Nevada Senator Joins the Homeless for 2 Days, Cites Need for Jobs Program

Sen. Harry Reid (D-Nev.) said Thursday that he spent two nights in Las Vegas and Reno mingling with the homeless while disguised as a bum and was startled by the experience.

“It was a real eye-opener to find out how important it is just to have a bed,” Reid said at a news conference after making the disclosure in an address to a joint session of the Nevada Legislature.

Reid said that when he goes to work in the morning in Washington, he sees people sleeping on grates on the sidewalk. He said he “wanted to get a feeling” of what was really happening.

So he put on some old clothes, a baseball hat and glasses and visited with the poor at shelters in Las Vegas on Monday and in Reno on Tuesday.

He slept in a top bunk at the Las Vegas Rescue Mission and lined up for food at the Salvation Army.

He said he came away more convinced than ever that a full employment program is needed. The poor he saw talked first about jobs, then food and shelter, he said.

Reid said they were not complimentary to either President Reagan or Congress.