They Live in Tunnels Below Las Vegas

there are more than 1,500 people living in tunnels below Las Vegas I'm always wondering what time it is directly under the billion doll casinos luxury nightclubs and blackjack tables people suffering from homelessness drug addictions and mental health trauma are living completely off the grid and by their own rules you mind if I ask what happened to your eye I'm Trav to the Head yep I want to find out what this hidden Community is like how these people ended up down here and shine a light on this mysterious underground World down we go [Music] this is a Las Vegas strip the Las Vegas Strip is really loud and has a lot of cars it's crazy to me to think there's a tunnel below the street where the people are living I've been to Vegas many times but I've never had like the Goosebumps like I have now like none of these people here on street level know about what's going on underground we're going deep down my friends we're going down down down down I am on my way to meet up with Rob ex tunnel resident who escaped homelessness after an attack that left him near dead on the train tracks I'm really lucky to have him as my guide because it is next level dangerous to venture inside the tunnels alone we're starting here at the shine of light Foundation headquarters which is a nonprofit helping the community everyone who works here are people that used to live in the tunnel so they understand the life they know how to talk to the people and it's awesome to see how they're giving back and I'm going to put a link in the description down below if you guys want to donate and help support the community here we go over 600 M of tunnel stretch beneath Las Vegas where people take shelter and create new lives the tunnels are prone to flooding during monsoon season and drugs like Fentanyl and crystal meth are widespread today I'll be heading down with some volunteers and we're starting directly beneath one of the most iconic casinos in Vegas Caesar's Palace all right we got the Dream Team going down what you guys got down here uh Naran Naran and um care packages nice they contain like socks and um like food and just necessities and stuff have you been done here many times this one is like a changes a lot so you don't know all the people down here I don't got to be honest it's pretty intimidating to stand here and look down at the tunnel you could see all the trash here leading into the tunnel it's absolutely mind-blowing like I'm just had a loss for words right now I don't even know what to say or what to think but it's it's very sad where you originally from Boise yeah man I'm from Boise what about you man I'm from River California oh nice why why did you choose this spot over other spots because I knew one of the guys here and he was pretty cool like he was C and everything but uh after the cops came they kind of push does this hurt when you look at it in your eyes yeah it's a laser Man it hurts it doesn't hurt it doesn't hurt when you put it in your eyes no like it's like I'm like from another place and like I can like look in the Sun and I can like like sit there and shine lasers in my eyes it makes me feel better like awake what do you guys do during the day or just hang out out here uh during the day it's like uh I try not to do too much but at night is when I attack you know what do you do at night get supplies get supplies yeah you sleep here right here uh no this is like my uh my offic I don't sleep I'm a vampire yeah there you go I'm N feratu I just woke up recently though like check it out you you see yeah you say you didn't sleep I'm like a dark Shaman priest yeah I used to worship Saint Lucifer is like the main the main thing I just remember these names are probably today you worshiped him before well no never like I'm My Own guy I don't worship but I got people's backs drugs you know what I mean if y'all wanted to take maybe like a year which drug do you prefer I like Blues I would quit crystal if I had Blues like a prescription and or whatnot I like Mor like morphing and Sh for you man thank you man I really I needed this with this I'm going to try to get my ID maybe like like um I might end up just wasting it on drugs it's nice to meet you what I need is some people to just pray for me to have like strength and physiques got Naran I'm going give you some guys I'm going give you some is that no it takes three to bring you back oh take it easy Bro e getting out of here is insane jeez we barely fit in here oh oh man sludge foot a big boy over here my could be a a lineman thank you brother all right we are heading down shine a light shine a light light shine a light got supp it is dark in these tunnels we're just approaching and seeing if anyone's there I hate being hated by most everyone for what other people do not all homeless people are bad I like that this is crazy dude so sketchy completely dark in here and cold it's interesting that there's natural light right here like crazy right just just a manhole cover there daylight right there you can see a little glimpse of the sky it's crazy yeah let's turn off the life for once one second oops damn it is Pitch Black in here they live here they wake up they know they know where the rocks are they can hear the sounds of the street everything everything what does that sound right now is that like the street cars just cars on the street yeah the freeway is right here we're under the freeway the tunnel is like is like the best example of both addiction and homelessness because to think that like this