LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – The impact of a monthly rent increase by $100 is a common dilemma thousands of Las Vegas residents face, but senior citizens on a fixed income say they don’t have a way to fight back and worry their plight is becoming invisible in the eyes of the public.

LaRae Obemauf, 81, is about to pay for another $80 increase in her rent at her mobile home at the end of this month and she is frustrated because although her social security goes up every 12 months, she is experiencing a rent increase every six months.

“I get very angry, but I don’t just feel sorry for us, I worry about the elderly older than us,” she said. “We are invisible.”

LaRae and her husband Jim have adjusted to gas, water, and power increases and say they can’t sacrifice much more in costs.

“We are starving,” she said. “A lot of us are starving in here because we can’t afford to pay the rent.”

President Joe Biden’s visit to Las Vegas today was highlighted by his administration’s impact so far on aiding renters and homebuyers.

“The American rescue plan kept thousands of families in their homes nationwide by preventing foreclosures and evictions here in Nevada,” President Biden said. “We used those funds to keep 50,000 people’s rent to keep paid.”

More help from government-funded programs was not enough for Governor Joe Lombardo who pointed to the availability of land to build affordable housing as another cost to finding a better solution in Nevada.

“I urge you to cut the bureaucratic red tape that prevents Nevada communities from achieving their housing and economic development goals,” Governor Lombardo said in a statement aimed toward President Biden.

We asked Obemauf which path to a solution she would like to see pursued to lend help to her situation.

“Well actually I think they are both good,” she said. “I like President Biden because he’s addressing the issue of smaller people.”

“And I do like Governor Lombardo’s because we do need more affordable housing,” Obemauf said.

Clark County responded to a request for Obemauf’s situation and pointed to the Fixed Income CHAP program which offers financial assistance to residents on a fixed income who have experienced a rent increase in the last 12 months.

Retired veteran looking for a home

Kenneth Daniels, 61, a retired army cook, spoke to 8 News Now from his hospital bed where he is waiting to recover from kidney failure.

The search for a single unit for a handicapped senior for $750 has alluded Daniels but he hasn’t given up hope on finding a home after his experience with homelessness in Las Vegas.

“If I go back to the street I am as good as dead,” he said. “I need my oxygen from my machine.”

Daniels said he has called five apartment complexes with handicap-accessible amenities, but once he finds one that’s available, he is asked to prove he has double or triple the amount of income before applying.

“They are royally screwing a handicap vet,” Daniels said. “The apartments are making a killing.”

The rent is not necessarily the problem for Daniels as he can afford $750 for rent as some complexes offer, but the proof of income, which he has through social security, is keeping him from a decent quality of life and forcing him to pay even more.

“I am having to pay $1,000 for an independent living facility because my income is not double or triple the amount of rent,” he said.

Clark County provided a response for seniors on fixed incomes like Daniels, pointing to apartments for seniors whose incomes fall below 30% of the area median income.

Nevada still falls 85,000 rental units short for low-income residents, according to the National Coalition for Low Income.

“I am at the point, unless something changes there is no use in me calling apartment complexes unless the state puts a kink in the apartment people’s party,” Daniels said.