350 homeless people died this year in Las Vegas. Advocates say more support is needed

Local organizations came together for a candlelight vigil Thursday to honor 350 people who they said died while homeless within the past year.

Hosted by Straight from the Streets, a nonprofit that helps provide financial and mental health resources to homeless people, and the Nevada Homeless Alliance, an anti-homelessness organization, the theme was “celebrating hope.” The yearly event happened behind The Strat on a dirt lot on St. Louis Avenue, marking the 31st of its kind.

The humble venue consisted of a stage, folding chairs, and about ten vendor booths around the lot’s perimeter. At the booths, community partners offered survival kits, housing opportunities, health care, and even free haircuts to passersby and event attendees. Raising Cane’s chicken was also served, providing a warm meal to those experiencing homelessness.

Brittany Peterson, who used to live at Toni’s House, a halfway home in west Las Vegas, said she heard about the event from a friend. Now working as a barber, Peterson thought she could use her talents to give back.

“This is my first year out here. It is cold, but it makes you wonder how they (the homeless) feel living out here,” Peterson said. “It means a lot that I can help — even if it is just with a haircut.”

The vigil started with a prayer from Merideth Spriggs, the founder and chief kindness officer of the local nonprofit Caridad Las Vegas. Spriggs, formerly a youth pastor and then homeless herself at one point, said that prayer drives her outreach work near Las Vegas and East Charleston boulevards. Here, she ministers to those struggling with substance abuse.

“Faithfully, I go out at 7:00 a.m. every day and pray for anybody who wants it. … And then I found out, as we were praying with people, that some had income. I asked them, ‘Do you want to get high?’ They said, ‘No, I just want to go indoors.’”

After Spriggs finished, Catrina Grigsby-Thedford, director of the Homeless Alliance, introduced the event, thanking public officials for their support. Newly elected Las Vegas Mayor Shelly Berkley sat in the audience, a gift bag full of socks and undergarments she would donate at her feet.

“I’ve only been in office for eight days now, but I made a commitment during the campaign that I would work to eliminate homelessness in Las Vegas,” Berkley said. “I don’t know whether we will be able to eliminate it completely, but each and every one of us needs to do our part to ensure that our friends, our family, and our fellow citizens have a chance to get off the streets.”

The Nevada Homeless Alliance also invited attendees to donate clothing, shoes, and other essentials to be given away at homeless resource fairs later.

Next, Grigsby-Thedford shared the leading causes of the 350 homeless deaths. She said that 35 percent of the deaths were related to environmental heat stress and heat in general, while 42 percent involved methamphetamine toxicity.

The Review-Journal previously reported that nearly 500 people died from heat-related illnesses this year, marking the deadliest on record for Las Vegas since the coroner’s office began to consider heat a contributing cause of death in 2021.

Robert Banghart with Shine A Light, a nonprofit that helps people living in the tunnels of Las Vegas, shared that the heat was frightening when he used to be homeless and slept under bridges. One day, he woke up crying from a painful sunburn that covered his entire body.

“When homeless people die, we will try to put their cause of death in this box or that box,” Banghart said. “The truth is that most of the time, two or three factors contribute. That is why we need to look at the whole picture and figure out how to provide comprehensive support.”

The candlelight service took place at the end of the program. Organizers passed out glasses and paper cups with candles inside to audience members while a speaker read the names of those who had passed.

“Though we have names from the local coroner, we recognize that some may not be included, so we invited the community and service providers to submit additional names for recognition,” Grigsby-Thedford said. “This vigil is a powerful reminder of the importance of compassion, community support, and the ongoing need for change.”

Contact Akiya Dillon at adillon@reviewjournal.com.