You cannot: the voucher waiting list at nearly every housing authority, Southern Nevada's included, is closed or years long, so the fastest help is the kind that is not Section 8, such as tax-credit buildings with their own lists, emergency rental assistance, and income-restricted apartments that rent below market without a voucher.
Section 8 is the name people know, which is why it is the question they type, but a voucher is the slowest form of housing help there is. The honest answer is the list of things that are faster, and how to be positioned for the voucher when a list does open.
Why a voucher takes years
Housing Choice Vouchers are funded by Congress and administered by local housing authorities, and the money covers a fraction of the households that qualify. Authorities open their waiting lists for days at a time, sometimes years apart, often take applications by lottery, and then work through the list for years. The Southern Nevada Regional Housing Authority is the agency for Las Vegas, Henderson and Clark County, and its list status is on its site; when it opens, apply within the window, and keep your contact details current with them afterwards, because being unreachable when your name comes up is the common way to lose a place.
What is faster
Project-based Section 8 and Low-Income Housing Tax Credit buildings: the subsidy is attached to the building rather than to you, each property keeps its own waiting list, and those lists are often weeks or months rather than years. Ask each building directly; they are listed on the housing authority's site and in HUD's resource locator.
Income-restricted apartments rent at a capped figure to households under an income limit, with no voucher; they are the largest pool of below-market housing in most cities and they take applications any day. Emergency rental assistance, run through the county and local nonprofits, pays arrears and sometimes forward rent within weeks. Dialling 211 reaches the referral line for all of it in Nevada.
Who is moved to the front
Authorities set preferences, and the common ones are homelessness, displacement by disaster or government action, domestic violence, veterans (through the HUD-VASH programme, which has its own vouchers and a shorter route), and elderly or disabled households. If one applies to you, say so on the application and provide the documentation; a preference can turn a years-long wait into months.
Beware anyone charging a fee to get you a voucher faster. Applications are free, and nobody outside the authority can move a name.
Questions people ask
How long is the Section 8 waiting list?
Commonly two to five years where lists are open, and many are closed to new applications. Check the local housing authority; Southern Nevada's publishes its list status and opens by lottery.
What is the difference between Section 8 and income-restricted apartments?
A Section 8 voucher follows you and pays part of the rent to a private landlord. An income-restricted apartment rents at a capped price to households under an income limit and needs no voucher, which is why it is the faster of the two.
Can you get emergency housing assistance in Nevada?
Yes. Clark County's social service office and local nonprofits run rental and utility assistance, and 211 is the referral line. Assistance usually pays arrears and a limited number of months forward, and it is separate from the voucher programme.