would be your normal right but it gives you the illusion right like I got a roof over my head during the summer it's not as hot down here during the winter it's not as cold because it it blocks the wind you know what I mean right there was a lot of Randomness that happened you know what I mean like there was a guy in my neighborhood that was killing hom people with a hammer a couple weeks and they caught them you know what I mean but like just random stuff like that like people would drive by and throw a bottle people would you know yell things and plus other homeless people out there you know what I mean whoa what is going on over here it's all debris from the last last rain wao dude that's the back of sear Palace it's crazy you can see the sign for Rod Stewart but like nobody knows that there's people under [Music] here why did you originally come to Vegas I had uh was getting in a lot of trouble back home and I had a friend that lived out here he was he was a cook and I was a cook at the time I came out here to kind of try and change my life but when I landed very quickly I realized he wasn't so much a friend as much as a using buddy you know what I mean so like I landed here we were in a bad neighborhood it was really the environment right the environment I was able to continue to do what I was doing so I was kind of able to hold it together for a while get married had kids and eventually it kind of came to it came to an end and then when did you first hear about the tunnels I didn't hear about it until I was like 2 3 years homeless I had relapsed was homeless right away I was living on the surface and when you're homeless like there's no resources you don't know where anything is you know what I mean so I kind of had to learn on the Fly and uh it kind of progressed right I I I was the area I talk about for master is like a major hub for homelessness in Las Vegas and got used to being homeless figured out my hustles and all that and then I went to another area of town called by the rescue mission and while I was there I you know built up a group of friends and people that I used to hustle with and get high together and the day came every bu was like hey come over here come check this out with me I went with them he introduced me to my will be my tunnel for the next 2 and 1 half years what was life like the F those first few years in the tunnel little sense of community you know what I mean and uh but it was also a lot of chaos too you know I mean a lot of chaos is that Jay you want you want Jay Jay I brought I brought a friend he wants to talk to you yeah where you from bro New Hampshire East Coast oh which part of New Hampshire like uh I grew up in triester but I live most and how long you been out here in Las Vegas too long like 10 years 12 years I a long time what's it like to live down here it's horrible yeah there's no plus side to it in any way it can flood at any time uh even though we have a Dr fevery is always a problem and then seriously haunted uh haunted oh yeah and what ways some stuff's from here some's not I mean basically I so there's no sense of community like people getting along or everyone man every man for themsel I mean it used to be a community but those days are gone I can't even tell you who lives here is there anything that you want that you don't have right now all material objects have zero value to me I've had all my stuff stolen so many times and bulldozed it's absolutely irrelevant that has no value whatsoever money really has no value I mean like I say that it's like it's that's sad I mean I have a bunch of money in the bank that's Social Security I'm 100% disabled I get money every month go a bank account that I can't get because I have my ID but it sounds like there is an escape for you no no there is and you know I don't give a about the money in any way you have no idea how much I mean I could kill us what's the worst thing that's happened to you down here The Haunting thing is pretty serious I mean I don't tell people about there's demons there just from here there not from here you've seen demons oh yeah what do they look like they're blacker than black what kind of drugs do you mess around with down here just do this all do you have contact with any of your family back home no I don't talk to any of them friends uh no what do they think you're doing right now they think I'm dead they thought I was dead have you ever seen someone get killed down here um some much chopped up I mean die but there's definitely been people killed down here you seen people get chopped up with a knife something like that yeah have you been in prison uh no I don't I don't know how to even keep up with the laws or the statutes now you can't stand on the boulevard you can't sit on the boulevard you can't be 20 yards from an elevator all the homeless people 100% Going to the boulevard now is just like a go to jail free card you can't stand in one spot you can't sit in one spot it's uh some new law they just passed it's targeted towards homeless people mind you we have our own Courthouse or we have different laws and everything else if I get caught on the boulevard with a glass like a bottle of beer I'm going to jail for a month but the tourist can bring them can have bottles of beer you know so it's illegal to push a shopping cart down the sidewalk it has a company name on it and now there's a new law where it's illegal to have a shopping cart even anywhere near you because it's store property how how do you keep up with these laws how do you know what what you