"The Shade Tree was established in 1990 as Jubilee Ministries and, at the time, had little more to offer than safety, shelter, and cots in the basement of Saint Luke’s Episcopal Church. In 1990, diocese members, Junior League of Las Vegas, and the City of Las Vegas collaborated to establish a permanent shelter. In December of that year, The Shade Tree opened in a building owned by Catholic Charities.
McNamee states that although the Union Pacific Railroad owns the land that the springs are on and all the land it historically watered, to further protect their water right they should apply for the right to appropriate the water.