Las Vegas non-profit Working to end Homelessness across Nevada
LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The non-profit, Vegas Stronger, is dedicated to ending homelessness in Las Vegas and all throughout Nevada, with hopes of expanding into California.
Mental health and addiction have been linked into an increased number of people experiencing homelessness. Research done by a UC San Francisco survey found that 82% of homeless people in California reported a period in their life where they experienced a serious mental health condition. And over 60% reported having a period in their life in which they used illicit drugs and/or were drinking heavily.
Dr. David Marlon, founder and CEO of Vegas Stronger, spoke with your News Channel to talk about the services they offer to combat homelessness.
He spoke about the link between mental health and homelessness he has witnessed.
"I knew they were intertwined, but, one thing we found in treating over 2200 unhoused is that 94% of them, after seeing a licensed clinician, were diagnosed with a substance use disorder," said Marlon. "Just because there's a substance use disorder, that doesn't exclude other mental health problems, and a significant percentage of the population have serious mental health issues as well."
Vegas Stronger has a full-time staff that provide interventions for those abusing drugs, or "Compassionate Assertive Interventions," to get them into the treatment needed to get clean.
"That's one of the things that we do at Vegas Stronger is we provide immediate access to behavioral health care for all Americans," said Marlon.
When dealing with a loved one who is experiencing mental health issues and drug abuse, Dr. Marlon says the solution is getting them into treatment right away.
"It is my firm belief that anything you do to support a person who's using a substance, a person who has a substance use disorder, is really enabling them and that we need to stop," said Dr. Marlon. "Money we need to stop giving them, food, if they're cold and they ask for a sweater – even giving them a sweater is not helpful. What's helpful is getting them into treatment so they can address either their mental health issues or their substance use disorders or hopefully both."
Dr. Marlon said Vegas Stronger works closely with law enforcement, and attempt to divert people from the jails into treatment.
"This isn't something that should be solved with a billy club. This should be solved often with a person with lived experience reaching out a hand and offering them to help them."