can't you can't stand 20 yards from an elevator I that's it's just weird that's awful I mean you have you're just kicked out of your own land basically they have a corridor restriction where you get a ticket in a corridor area which is all the boulevard the casinos all the area you go to jail for 30 days and 90 days and 6 months then a year and 5 years mind you I know two people that committed first deegree murder you got 2 and 1 half years wow that's do you mind if I ask what happened to your eye kind sh to the Head yep down here no no back East okay y so every day is a gift because I guarantee that you don't expect to wake up and get shot hey you depress no no you're just existing you're coasting that's it yep and it's like uh it is what it is and I don't know how to fix the problem as far as uh that goes like where do you see yourself in 10 years dead I uh I don't have anything to look forward to I'd say yeah I mean that just like I just don't I'm not like suicidal or anything like that I just don't every day is like uh the movie groundhog Bas is repetitive every day anything you try to do to get ahead won't work shine a light brother it's [Music] Rob where you at brother okay I see I'm coming over they good don't shoot you I do baby how you been I got my friend with me he's got a camera Hi how are you here's three here you go you need a lighter here you go baby how long you been down here I just got here just got here but since 2019 2019 where you from you from Vegas mhm I just came over from the railroad over there off anybody else in here with you or no um if they are they're probably sleeping um yeah how are you guys doing I'm good here's our number all right you want try and get out we'd love to help you you know this I tell you this whole time I need a detox program but for condos sewer I almost got into one you for what and it's it's it's it's not like a dry clean uh Club then you know it's not a it's all right give us it can be give us a call okay mhm have a good day all thank you you too I is it wavy no out there okay she's clearing on drugs here yeah mental health too oh it is yeah but if you had to guess what kind of drugs do she h ah probably meth probably meth meth is a very popular homeless rug because keeps you attentive keeps you like aware you know what I mean like you can hustle he's got a camera just so you know how you doing how are you brother how you good you want to talk to him for a little bit what's going on how you doing man how you doing nice to meet you just your brother how long you been living down here few years few years this where you sleep yeah where I sleep yeah yeah is it comfortable yeah you just got these supplies like from outside and then just yeah put them down what is all this stuff oh that's not yours what's the toilet situation like down here a bucket bucket then take it out what about the fact that there's no light anywhere is that is that tough no no F it's their home they're used to it like when I was down here I used to do this the light if I didn't have a lights I put my hand on the wall you just run it like this so you know where when you were down here did you have a a setup like this for bed similar very similar I was pretty simple I didn't have I I at times I had big camps and all that but then by the end I was just you know crash out and keep going you know my hustle was like dumpster diving and Petty crimes and it wasn't getting I got attacked with the golf club one time I got hit with the Bri I mean all it was just like it wasn't that big a deal in the moment it was right but like yeah that's how I saw a sword fight I was walking down the street in the middle of the night I looked to my left I hear cling cling cling three guys were fighting with swords bleeding the whole nine yards and I just kept walking it wasn't even that big because I'm not getting involved I don't have a SW but also like that was normal I remember sitting under the bridge one day and the guy was like you know this isn't normal right like normal people are not walking around with knives and I was for me it was you know what I mean yeah it just became wrong we're going back this way yeah let's go find some people yeah I am shocked by the stories coming out of the tunnels how can people survive down here the Las Vegas underground is an example of what's wrong with our approach to homelessness and in America it's difficult when people are arrested on random charges like jaywalking and given little resources when they get out of jail we need more organizations like Shina light that treat humans with dignity as for now we are heading above ground to drive to a different tunnel and I have no idea who we are bound to meet crazy that you just walk on the street next to all these buildings golf courses and then just right under here that's the biggest thing with homelessness especially in Las Vegas right like nobody even knows they're here yeah exactly nobody knows they're here yeah it's where it becomes like this cat and mouse game of they don't want to be seen and they don't want to be you know they don't want to get in trouble which I understand I was out here do the same things you know you know that guy hey you want a cigarette want a cigarette he looks a little violent yeah for sure should we not going there it's all right how are you brother what you work for shin a light right you was just say s Nevada I was just say you you how you guys doing today good brother how are you I'm I'm uh I can be better yeah you know going through uh a divorce yeah