of me,"
said Rick Tamillo, a 50-year-old HOMELESS man who was
at the encampment Tuesday...
http://www.lvrj.com/news/7183366.html
04/25/2007
Volunteers prepare to assist area's homeless
thousands of the valley's HOMELESS
are expected on Tuesday to take advantage of dozens of free services,
from medical and dental checkups to haircuts and legal help. project
HOMELESS connect, a large-scale annual event for
HOMELESS people, is from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday at
Cashman center, near Las Vegas Boulevard and Washington avenue. the
event, formerly called the stand down for the HOMELESS,
brings together dozens of city, county and other social service agencies
that help the HOMELESS. those who...
http://www.lvrj.com/news/10993031.html
11/03/2007
CLOSED PROPERTY: Homeless camping on Strip
they hang "do not disturb" signs from their
doorknobs. some make their beds in the morning. artwork even hangs on a
few of the walls of this one-time strip motel. less than a mile south of
the golden-windowed towers of Mandalay Bay, the HOMELESS
have found a new place to stay -- inside the shell of what was once the
Klondike inn. the decades-old Las Vegas boulevard property near Russell
Road has become more than just an eyesore and a flophouse for
HOMELESS people since it closed last year, Clark County
officials said. the 153-room building is also downright dangerous. its
landings are rotting. columns that support the second floor are in
danger of collapsing. the windows and doors are broken or missing, and
the ho...
http://www.lvrj.com/news/10336677.html
10/09/2007
Churches recruited to assist homeless
in 2003, an advocacy group for the
HOMELESS named Las Vegas the "meanest city" in the country
because of police sweeps of HOMELESS people and a net
loss of shelter space. on Tuesday, a group of religious leaders, elected
officials and business people tried to demonstrate the area doesn't
belong on that list, and they unveiled a new program aimed at getting
HOMELESS families in permanent housing quickly -- and
keeping them there. "we're a city that cares for one another," said
Las Vegas mayor Oscar Goodman, who has ...
http://www.lvrj.com/news/10031721.html
09/26/2007
PANHANDLING: Homeless handouts add up
..."it's the first time I've ever been out here,"
Cofer said while standing at the end of the southbound interstate 15
off ramp to lake mead boulevard, clad in a St. Vincent shelter t-shirt
and holding a sign that read: Vietnam vet need a little help thank you.
"I just want about $5 to buy a pack of cigarettes." several miles away,
at the southbound U.S. Highway 95 off ramp to Charleston Boulevard, a
rail-thin, shaggy-haired Herbert Goodland, who lives in a nearby
HOMELESS encampment, said he does ok panhandling now and then.
"on a good day, I can make $15 or $20 in an hour," he said. it's
difficult to come up with an accurate estimate of how much on average
these and other roadside entrepreneurs make. but a survey of 107 local
panhandlers conducted earlier this year found the monthly median income
from panhandling was $192. the results were released Thursday by applied
survey research, a California-based nonprofit social...
http://www.lvrj.com/news/9915087.html
09/21/2007
Homeless campsite cleared
the HOMELESS campsite that police
and social workers came upon early Wednesday morning was an elaborate
and cozy one, complete with an elevated mattress, lots of clothing and a
makeshift place of worship nearby. it was situated hundreds of feet
within a dank, pitch-black drainage tunnel that extends beneath Decatur
Boulevard and was only dimly visible in the light from the officers'
motorcycle headlamps. "watch out for booby traps," one of the social
workers said. "nice place to...
http://www.lvrj.com/news/9328961.html
08/23/2007
Group seeks
volunteers to count homeless
the local committee on HOMELESSness
is looking for volunteers to help with a second 2007 count of Clark
County's HOMELESS population. the summer
HOMELESS census, scheduled for 2 a.m. on July 31, should help
determine whether the county's HOMELESS population
differs from season to season, organizers said. a January tally
determined that about 11,369 people are HOMELESS in the
county on any given day. the southern Nevada regional planning
commission's committee on HOMELESSness uses the numbers
when ...
http://www.lvrj.com/news/8406812.html
07/10/2007
Services offered
for homeless vets
the fourth annual veterans stand down, sponsored
by U.S. vets, runs Wednesday through Friday at the Fraternal Order of Eagles no. 1213. the three-day event brings together social service
providers, elected officials and local businesses in an effort to help
HOMELESS veterans get off the street. veterans also may
use one of several mobile showers and take advantage of free legal and
dental services. about 300 veterans are expected to attend. the veterans
stand down committee in Las Vegas includes about 20 nonprofit agencies,
local government representatives and volunteers from AmeriCorps and
Nellis Air Force Base. U.S. vets provides housing and services to
HOMELESS and disabled veterans. the stand down will be
from 7 am...
http://www.lvrj.com/news/7509777.html
05/15/2007
Action delayed
on homeless shelters
Homeless may find shelter temporary
