Friday, Sept. 24, 1999 | 11:35 a.m.
New Shade Tree
Some of the differences between the current Shade Tree homeless shelter for women and the new building that will be erected across the street from it:
Cheryl breaks the stereotype of a mentally ill homeless woman.
She is not a dirty, old bag lady who wanders the streets of Las Vegas pushing a rickety shopping cart full of her earthly belongings.
She is a 39-year-old client of the Shade Tree women's shelter, has a monthly income of $500 from a Social Security disability check for her diagnosed mental illness, wears clean clothes and talks about one day becoming self-sufficient.
As she looked at plans for Shade Tree's new $6 million shelter that breaks ground next month at Main Street and Owens Avenue, Cheryl said she hopes that by the time it opens next summer she will be on her feet and won't be one of its residents.
"It's beautiful -- it looks homey and comfortable, and it will be great for future homeless women," said Cheryl (she and Shade Tree officials asked that her last name not be printed because of the shelter's confidentiality policy).
"People don't understand what a homeless person is. We come from all walks of life," she said. "Some of us have money, but when you have to pay for rent and moving-in expenses, you don't have enough for utilities and find yourself homeless again."
That's what happened to Cheryl, who does not own or drive an automobile and is on medication to control her mental illness. She moved to Las Vegas from California with her brother five months ago and found herself on her own after they had a falling out.
"I went to a church looking for some food and they told me about Shade Tree," Cheryl said. "I stayed 34 days, saved my money and got an apartment. But after I got my first electric bill, I knew I would not be able to afford to stay there long. That's why I'm back at Shade Tree. Next time I'll probably go to transitional housing first."
Brenda Dizon, executive director of Shade Tree for 2 1/2 years, has heard that story and thousands more like it. Cases like Cheryl's speak volumes for the need for a larger, modern Shade Tree to guide women back into mainstream society.
"The purpose is for us to serve homeless women and children, not warehouse them," Dizon said. "We want a new facility that will be inviting and meet their needs, yet not be so fluffy that they won't want to leave."
Construction on the three-story building across the street from the current shelter is slated to begin the second week of October. It is being built by longtime Shade Tree supporter Perini Building Co., which just built Paris Las Vegas on the Strip.
The attractive earth-tone brick building with imitation copper decorations will be a far cry from the decaying cinder-block facility that has served as the organization's home since 1990. Catholic Community Services, owners of the building and the land, plans to level it and redevelop the property after Shade Tree moves out.
"This building served its purpose, but now it is time to move on," Dizon said.
The Shade Tree, which started in 1989 in the basement of a local Episcopal church with the help of the Junior League of Las Vegas, is Clark County's only 24-hour emergency shelter designed specifically for women and children in crisis -- often domestic abuse.
"We are designed to house 84 people a night, yet 800 to 1,000 women a month go through our facility," Dizon said. "Too many nights we are turning people away. There are not enough beds for homeless women and children."
The new facility will be designed to accommodate nearly 500 people at a time.
Dizon said the problem of homelessness among women and children has not been adequately addressed in Southern Nevada and other communities.
"The need has always been there, but was not talked about in society," Dizon said. "Now many women, for their own safety and that of their children, react to spousal abuse by seeking help. They call the police. They go to shelters with their children."
When organizations like Shade Tree grow to help large numbers of one faction of the homeless population, it frees up other shelters to address other areas of homelessness.
"Their (Shade Tree's) new building will help us concentrate on mentally ill homeless men and women and homeless men," Salvation Army spokesman Sumner Dodge said.
"I don't see any of us ever catching up with the problem. There are far more homeless people than there are available beds," Dodge said. "Our family services office helped 19,000 people in 1990, and that number grew to a record 44,700 last year. We're expecting to help more than 50,000 people this year."
The Salvation Army's Safe Haven facility for the mentally ill is expected to open by year's end -- a further sign that as Las Vegas' population continues to boom, more structures that address the needs of the homeless will be coming on line.
MASH Village, the Las Vegas Rescue Mission and Catholic Community Services' St. Vincent's dining room and shelter also have been expanding in recent years.
When Shade Tree undertook its new building fund-raising efforts in 1996, it planned to erect a 250-bed facility at a cost of $2.5 million.
"We just evolved from there," Dizon said. "After getting input from the Southern Nevada Homeless Coalition we learned that many more beds were needed. Soon our goal was to build a national model for all homeless shelters."
The new tree-lined facility will be surrounded by an 8-foot wall. There will be on-site security, an electronic front gate and key card-coded locks. Still Dizon insists it won't be prison-like for the residents who will be allowed to stay up to 90 days.
"We wanted to build a facility of hope with a children's activities center so that homeless children can still be and act like children while they are here," she said.
"There also will be areas for victims of domestic violence and street crimes and a day shelter program for senior citizens."
Such an undertaking gives homeless women like Cheryl a somewhat secure feeling that if they can't make it under current conditions, there will be a better-equipped future shelter that will give them other opportunities to break the cycle of homelessness.
"I have a positive outlook that things will get better for me and that I will have my own place that I can afford," Cheryl said. "It takes a lot of effort to get back on your feet. But with some help, people can do it."
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