07-03-2025
Las Vegas homeless camps just move when outreach comes, but proposal might change that
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — When homeless camps get out of control, local governments send teams to clean up. That can be a disaster, costing people what few possessions they have.
But trash and unsanitary conditions are becoming a bigger priority as residents go to elected officials demanding action.
The problem exists all over the valley, and one state lawmaker is drawing attention to east Las Vegas. Democratic Assem. Erica Mosca lives on the east side, and her passion on the subject showed on Thursday as she presented a bill that would eliminate one barrier that's holding up progress.
Mosca fought back tears as she called the east side 'a forgotten community.'
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'But I live on the eastside because it reminds me of how I grew up and is a place where I'm comfortable with my identity and where I could build a home,' Mosca said.
She is sponsoring Assembly Bill 263 (AB263), and she picked up some co-sponsors at the hearing who don't just appreciate her efforts — they see some of the same problems in their districts.
Mosca worked with Clark County Commission Chair Tick Segerblom on AB263, a bill with a simple goal: allow outreach teams to cross lines on a map. When outreach teams arrive, the camps sometimes just move to an area that's out of the county's jurisdiction. At that point, the outreach team can't do anything.
The camps go over or through fences, often into land controlled by the Nevada Department of Transportation. In Mosca's district, that means tents and makeshift shelters along Interstate 11/U.S. 95. between Charleston Boulevard and Boulder Highway. But it happens throughout the valley.
The bill would allow county teams to go into NDOT rights-of-way to finish the job. It would also direct resources to help in areas like the one she represents, Assembly District 14, which runs along East Charleston. More generally, 'near schools, parks and senior housing in areas of the county in which pervasive poverty, unemployment or economic distress exist.'
Segerblom emphasized that it's about more than simply busting up homeless camps.
'We are bending over backwards to provide resources, rehabilitation, anything that people need. But at the end of the day, these camps become just so large that they become very unsafe and very unsanitary,' Segerblom said.
Mosca said constituents aren't just alarmed by the homeless problem. They don't think government is doing enough to help.
Mosca showed a photo that her husband took on Tuesday along with a personal video of cleanup efforts. She said she took part in the work over the past year and a half with 20 volunteers. They did more than a dozen cleanups. She also took part in two town hall meetings, two ride-alongs with the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and meetings with nonprofits. She toured several city and county facilities that work to help homeless individuals.
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She proudly talked about how they are involved in working alongside constituents and outreach teams. She described her husband's effort to help a homeless man who had overdosed at Winterwood Park next to Wengert Elementary School. And she showed more photos from the cleanup efforts.
'The one on the right, I cleaned up all of that because it's the number one thing that my constituents talk to me about,' Mosca said.
'It's a very political statement to make, but I know in places like Summerlin, maybe Damonte Ranch, I don't know, but higher income places don't look like this. And that's really what this bill is about.
AB263 would only affect Clark County. Segerblom said the county already has outreach teams so there's really no additional funding required.
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Lawmakers asked if the bill might be the start of more cooperative efforts to address homelessness, citing the limited effectiveness of each city working in silos.
More than a dozen people testified in support of the bill. Notably, the City of Las Vegas was neutral, a spokesperson saying the city has spent millions on efforts similar to the county's, supporting five outreach teams.
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