LAS VEGAS—Beneath the glitz and glamour of the Las Vegas Strip, hundreds of hidden homeless people live in the filth and squalor of a 500-mile network of tunnels.
Often referred to as “mole people” or “tunnel people,” they remain underground, out of sight, to avoid—among other dangers—the deadly desert sun. They represent only a fraction of the thousands of homeless individuals in Southern Nevada.
Summertime temperatures can soar above 120 degrees Fahrenheit, while winter temperatures often dip below freezing. The tunnels offer shade and shelter from the wind, but they are dark and dangerous, prone to flooding, and rife with illicit drugs, violent crime, and disease….