LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — A Las Vegas treatment center has joined the cause in assisting the unhoused population across the community by treating the root of the cause, which can often be connected to substance-abuse disorders and mental illness.
Vegas Stronger is located near downtown Las Vegas with the goal to take someone who is living on the streets and move them into a more permanent and stable situation.
The treatment center offers clinical support with three doctors on staff, including two psychiatrists and a medical prescriber.
“A lot of the shelters while they do great work, aren’t offering the serious mental illness treatment and drug and alcohol treatment that we think people need stable in the long term,” Ryan Hamilton the community relations organizer for Vegas Stronger shared.
He also acknowledged how dire the homeless problem has become, with mental illness being at the forefront.
What was once a problem in certain areas of the city, has now become a valley-wide issue.
“Homelessness is a big concern for many residential neighborhoods. We followed the story that you did on homelessness,” Hamilton added. “The impact of the growth of the homeless population is really reaching out to all parts of the city right now.”
Brandon Light spoke to 8 News Now about his own personal journey to recovery.
“I was born and raised in Las Vegas so I knew early on that this city can eat people up,” he said. “It led me to six years of homelessness, multiple juvenile facilities, prison twice all starting at the age of 16.”
He said he has been sober for three years and now helps out at the center as a case manager.
“I got tired of the up and down, get sent here and there and I was given the opportunity to go to treatment,” he recalled.
There are 2500 shelter beds located within a half-mile walk of Vegas Stronger.
The Courtyard Homeless Resource Center is also available for those seeking help, along with more multi-agency outreach resource engagement teams that can assist people living on the streets.