The Homeless-Campus Concept Catches On

"On a single night in January last year, almost 6,500 people were counted as homeless in Clark County, Nev., and about 67 percent of them were sleeping on the street instead of in a shelter -- a four-year high. The county isn't just known as the home of Sin City. It also has one of the top 10 largest homeless populations in the country.

That's what has driven Las Vegas to take a gamble on a new way of helping the homeless.

In the past year, the city allocated about $5.9 million to demolish old buildings and replace them with a 4.5-acre campus for homeless people to escape the streets and get help. It officially opened this month, and when sleeping accomodations are added in May, it will be one of the first campuses of its kind in the country.

During the day, nonprofits at the site help people find housing and jobs, sign up for public benefits and access mental health and addiction treatment services. There are temporary toilets, handwashing stations and portable showers. The campus is scheduled to get sleeping mats, shaded structures and storage for people's belongings in May. In the meantime, people return to the streets at night..."

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