Las Vegas’ Tunnel Underworld | Unreported World
Unreported World is from the bright lights of Las Vegas, a city at the forefront of America’s homelessness crisis.
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Reporter Jordan Jarrett-Bryan investigates how the city is responding, and discovers a network of subterranean tunnels which have become a refuge for the city’s homeless.
Almost 8,000 people are now homeless in Las Vegas, a 56 per cent increase in just three years. And in America, almost a hundred and fifty thousand people are considered long term homeless, the highest it’s been since 2007.
At a storm drain entrance Jarrett-Bryan meets Echo Marie, who lives in a tunnel just four feet high. Echo tells us how this is the safest place to live, having been moved by police from one neighbourhood to another. But life underground is still risky, we hear how some tunnels are drug ridden and belongings could be washed away when it rains. Shauna McQueen, who runs Holy Smoke, a local charity, says the city’s lack of affordable housing is to blame for the crisis.
On patrol with a private security company Jarret-Bryan witnesses how the city is approaching the problem. Employed by local businesses, we see how homeless camps are cleared and the residents are referred to a charity working with the city. Inside the doors of Vegas Stronger, we learn that the homeless population is getting older, as the cost-of-living hits those approaching retirement age the hardest.
Filmed, produced and directed by Nick Blakemore
Series Producer: Andy Lee
Executive Producer: Ed Fraser
Production Company: Channel 4 News