it hurts bad yeah like real bad I've been through two of them I get it where I don't give a about anything you know our numbers on there help you been two divorces I have yeah St sucks like ass it sucks it takes two to make it work it takes two to was something beautiful I rather the truck hey our our numberers on that bracelet man if you ever want help please call us it's really nice of you to like give the bracelet it's smart to do the bracelet cuz it stays on them really smart if you give them a card that card will be gone in 2 seconds 2 seconds Shine the Light anybody [Music] home what's up brother how are you that dude right here you ever think about getting out I just finished having a job like like 3 weeks ago and I got a car you know so briy would be great you know what I mean what if we take care of you what if we take care of the first 3 months is that right we put you here's the deal like we walk through this together okay so I'll take you to Crossroads you clear detox you put you in the housing housing you do treatment kind of work on getting all your your basic documents anything you need get you set up then put you in sober [Music] living we PID for the first 3 months of sober living too so it's 6 months focus on your recovery look for a good work we'll help you get job development CH my life I did it he did it he did it he's doing it I'm doing it right now he's graduating gradua I feel you do I feel you like I need to get back on track like everybody here is on my case too like when you going to get in job we need to stop support one another yeah yeah yeah yeah oh yeah if I can get a phone number to call you guys back it's on your bracelet bro on the inside on the inside okay it rings to all our phones oh really all right all right yeah I I'll hit you guys up bro don't wait too long I know I know hey thanks a lot brother thanks bro offer never goes awayce me you br take man have a great day stay safe out here convincing people to accept help is no easy feat why should they trust anybody when they're constantly on high alert but I'm about to talk to One volunteer who gives me hope on our way to the next tunnel my name is Raina I'm originally from Southern California I've lived in Vegas most of my life I'm 30 years old were you living in the tunnels I have lived in the tunnels before yes so I I had a pretty uh normal childhood my parents did their best with that it was a a good deal growing up schol when I graduated high school I very low self-esteem um I was with a partner that I would do quite anything for and they brought home heroin one day and um I was upset with the situation but I didn't walk away from it so my life changed after that at that point I had lived on my own I had a car job how old were you at that point 18 as I became more physically dependent I became friends with people that were more like me and I eventually met people who live down in the tunnels and I was very impressed by it at first I had no idea that people Liv down there and it started to become more normal I would go hang out um I had friends who were really nice genuine people and so I would try to provide it some kind of normaly you know take them out to movies whatever stuff because I still had things and slowly those things Slipped Away lost the place was living out of the car I lost my car and well I knew exactly where to go because I knew safe people that or people I felt safe around right and said hey the day come I don't know what I'm doing and um you know I was I was very fortunate in that I was immediately Tak in and and safe when you kept going there the first times were you going there to do heroin or just to meet people I was going there it was a safe place to use with other people I lived in the tunnels as a whole for a couple years um outside of that I lived in abandoned buildings um you know little dark places on the streets people's couches how did you find your way out of the tunnels I got out of homelessness on um a big arrest I got arrested and they offered me treatment because because I suffered from sub substance use disorder and I took I took the offer and my mom showed up to my court date out there my family had been looking for me and she asked if I could do treatment out here so I went to Salvation Army in 2017 and I wasn't homeless after that I stayed sober in 2019 it was a gradual process of figuring things out but that's uh where I started to stay around that's awesome and you've been sober for how long I've been sober for 4 years congratulations thank you I think it's nice to have resources and a community of people that we didn't have when I was out [Music] here Irish Irish you know gu come to chickfila yeah I was going to ask you about the dude with a sign on the street I was just about to say do you know that guy but then I figured no there's so many homeless people here you probably don't know him he's like I know that guy yeah let's let's go walk across and pick him for sure all right we going to find that guy holding the sign found the hole Yeah so it's common for people to kind of beg on the street in the day and then at night go in the tunnel yeah of course they probably you know they take shifts I'm sure like spots and then go how much money do you think they can make in one day by holding a sign here I had a guy when I first got was first homeless he was ruthless yeah his signs would be like I lost my brother you know I mean just total guilt trip he would make hundreds of dollars really that's kind of up to say lost my brother to get money