Helping the homeless

Amid all of the holiday cheer that can be found around town — from Christmas tree lightings and parades to visits from Santa — it is incredibly sobering to read that two local homeless shelters that serve the Clark County area were packed to their limits on the first day they opened for the winter season on Nov. 1, and have remained steadily busy ever since.

This is the first time in the history of the Winter Hospitality Overflow program that this kind of immediate demand has occurred. Combined, both shelters have room for about 80 people.