Hitchhiking Adventures – Part 10

Afterwards, we spent the rest of the night in the desert, where people built a kind of temple out of clay, which had only walls and no roof. There, the dancing, drumming and singing continued. I was tired and took a nap nearby. In the morning, we went back to Vegas.

Homeless in Las Vegas

Tracy, my host, worked in a homeless shelter for women in Las Vegas. She hadn’t had an easy life. When she was eleven, she ran away from home. She probably had an idea how one can end up homeless and without any hope. I accompanied her to work once. At first, we went to the homeless shelter for men, where she also met Scott when he, too, was homeless. He became her boyfriend. He had four kids with three different women, but didn’t have any contact with any of them. He told me that he had a daughter somewhere in Germany and he stayed there as a soldier a few years ago. The shelter for men was an old storage hall with maybe 200 beds laid next to each other. There were just beds, no furniture, chairs or tables. Just beds, beds and more beds. Tracy told me that there were estimated 14,000 homeless people in the city of Las Vegas. It was a privilege to find a place like this, to sleep with 199 other people in one big hall. People were allowed to stay there for a maximum of three months. There were no social workers there, just security staff. They served meals three times a day. And they had a place where they handed out donated clothes. That was it.

Homeless people who weren’t lucky enough to be allowed to eat at that place got 110$ meal vouchers each month. Also, there were people with physical and mental disabilities living among the homeless in the shelter. Tracy told me that there was no institution for people with mental disabilities in Las Vegas, a city with a population of 600,000.

Afterwards, we went to the shelter for women, which was an ugly building with very few small windows that accommodated 90 women and children. The sleeping rooms were big and furnished with bunk beds, each one for about 20 persons if I remember correctly. Often, women had to share their beds with children because of limited space. There were two rules in the shelter for women that I remember: taking a shower every day and no swear words.

Adventure – the Neighbourhood

After arriving in Las Vegas, I didn’t manage to reach Tracy. That was because it was Saturday and there was no one in the office of American Peace Test. So, I spent my time walking near the famous street with all the casinos and monster hotels, and through the neighbourhood, the backpack on my shoulders. I sat in the park and watched kids playing basketball. Finally, I went to a library to ask for the toilet and to fill up my water bottle. The man who worked there looked at me with his big eyes and said I was probably tired of life, just walking around here as a white man with a lot of luggage.

I really liked my hosts, Tracy and Scott, but I didn't like Las Vegas. Nevertheless, I stayed for a few more days until I got myself a ride. A group of women took me with them, and they were the same ones I already met at the temple in the desert. The five women who lived in an old yellow school bus, which they had turned into a mobile home.

They stayed at whichever place there was something to do for them. They cooked for the visitors at big alternative events and festivals and for homeless people. They repaired poor people’s houses and built playgrounds. All this for free. I have no idea how they managed to make a living. I’m sure they didn’t need much, but you do need to earn some money, I guess. They were constantly on the move, from one project to another. Very impressive.