Life Before Reno
Jeannie Jackson raised four kids on her own, managed to remain strong, and even ran to be a city official in the Los Angeles area. She says she was brought to Reno due to high rent costs. She now spends her retirement in the Biggest Little City.
In 1982, Jackson’s husband left her and her four kids. To support her family she worked three jobs for a total of 16 hours a day. She even ran to be the mayor of Santa Ana three times.
“My girlfriends were tired of hearing me b*tch about my ex husband. So I thought, okay Lord, I'll go ahead and b*tch to the whole city of Santa Ana. It was so much fun. Second time, I ran against 11 men and they unanimously appointed me Parks and Recreation Commissioner for the city of Tustin (population: 80,000). So I got together with a counselor and we got a new youth center built in town. They give kids food, pre-baby sitting until their parents get home. So about 150 kids get babysat every day.”
Jackson said her time working in Parks and Recreation in Tustin previously has given her insight on how to address some issues in Reno.
Ideas on How to Help those without Shelter
Jackson says she moved to Reno eight years ago. She currently lives with one of her daughters and enjoys cooking for her, which was something she wasn’t able to do while she was younger.
Her experience has also given her ideas on how to help those in need.
“There's Americans that need homes and shelters. So I'd like to see a Breakthrough [an organization that helps people affected by poverty by providing resources and skills to help themselves] or maybe pup tents [a small one person tent] or some kind of way to shelter our children,” she said. “I lived in Las Vegas and there were children sleeping on 114 degree sidewalks and I think that could be labeled child abuse,” Jackson said.
Jackson said she would like to see some kind of foundation with a circus-like tent to hold other tents for families. Jackson said she would also rather see money that’s for prisons used to help those living on the streets and for children who are hungry.