Las Vegas Punx Feed the Homeless
All Photos and Write Up by David "Widgit" McMillan of Stoned Spider Photography
LAS VEGAS, NV -- This will be a little different than my usual installment as I won’t be covering a specific band or show. Hopefully this sheds a different light on punx and the punk scene here in Las Vegas.
On May 29th 2024, myself and several other members of the local Las Vegas punk scene got together armed with food, water, socks and hygiene packs and set up tents and tables in a lot on Owens avenue in Las vegas. Our mission was to help and reach out to as much of the surrounding homeless community as we could.
This whole event was brought together by Terror Attack front man Bowser. What began as a simple idea for a music video for their song In The Ghetto soon grew into something amazing. With help from local sponsors like Yukon Pizza, Cash 4 Chaos and Death or Glory tattoo as well as non-profit organizations like Rebel Rhythm Collective a group of around 25 people representing several bands, groups and organizations managed to feed and assist a few hundred of Las Vegas’ homeless population.
Yukon Pizza donated several pies and Mundos Tacos cooked a variety of tacos on the spot. People were given cold water and snacks for later as well as brand new socks and packs with various hygiene products. Available were also things such as narcan, feminine products and std testing as well as educational materials and other helpful resources. Collectively we just wanted to impact and help as many people as we could however we could.
Personally this whole event kinda hit close to the heart for me. I spent several years of my life homeless and drifting around the country. I know what a hot meal, a bar of soap and a clean pair of socks can mean in that situation. I also know what its like to be a drug addict. I myself had several bad habits over the year, mainly meth and coke, but I can now proudly say I have 20 years clean.
With that, I think everyone should know that no matter how hard things get and how bad things may seem there is always hope. It is never too late to turn your life around and make it better for yourself. There are still some people out there who care enough to try and help as much as they can. Something as simple as a group of punx gathering to help the homeless speaks volumes. I know we look weird, our music is loud and aggressive but we are good people. We care about our community. Next time you meet someone with spiky hair and studded jacket maybe, just maybe, you’ll see them differently and maybe even have a great conversation.
In punk it doesn’t matter who you are, where you’re from or anything like that. Punk is not about hate or exclusion. It’s about the love of the music and the lifestyle that comes with it. As someone who’s lived the punk life since the late 80s, I can say true punx are some of the most genuine helpful people I’ve ever known.
In closing I want to say thank you to all involved with this event for your help and support. And a big thank you to Bowser and the band Terror Attack for putting this amazing thing together. Hopefully we at least made a few people have a better day and gave them a glimmer of hope. Also, if we’re lucky, we managed to give people in general a better opinion and outlook on punx. No matter who you are, being a decent human being and helping someone out benefits everyone. If more people saw things this way the world would be a better place.