More than 6500 Las Vegas residents lack permanent housing and nearly 70 per cent of the city's homeless population sleeps outside, according to the Las Vegas government.
With a nearby homeless shelter overflowing, officials decided to expand into the parking lot, at the Cashman Centre convention complex about 10km from the Las Vegas Strip.
More than 50 volunteers laid out 2230 sq m of carpet for the homeless to use as sleeping mats, which have been spaced 2m apart to abide by social distancing protocols, said David Riggleman, a spokesman for the city of Las Vegas. The shelter also has portable toilets and washing stations.
"It was a logistical heavy lift," said Riggleman, describing the effort, which was accomplished with essentially a day's notice. "That was a lot to pull together in a very short amount of time."
Officials chose to use the parking lot instead of the buildings at the convention complex to reserve the space indoors for possible hospital overflow, he said.
Still, the city has struggled to provide the temporary services while also addressing concerns about sanitation and the virus. Initially, officials had hoped to have the carpeting cleaned each day, but later found that the service provider was unable to adequately disinfect the material, Riggleman said, and so many are sleeping on concrete.
Las Vegas officials said they are concerned about the long-term financial impacts of the coronavirus shutdowns. Governor Steve Sisolak of Nevada issued a 90-day moratorium on Monday on all evictions and foreclosures in the state in an effort to stave off some of the most severe economic consequences.
But Riggleman said it was not clear whether that will be enough to prevent a rise in the city's homeless population.
"We know we're in for a rough road," Riggleman said.