A man walks through a temporary homeless shelter overflow facility at a Cashman Center parking lot Saturday, March 28, 2020. Officials established the camp to house residents who were displaced when Catholic Charities closed due to coronavirus concerns.
Saturday, March 28, 2020 | 6:22 p.m.
Part of the parking lot at Cashman Center in downtown Las Vegas has been transformed into a temporary homeless shelter as city and county officials work together to mitigate the spread of the coronavirus among that community.
The open-air shelter was put together to offset the 500 or so beds taken out of circulation by the temporary closure of the Catholic Charities men’s night shelter earlier this week after a client tested positive for COVID-19. The shelter, which is open 6 p.m. to 8 a.m. daily, is situated in the upper parking lot.
The temporary shelter, which will shut down on Friday when Catholic Charities is expected to reopen, will serve as an overflow area for people who use the nearby homeless Courtyard, which will still host “those with fragile health or mobility problems.”
Photos posted by Clark County on social media showed volunteers laying blue carpet on the asphalt parking lot and medical students in protective garb running a booth. A photo showed a truck delivering portable bathrooms
Las Vegas officials said they are reserving the buildings at Cashman Center as an overflow area for hospital patients “should the community require it.”
“We’re proud to be working in collaboration with the City (of Las Vegas) to meet the needs of our homeless population and appreciate the quick response of the participants in standing up the facility so soon,” Clark County Commissioner Justin Jones said in a news release.
“The city wants to make this site available because we know the obligations we have to help ease the overflow at the Homeless Courtyard,” Las Vegas Mayor Carolyn Goodman added.
