It looks like hell but for some people it’s the only option…
Las Vegas may seem like the home of glitz and glamour but underneath the party streets and famous Boulevard lies a world with a very different story.
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Over 300 homeless people are believed to have taken shelter and set up home inside the flood tunnels of Las Vegas, deep underground.
Despite knowing the dangers and having witnessed people die in the tunnels, for some it is the preferred option to sleeping rough on the streets and having people rob them all the time.
Paul Vautrinot is one such person who has lived in the horrid conditions.
“You forget that there is an outside world, you forget that you’re underground it becomes your own world.”
“Nobody has any idea that we’re down here.” says Paul.
He now works for the community organisation Shine a Light which offers housing and counselling for those who have found themselves with no option but to set up home in the tunnels.
With many of the residents having to cope with drug addictions, not only are the conditions dirty and damp, they are highly dangerous too.
And it’s not just human life down there, the tunnels are full of bats, rats and spiders.
In this eye-opening video on The Guardian’s YouTube channel, we see how the people living underground cope with day-to-day life in a “dog-eat-dog” world.
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