that's not Co man you're just lying to people essentially so that's probably where it comes from for me right yeah yeah Irish hey man how you doing man Drew nice to meet you did you make any money out there no nothing on thep before just for fun did you make any money make oh yeah M yeah how much 680 bucks in one day one morning what he said he made 680 bucks in one day I believe it I threw a sign and said my wife left me for a very ugly man with a much smaller penis than mine you put that on the sign my weather Jun on the bottom he bought my he bought my sign a big sign he bought it for $400 himself promise not put his name on more how long you been living out here ever since my kids died when was that 2011 my son was shot and killed out of jealousy because you got a full foot on scholarship really and yeah October 14th 2011 a drun driver went off the side of the road and kill my daughter and friend oh that's terrible man got the whole crew with us we have a bag full of supplies and we are heading in to our next tunnel I still don't see the tunnel oh it's there it's like a puzzle to find the entrance to the tunnel oh wow that's the entrance who that's how you get in well this is one way he want me to come this way what you have to go down the Rope yeah welcome to Las Vegas it's like right here by the yeah I mean we walked around for like 15 minutes to find the entrance and it's this literally literally have you seen the wood ladder pretty imposing have you seen an entrance like this before I have not I not are you going down yeah all right we're going in we are going in it was beautiful look at that form okay down we go all right thank you in we Long Walk bro waa man this is wild we are walking in puddles right now these are the only shoes I have they're going to be dress for days water hitting us from the ceiling well my feet are completely soaked in water like socks and shoes and doesn't smell good this place is creepy it's really dark grimy down [Music] here we've been walking in here for a while it's crazy people brought two baby alligators from Florida here and if one of them died instantly in here and the other one live for 3 years got to be almost 7 ft long and got a guy inside 6 months ago there was an alligator in here W look at that oh have any more flash flash we got socks and water can I get sure are you fixing your bike huh oh no no no I'm he's going to fix that by my friend oh here you go all right thank you you're welcome nice to meet you is so Eerie down here it's hard to put into words the smell the water on your feet you can hear the cars above you it's like it feels like you're in a dungeon of Hell basically how you doing bro what's good what's going on where you from man from Hawaii Hawaii oh which which which island aahu oh nice so was Jesse Yeah Yeah so was Jesse the guy's coming right now how long you been down here uh maybe about a year about a year yeah you ever think about coming out yeah but the cops like under streets they they bother me like every in two days like sometimes they throw away my like two three times a week they hoping for you to catch a case you know and and go to jail what's it like to live down here at first it creepy as but then you know like took me like 6 months before I'd even come in the tunnel and then another like maybe 2 3 months of just staring in the dark from the opening right cuz you see you know like all all the time I see all kinds of as SU somebody riding by the bike but then they disappear how long do you plan to stay here I'm not sure you have everything you need you have food yeah I'm good at finding stuff what do you do above ground I'll go treasure hunting I'll go treasure hunting down here too what does that mean just looking around finding stuff yeah check the cracks and then I'm good at finding like uh some punk ass stole my backpack like 3 weeks ago and stopped his car right in front of my cart and then grabb my backpack two of my backpacks and then uh dipped out I had like a 2 lb of silver close to a half2 pound of gold that I found in the tunnels really yeah I mean I pawned some of it but dude stole like a good amount how many hours a day do you spend up versus down here depends if I if I go to the scrapyard I'll be out all night like looking around for and then I kind of procrastinate so MH could be down here for days is that tough like mentally do not see sunlight for days if you fall asleep and you wake up with no flashlight sucks do some always as well wondering what time it is have you found other people down here to be friendly oh yeah super friendly like we'll kill you if you like a chomo or something you know what I mean but and everybody's for the most part friendly do you mind me asking like what were you doing before you came here I was a chef at the win I just been 87 Grand a year really yeah that sounds like a good life nah everybody's up their asses and super pretentious you know I wasn't like a regular one I used to cook for Mr wi so what's he like I'm Steve WI and this is my new hotel I'll be ordering like wilderbeast or some penguins or something he just likes uh mozzarella omelet with burnt onions like burnt to Charcoal so do you ever want to be a chef again or not really not really Uber driving was fun you had the opportunity to keep you know ubering or being a chef but you decided to come down here just cuz you did you want to be away from people well I just want to be away from the cops but so I used to make pretty good money you know the only thing I really miss is my car and my bathroom