(CNN) Democratic presidential candidate Julián Castro on Friday toured the flood tunnels underneath the Hard Rock Cafe in Las Vegas, accompanied by local organizations working to end homelessness.

The former Housing and Urban Development secretary walked the city's storm tunnels where hundreds of individuals seek shelter, using his campaign platform to highlight the issue of homelessness in Nevada.

"It wasn't lost on me or anyone else there that underneath hotels that are worth hundreds of millions of dollars, in one of the places that is known around the world as a playground for people around this country and around the world, that you have people who are living in deep poverty, sleeping not even in the street, but in a drainage tunnel," Castro said at an event in Las Vegas the day after.

Today I toured the tunnels beneath Las Vegas that provide shelter to hundreds of homeless individuals escaping the desert heat. We must do more as a nation to support orgs like @helpsonv & @NHAvoice that provide housing support for these communities. #housingisahumanright pic.twitter.com/hE910231n8 — Julián Castro (@JulianCastro) April 27, 2019

Castro's deputy campaign press secretary Sawyer Hackett, who joined the tour, described it as an "eye-opening" experience Castro "took a lot away from."

"This is one of those eye-opening opportunities that's not really political. It's a chance to talk to these folks and see what they're experiencing firsthand," Hackett told CNN in an interview Saturday.

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