Once disparaging of homeless, Vegas Valley volunteer tells their stories

Thomas Housel was homeless when Dan McElhattan helped him get a Department of Veterans Affairs ID.

Housel is wearing a ball cap in the photo, sporting a long, bushy goatee and tufts of wavy hair spilling out from over his ears. Some time later, he acquired a paratransit pass with the Regional Transportation Commission of Southern Nevada, his photo showing him with a trimmed goatee and noticeably shorter hair. He ultimately got his own apartment and was photographed sitting near the door, short-haired, beardless and smiling.

Housel was one of many homeless individuals that McElhattan has helped in getting back on their feet by gaining employment or registering for any available assistance, including Social Security, disability, rent vouchers and food stamps. He also has paid to give them shelter when the situation warranted.

"I found it was easier to help them while they were under my wing," he said. "So I would find them very inexpensive apartments — $300 to $400 — so they would have a place to stay."

Sometimes, giving money isn't as necessary in helping someone get off the street as talking to them, McElhattan said. One homeless man with whom McElhattan spoke went on to get a job, a car and an apartment.

"He calls me about once a year now just to say hello," McElhattan said. "I tell him I never did anything for him. He said, 'You gave me hope.' What a nice thing somebody can say to you."

Another man thought he was deaf until McElhattan brought him to a doctor, who discovered that the man merely needed wax buildup cleaned from his ears.

"It was like somebody gave him hearing," McElhattan said. "That got me all juiced up because there are things that we can do."

But McElhattan wasn't always as altruistic. In fact, he didn't think highly of people who were homeless. But that was before he began pursuing a bachelor's degree in social work at UNLV, a drastic change from his professional background in finance.

"I had a total misconception," he said. "I just thought they were smelly, they were criminal, they were lazy, and now it's totally different. There's somebody's mother out there or father, sister or brother. They could be anything out there. These are people like you and me."

McElhattan worked in accounting for the banking industry, later switching to the casino industry before retiring in 2011. After deciding to go back to college while he was still working, he opted to pursue a degree in social work after speaking with a counselor at UNLV.

"She said, 'What do you like?' I said, 'I like helping people,' " McElhattan said. "And she said, 'Good, you'll be a social work major.' "

He got his degree in 2005, continuing to help the homeless after he took part in various practicums to graduate.

"I was at the Sahara hotel at the time I decided to go back to school," he said.

The east valley resident became a board member in 2014 with the Friends in the Desert Foundation, a Henderson nonprofit that runs a food program for the homeless and others in need at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church, 43 Pacific Ave.

"Dan has had many, many years of experience working with people, and he's a person of great experience," said Paul Michaelson, president of the foundation. "We count ourselves as lucky to have him working with our organization. He's a great, great resource. We have got some really wonderful people in our organization."

The food program offers meals at 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday and 11:30 a.m. Saturday, when participants also receive a sack lunch for Sunday. Nursing students from Touro University, 874 American Pacific Drive, conduct wellness checks at the church typically at 4 p.m. on the first Tuesday of each month, and the Legal Aid Center of Southern Nevada, 725 E. Charleston Blvd., offers legal assistance on a quarterly basis, with the next opportunity slated for 4:30 p.m. Dec. 15.

Foundation board members recently asked McElhattan if he wanted to put his training in social work to use by interviewing food program participants for the foundation's electronic newsletter, which has 600 to 700 subscribers.

"We thought it would be a good idea for our newsletter to share about the people that are coming and what circumstances drove them to our door for a meal," said Donna Coleman, the foundation's vice president of development. "For some people, it's the only meal of the day."

The series of interviews, called Our Friends, got underway a few months ago, and the first four people McElhattan wrote about happened to be homeless. One was a man identified as Manuel S.

"It's a hard life, and at low times with his bipolar, he often wonders whether he should just 'check out,' " McElhattan wrote of Manuel. "He wants people to know that even though he looks hardcore, he is not a bad guy. His wants are simple, he says, 'A place to live.' "

Visit friendsinthedesert.com or call 702-565-8742.

— To reach Henderson View reporter Cassandra Keenan, email ckeenan@viewnews.com or call 702-383-0278. Find her on Twitter: @CassandraKNews.