Homelessness in Southern Nevada continues to rise, according to 2024 US report

Homelessness is more common in Southern Nevada this year, with an increase of nearly 1,500 who have been identified as homeless in a report released by Clark County.

The 2024 Point-in-Time Homelessness Count found 7,906 people experiencing homelessness in Southern Nevada as of Jan. 25, a 17% increase over last year. It follows an upward trend in the region every year since 2021, when 5,083 homeless were counted.

The report is completed annually with the help of volunteers who spend a morning surveying public areas to count sheltered and unsheltered homeless people. It is part of a nationwide initiative "aimed at understanding the extent of homelessness across the United States" and must be completed during the last ten days of January as required by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the county said in a press release.

Last year, 6,566 homeless individuals were identified in Southern Nevada, with 60% of them — or, 3,912 — unsheltered and 2,654 people in emergency shelters or transitional housing.

It seems the gap between sheltered and unsheltered people has been reduced this year, the county reported. The count of sheltered individuals in 2024 increased to 3,704 people, which the county attributed “to the expansion of shelter access for individuals experiencing or at-risk of experiencing homelessness and a change in (their) counting methodology.”

In an email to media, county officials said opening noncongregate shelters — short-term temporary housing — in Clark County has provided more people safe and stable housing, “which can help to break the cycle of homelessness.”

They added that a 62% increase in noncongregate shelter beds and expanded access to emergency shelters “has led to a significant rise in the number of shelter individuals,” “yielded positive results,” and has “improved (their) ability to count individuals experiencing homelessness.”

“This year's Point-in-Time count shows that our efforts to expand shelter options are having a tangible impact," said Deputy County Manager Abigail Frierson in a press release. "While the number of individuals living unsheltered remains high and we continue to work to secure permanent, stable housing, it is encouraging to see that we are steadily moving residents off the streets and into safer environments."

The number of unsheltered people jumped by 7% in 2024 to 4,202, the county noted.

Unlike last year, a higher percentage of those homelessness were women in the 2024 Point-in-Time Count, according to the data. Roughly 67% of those counted in 2023 were identified as men compared to 33% women, but approximately 64% counted this year were women and 36% men.

There have been reductions in the number of homeless people who have experienced domestic violence; been identified as living with substance abuse; lived with mental health challenges; or been diagnosed with the HIV/AIDS virus.

Fewer people in the 2024 report identified as a single adult or veteran, but unaccompanied youth rose from 5% of those counted in 2023 to 6% in 2024. Families with children increased from 12% of homeless last year to 19% this year.

Chronic homelessness — defined by the National Alliance to End Homelessness as those who have experienced homelessness for at least a year or repeatedly while living with a disabling condition — also jumped from 28% in 2023 to 34% in 2024.

To address homelessness in the region, Clark County has recently invested millions to open short-term and permanent supportive housing, including $23 million on six noncongregate shelters and over $170 million for affordable housing units for low to extremely low-income residents in Southern Nevada.

They also operate 40 Rapid Rehousing programs, which the county said represents 30.77% of projects for homeless people, and a Navigation Center to connect homeless adults without children to housing, income, public benefits and physical, mental and behavioral health services, among others.