Opulence and eye-catching neon lights dominate the Las Vegas landscape, but just beneath the glitter lies a much different, dour place. While tourists pack the Strip, people experiencing homelessness crowd the nearby storm tunnels — and COVID-19 has upped the ante.

Taisacan Hall should have been excited about moving into her first apartment in the spring.

The Southern Nevada Youth Homeless Summit kicks off Friday morning, and this year’s virtual event will address the impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable youth and the role racism plays in perpetuating youth homelessness.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Tuesday it would temporarily halt evictions for some Americans struggling to pay their rent due to the pandemic. The order will apply to Americans who qualified under the CARES Act, which covered individuals who earn less than $99,000 a year. The move came one day after Nevada extended by 45-days its own moratorium on evictions.

Those on the front lines of a pandemic housing crisis that could leave a quarter of a million southern Nevadans without homes next month say the solution is federal funding and an extension of the state’s soon-expiring eviction moratorium.

Despite statewide rental assistance money most likely gone in Clark County and dwindling in other parts of the state and the fact the Legislature-approved eviction mediation program through the courts is not running yet, the eviction moratorium is on track to end at midnight Aug. 31.

With only a week left to allow evictions to begin throughout the state of Nevada, the state Supreme Court expects the numbers to be high due to the large number of people who were left without jobs due to the pandemic.

The number of homeless people in the US will see a “staggering and unprecedented” increase because of the coronavirus crisis and its impact on the economy, experts have warned. Some say without an “astronomical” response by the government, the numbers could double.