“Housing Not Handcuffs!” join the fight for Housing Justice in Nevada.

For Make the Road Nevada (MRNV), the new year has started off with a big fight for housing. Beginning Thursday, January 9th, the Las Vegas community showed up to Mayor Carolyn Goodman’s State of the City to oppose her continued criminalization of the homeless population in Las Vegas. The following Wednesday the 15th of January, we showed up to protest against an addition to the homeless ban ordinance at the City Council meeting. In February, we will be celebrating our two year anniversary and officially launch our housing campaign. 

Every year, the mayor of Las Vegas addresses the status of the city, similar to the presidential State of the Union address, in a State of the City address. In the address, Mayor Goodman touted new projects coming to the Las Vegas area while defending the homeless ban first introduced last year, showing us once again that profits are being valued over people. While defending the homeless ban, Mayor Goodman cited the expansion of the Courtyard, a so called shelter that is outdoors, consists of park benches, and the equivalent of yoga mats for beds. 

The following Wednesday, MRNV members were once again protesting outside of city hall, this time to oppose the addition to the homeless ban to streets during sweepings, mentioned by Mayor Goodman in the state of the city. The new addition again consists of a thousand dollar fine and six months in jail. Not only has this never been a problem, but this is a clear demonstration of the war on the poor. A car would receive a $25-$100 fine for being parked during street sweeping. We know that someone who can’t afford a car should not be fined up to 40x more than someone who can afford a car and receive a misdemeanor offense. Sadly, the city council decided to vote in favor of commercial interests and against the people, further marginalizing the homeless community. Thank you to Olivia Diaz and Brian Knudsen for standing with our community.

 



 

We need leaders who stand with the people, housing should be a human right. Help us by joining this fight for just housing laws by coming to our Affordable Housing Committee on Friday at 1:00 pm At our Affordable Housing Committee, you will stay up to date with the latest actions going on in.. Help us celebrate our 2 year anniversary and the launch of our housing campaign on Feb. 15th. 

For more information, email us at amigxs@maketheroadnv.org or come to our weekly meetings.