This year's homeless count found more than 600 veterans in Clark County without a home, up 22% from two years earlier.

U.S.VETS works to get them housed and keep them there.

Paige Miller, Executive Director of U.S.VETS Las Vegas, joins us now.

Paige, welcome to Nevada Week.

-Thank you.

It's an honor to be here.

-What do you think about that 22% increase?

What's behind it do you think?

(Paige Miller) I want to first say that 605 veterans identified through the Clark County Point-in-Time count is 605 too many veterans on the street, and our veterans who fought to defend our nation should not be experiencing homelessness.

And I think the increase in the number of veterans found in the Point-in-Time count from two years ago has to do perhaps with the methodology change, but also it's only one night where folks go out in the community and find those individuals experiencing homelessness.

So it can vary over the years.

-Do you think it's more or less than that number?

-Well, that 605 individuals includes those who are in transitional housing, and we are one of those organizations in Vegas that provides transitional housing.

But I think that the number is larger because there are individuals who we simply cannot locate.

-When you talk about veterans that you are unable to find, what do you mean by that?

-There are veterans in tunnels that run under the city of Las Vegas, and sometimes they don't want to be found or it's very difficult to convince them to come and stay with us at U.S.VETS and return to a path of stability and dignity.

-What is your outreach effort like?

-Well, in fact, outreach is our first interaction with clients.

And every week, five days a week, we have an outreach team that goes out into the tunnels, in the encampments, libraries, prisons, and hospitals, looking for veterans who are at risk of experiencing homelessness or who are unfortunately currently experiencing homelessness.

-Why do people not want the help?

Why do these veterans say that?

-These veterans have led a life of service, and they're very self-reliant.

And so sometimes it's not easy for them to ask for help or accept that help.

But we don't give up, and we continue to build the relationships with those veterans we find in the streets and the tunnels until they are willing to accept help from U.S.VETS.

-It sounds hard to believe they'd prefer living in a tunnel than having a home.

-It's something that they've become accustomed to.

And when you talk to clients who were literally homeless the day before, they have fascinating stories that led them to live like that.

And they have their own little arrangements in the tunnels and on the streets and communities that they've built.

And a lot of them do suffer from mental health challenges, which is an impediment for them to seek help.

-And I would think, okay, if you're a veteran, you should have the benefits to get treatment for mental health.

But it's probably not that easy.

Can you explain how that works?

-I can, yes.

So there are benefits that the VA provides, but oftentimes veterans are not aware of those benefits.

And so they don't know that they can receive healthcare from the VA, and they don't know that they can have a disability rating, which gives them a certain percentage of income every month that's not taxed.

And so there's other barriers; some of them include not knowing where to go to seek that healthcare or transportation challenges.

-What about realistically if they do get help from the VA or seek it for mental health?

What's that timeline like?

How long does it take?

-When our clients come in, some of them who are literally homeless lack documentation to prove that they were even in the military.

So we begin that journey with them by assigning them a case manager who walks with them down that path of independence.

So we help them obtain the DD-214 document that proves their military service and obtain a driver's license or a birth certificate that they may have lost, even if they remember what state they were born in.

And that's just the first step of their journey.

And then helping them find those medical services that are available and, again, encouraging them to have the willingness to accept whatever medical diagnoses may come their way.

-What is that timeline like from actually contacting the VA and then getting help?

Because for many Southern Nevadans, it's difficult to get mental health treatment because of the lack of providers.

-The VA is a wonderful partner, and we are very fortunate that they fund us and other organizations in Southern Nevada.

And so we work closely with them to expedite that process so veterans are receiving some type of healthcare, whether it's in the community or through the VA.

-I'm glad you brought up funding.

How are you funded at U.S.VETS Las Vegas?

-At U.S.VETS Las Vegas, we are 81% funded by the VA and HUD.

-That can be difficult because HUD funding is dependent on Congress, right, and the President?

And right now, it seems to be a little bit up in the air as to what's coming down.

How do you deal with that, the uncertainty?

Where do you stand right now with your funding?

-We're fortunate to have funding right now.

The VA and HUD selected us to receive grant funding again, and we're very fortunate for that partnership.

But we are aware at U.S.VETS that funding levels can change, as you said.

There's administration changes and decisions that are made in Washington; and so in order to avoid any federal funding gaps, we also seek funding from donors, foundations, the casinos, and individual donors.

-And that, too, can be hard amid high prices and current economic conditions, finding people willing to part with their money.

And they have so many different options for donating.

You provide transitional housing, correct, also permanent supportive housing?

What does that mean, permanent supportive housing?

-This is a wonderful question.

Transitional housing means that we can have our veterans at our main site, which houses 132 clients, four to a room, and they were literally homeless when we found them.

And they come in and they begin their journey of independence and stability, as I mentioned before.

Permanent housing, or permanent supportive housing, is our ultimate goal for most of our clients.

Sometimes they also wish to obtain employment, which we help them through our workforce development program.

But the permanent supportive housing program gives them the opportunity to have a lease directly in their name with a landlord, and then they feel that they've regained that independence by having that property.

-And can that be a form of helping, a landlord contacting you and saying they're willing to participate and perhaps-- Well, how does that work?

-Yes.

Affordable housing is a big challenge here in Southern Nevada for all nonprofits and individuals who need to have affordable housing.

We are looking for landlords and property managers who are willing to partner with us, where they know that we can support those veterans in their journey and pay for their rent and their security deposit.

-Would you at U.S.VETS Las Vegas rather have funding for more permanent supportive housing or the transitional housing?

-Well, actually, our goal is to have a permanent campus.

We've been operational for 25 years.

We just celebrated our 25th anniversary, and we're spread out in the city at four locations.

But our goal is to have one campus where all of these programs can be together, so veterans who are in transitional housing can also see the successes of their neighbors in the permanent supportive housing.

-Has that been submitted as a proposal to any government entity?

-It's a work in progress, and so I'd love to be able to meet individuals who are willing to donate land or introduce us to people in the community--decision makers, politicians--who can help us find that land, whether it's donated or it's something we can purchase.

-Tell me about your Stand Down event and what it accomplished this year.

-Our Stand Down event is actually a community event where we bring together more than 200 registered service providers to support veterans in the community.

You do not have to be a veteran experiencing homelessness to attend.

It's any veteran in the community can come and obtain medical services for themselves or their animals.

There's mobile showers, meals, clothing, legal services.

And we had-- Last year we had more than 400 veterans attend.

-Wow!

-Yes.

-And from what I read, the purpose is to take care of a lot of problems all in one day.

-That's right, a one-stop shop.

-And veterans feel comfortable coming forward for this?

-Yes.

It's a remarkable program, an event that is not possible without the entire community.

-How can the community help your cause?

-Of course, financial donations are always appreciated, but the community can help volunteer.

They can come to our transitional housing site and serve meals.

We do serve three hot meals there every day.

We have a variety of programs that our clients can enjoy, such as Combat Coffee, yoga.

This is part of our therapeutic community, and so we're looking for volunteers.

-Paige Miller, Executive Director at U.S.VETS Las Vegas, thank you for joining Nevada Week.

-Thank you very much.