Meredith for Real: the curious introvert Ep. 317: Life in the Vegas Tunnels: Clowns, Crickets & Crank [REMASTERED]
What’s it like living underground? How did he get out?
Paul Vautrinot shares his story of living in the Las Vegas tunnels, or as he states it, beneath the neon. He shares what life in the Vegas underground city was like with the tunnel people, how he left, got sober & became a co-founder of Shine a Light Foundation. He shares the organization’s unique approach to ending homelessness & how they are by-passing wait lists.
This episode originally aired June 6, 2022
If you like this episode, you’ll also like episode 248: SURVIVING THE TROUBLED TEEN INDUSTRY: SEPARATING IDENTITY FROM EXPERIENCE [REMASTERED]
Guest:
https://www.shinealightlv.com/
https://www.facebook.com/shinealightLV
https://www.instagram.com/shine_a_lightlv/
https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/beneath-the-neon-podcast/id1532967337
Host:
https://www.meredithforreal.com/
https://www.instagram.com/meredithforreal/
https://www.youtube.com/meredithforreal
https://www.facebook.com/meredithforrealthecuriousintrovert
Sponsors:
https://www.jordanharbinger.com/starterpacks/
https://www.historicpensacola.org/about-us/
00:00 — The hidden city beneath Vegas
02:00 — A “happy” childhood behind chaos
03:20 — Getting invited underground
06:00 — First night in the tunnels
07:00 — Nicknames and neighborhoods below ground
08:00 — The drug dealer’s driver and the underground map
09:00 — Biking blind in total darkness
10:00 — Hierarchies of the homeless tunnels
12:00 — The girlfriend, the cricket, and the cops
18:00 — Jail, withdrawal, and a strange stroke of luck
20:00 — From drug court to sobriety
21:00 — Meeting Matt O’Brien and the flood-drain exposé
23:00 — The birth of Shine A Light
25:00 — Building a no-waitlist system for help
27:00 — Trust, recovery, and the Vegas community
29:00 — What would actually end homelessness?
30:00 — Creating stability in the smallest windows of hope
31:00 — What’s next for Shine A Light
32:00 — 104 people out of the tunnels
33:00 — How to help and get involved
34:00 — A new kind of light under Vegas
Request to join my private Facebook Group, MFR Curious Insiders https://www.facebook.com/share/g/1BAt3bpwJC/