and my kitchen cuz I had a badass kitchen and a huge bathroom but you end up working like 16 18 hours a day you know just to pay for the place that you're not using you planning to go back out today treasure something no I got to go cash out some I got mostly everything ready to go cash out do you mind if I take a look at some of the stuff you got uh yeah oh you're cooking over here yeah oh you you got that's like a $900 beach cruiser fun in the TR just a f oh dude you got a whole lot of over here specialized stump dumper down there that's a $5,000 Bike Dude you got like tens of thousands of dollars worth of stuff bro morning what is that that full of Jordans you just found it yeah like one of those uh you know like limited edition jerseys where where did you find it in a dumster yeah so someone just threw it away and you picked it up it you just got nowhere to look but like I mean them is all Jordans dude what the there's a lot of dude you a lot of Jordans man hell yeah why the hell was somebody just throw that in a dumpster bro You' be surprised if you find in a dumpster what's the most valuable thing you found a cardier Balon blow watch what'd you do with it uh I was going to P it but then when I was shopping around the pawn shops the person that I had safekeeping was like they got us bro so yeah whatevers you know you got all that other stuff down there uh that's just like like clothes that need to be washed that's another dude's Camp down there are you family with him yeah I don't know if he in or not this chick was acting up this morning so he might be out treasure hunting too damn you got all kinds of stuff in here yeah most of it tear apart just for fun no for scrap oh like uh I take is like you know like stuff that I can break apart for scrap so what do you do when it rains you just go up well you just got to be ready for it if you're going to rain big and fast or how do you get a notice if it's going to rain someone says hey it's raining I mean sometimes you don't get no notice you you just got to like your your main that you don't want to lose and just grab that and go sometimes how do you get power to cook oh wood fire you just make a wood fire yeah I can do I can do but there's no chimney so whether it's just everything get super smoking here n you just got to know how to do it you think you'll ever have like the motivation to go out and work a big boy job again like in the casino or something restaurant nah I'm smart enough to do whatever I like just treasure hunting and you know make about the same you can you can make 80,000 a year probably I just got to refine my little gold hunting skills it's impressive dude like I already know how to pull the gold out the circuit boards from all these computers and so probably could come close you don't seem like someone is taking drugs all the time I I take drugs all the time but I do that for fun you know yeah you don't do it like CU I steal from nobody to do that or what what drug do you prefer Crystal yeah everybody likes in blues and nowadays like uh that's dangerous though is it easy to find down here I mean you can find it anywhere it's expensive not super cheap down here like you can get like $1,000 worth this for like 20 bucks really 40 bucks that cheap why is it so cheap here cuz it only worth what somebody going to pay for it that's true before you get it stolen or yeah that makes sense you know is this like a dark and scary place when you're all up nah you just kind of Zen out ain't scare me no more like I mean you got to really try where do you see yourself in 5 years from now I'm real smart so I could stay here or I could go I might make a Ninja Turtle layer deeper in how would you how would you explain the tunnels of Las Vegas to somebody who' never heard of them before fun and like good deals if you you got to know people first though you got to know somebody's name and be invited or else don't even come down or else you might end up in a bird cage yeah I really appreciate you sharing man it's problem after being in the tunnel for a few hours my feet are completely drenched smell like crap and what am I complaining about these people have nothing addicted to drugs it's really really sad and they do need help Beneath The Glitz and glamour of Sin City there is a dark side that nobody is talking about and today I got to witness it firsthand homeless people across the US need our help and they need better resources to combat drug addiction and mental health issues no one should have to live this way refed to Darkness and forc to scavenge for basic needs nonprofits like shine a light are on the front lines of cleaning up our cities and are doing the work to recognize each individual and give them a home I made this video to spread awareness and to remind you that the next time you're in Vegas there's a whole world that exists right under your feet thanks for watching and I'll see you in the next video [Music]

Channel: Drew Binsky

Views: 2,297,829

Keywords: drew binsky, drew binsky vlog, drew binsky travel, travel, las vegas tunnels, tunnels las vegas, mole people, drew binsky vegas, drew binsky las vegas, living in tunnels, homeless, homeless in america, american homeless, no laws, sin city, las vegas living, las vegas strip, tunnels under las vegas, shocking living conditions, drew binsky america, drew binsky usa, drew binsky videos, tunnels of vegas, addicts in vegas, las vegas homeless, homeless camps, homeless tents, yes

Id: DmaNZNGzRvA

Length: 34min 35sec (2075 seconds)

Published: Sat Jun 29 2024