Beneath the Neon
Looks like I’m going to be in Las Vegas for Christmas, so I’m planning to play Santa Claus in the underground flood channels. I’d like to go down there with an assortment of “gifts” – new or used: winter clothes, socks, shoes, canned goods, bottled water, books, flashlights, batteries, etc. I need mostly clothing for men, but also some women’s clothing.
If you have anything you’d like to donate to the cause, please let me know in the next week and a half.
Steve and Kathryn, the couple featured in some of the media coverage of the tunnels, have been housed. Two weeks ago, I helped them move some of their stuff from the side tunnel they lived in for a few years to a group home in central Vegas. Just talked to them yesterday and they seem to be doing well.
They’re in the capable hands of Louis Lacey, one of HELP of Southern Nevada’s most respected case managers. Lacey, Rich Penksa and many other HELP staffers have visited the side tunnel – located about a half-mile into a storm drain – regularly over the past seven or eight months. Their determination and bravery have resulted in several people leaving that tunnel and being housed. They’re changing lives – and it’s incredible to see.
I’ll try to keep you all updated on Steve and Kathryn and the 15 or so other people the Shine a Light crew has helped lead from the darkness.
The third printing of Beneath the Neon is back from the printer. It looks a lot like the second printing, but with some media mentions and blurbs on the first page.
Thanks to everyone who bought a copy of the book. And if you haven’t bought one and want to, visit http://shoplva.myshopify.com/products/beneath-the-neon or your local bookstore. (Last I checked, the Borders at Town Square had several signed copies.)
Or let me know and I can hook you up with a deal out of the trunk of my car.
As a fan of Anderson Cooper and his show, AC360, I thought this was pretty cool. A special thanks to CNN senior producer Michael Cary, who did a great job with the text version of the story and was extremely professional throughout the process.
The video:
http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/10/10/rowlands.homeless.tunnels.cnn?iref=videosearch
The text version:
It’s been six months since HELP of Southern Nevada and I co-founded Shine a Light – a charity organization that helps the hundreds of men and women living in the underground flood channels of Las Vegas – so I figured I’d give you all a quick update. We’ve met and offered services to more than 100 people, got paperwork on about 35 (who are now on file) and housed and treated about 15. We’ve also helped people get IDs, food stamps, medical treatment and we’ve rescued a few animals.
The staff of HELP of Southern Nevada – led by Rich Penksa – and its affiliated organizations, including Straight from the Streets, Mojave Mental Health and WestCare, do incredible work! It’s been amazing to watch them take people from the tunnels and turn their lives around.
For more information on Shine a Light, visit www.beneaththeneon.com/shine_a_light.html.
The U.K. newspaper the Sun also published a piece on the tunnels:
“Nightline,” the popular ABC late-night news show, recently aired a story about the tunnels. One of the cool things about the piece was I got to meet Lisa Ling, who’s a prominent and talented American reporter. (Her sister Laura was detained in North Korea for more than four months.)
http://abcnews.go.com/Nightline/las-vegas-strip-home-homeless/story?id=8652139
Guy Adams, a charming Welshman and the Independent’s L.A. correspondent, filed a long and informative story about the tunnels and the outreach we’re doing. Here it is (the link is long; if it breaks, just copy and paste):
http://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/subterranean-home-of-las-vegass-losers-1786877.html
Eric Lichtblau, a Pulitzer Prize winner with the New York Times, wrote a story about violence against the homeless and what some people are doing to try to prevent it. Toward the end of the piece, he mentions that homeless live in the underground flood channels of Las Vegas and he quotes your favorite (wink, wink) storm-drain chronicler.
It’s a good story, I think, about a really important subject:
As some of you know, I’ve been working on a literary journalism (or creative nonfiction) collection for a year and a half or so. Just wanted to update you all on that. I recently finished a 3,800-word story about the Diplomat, a historic apartment complex in the shadow of the Strip – and my home for the last four years. Now I’m working on a story about the Blue Angel, a weekly motel on East Fremont Street – and my home for seven days in late May.
The Blue Angel story, tentatively titled “My Week at the Blue Angel,” will be about 15,000 words and, I assume, the centerpiece of the collection. I have some solid material to work with: poetic color, conversations with the tenants, an interview with Betty Willis (who designed the Blue Angel sign and sculpture). I’m really excited about this story.
Anyway, I hope to finish the story and collection in the next few months. Then I’ll continue to shop it around.
I’ll keep you all updated.