“I just feel passionate about this issue as I am living it right now and it's so challenging needing to move around instead of being able to focus on making and saving money,” a local woman wrote to us today sending a photo of her camper on left about bringing a local safe parking program to the area. “I 'm stressed about if my rig is gonna be there to go back to if I do find work.”
Other programs have been up and running for years now in other localities, offering an area where people experiencing homelessness can legally park and stay in their cars overnight. Some of these programs provide support services and hire security for safety,
“I am an unhoused Reno community member,” she wrote in her emailed essay.
“I have lived here since 2008 and for the first time in the 17 years I've been here I have struggled to obtain meaningful full time employment and have been forced into a situation where the only thing I've got is my 1993 Catalina Coachman that I can't put into any parks around town. I'm not the only person in this situation and I think Washoe County could do better addressing this issue in a humane and dignified way that would be better for the environment and the people dealing with being unhoused and only having a home on wheels to fall back on.
The job market in Reno is awful right now and I am disabled … just trying to survive.
Washoe County, It’s Time to Wake Up
Homelessness isn’t solved by tickets, towing, or age restrictions on RVs. That’s just punishment dressed up as policy.
If your only shelter is an RV or trailer, you shouldn’t be forced to move every few days just because it’s “too old.” An older rig is still a home — and a damn sight better than sleeping on the street.
Washoe County could fix this TODAY by creating a safe RV park exclusively for older rigs.
Stability: Stop the cycle of displacement and give people a legal place to live.
Public Health: Hookups mean clean water and safe waste disposal — good for everyone.
Cost Savings: Cheaper than building new shelters or wasting resources on endless policing.
Environmental Impact: Fewer abandoned rigs, less waste, and more sustainable use of what already exists.
Human Dignity: People in older RVs aren’t criminals. They’re neighbors who deserve stability.
Other cities already have Safe Parking Programs. Eugene. Los Angeles. They work. Washoe County could do the same — if our leaders actually cared about solutions instead of appearances.
Stop criminalizing poverty.
Start building policies that keep people housed, safe, and part of the community.
The question is simple: Will Washoe County choose compassion and common sense — or keep wasting money making homelessness a crime?”
A September 23rd 2025 Citizen’s Forum Contribution