Staying Warm and Missing a Lost Love
When Our Town Reno met the man in photo above, he was acting as a watchdog for his houseless friends at Barbara Bennett Park. He’s been traveling for most of his life and says he moved about four months ago to Reno, where he’s lived before, from California. He’s currently sleeping in his car, a 2001 Honda Accord.
“I'm able to get people out of the cold,” he said in regards to how helpful having a car can be while living on the streets, “I brought some women that were on the river, they were alone, they were afraid because people were looking at them and watching them all night when they're sleeping and I brought them in my car and they slept in my passenger seat.”
The man said all he wants is for people to feel safe with him.
“I had a woman that I loved and she died on me, some throat cancer,” he told us. “It took a big chunk from me, you know? She was the one that I wanted to be with for the rest of my life, but it's like all these women around here, they think I'm trying to go after them, I just want to take care of people. If you need the help, I'm here. Need a place to stay warm? My car is there. I'm not going to touch you. I'm not that way.”
The man is concerned about his car though, which has become his moving shelter. When Our Town Reno interviewed him he was out of gas and said that his transmission was faltering.
“Stop looking down at people,” he wanted to tell others in Reno. “If you feel that we're doing something wrong, why don't you live in our shoes and see what we have to do to survive? Maybe you'll understand what's going on.”
Wants to See Churches Doing More and Safe Park Options
The man said he has been homeless for around nine years. He was homeless previously in California.
"Out in California, they're a little bit more lenient. The people out there are willing to give a helping hand if somebody's hungry, they'll feed them. There's a lot more churches out there that deal with the homeless," he said.
The man said he was involved in a homeless ministry back in California and would like to see more similar initiatives in Reno. A homeless ministry is a faith-based organization that provides help to those in need, such as the existing Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission.
"People need unity,” he said. “People need to be able to know they're still loved and cared for, not just shoved underneath the carpet or thrown somewhere. The cops come out here and they harass us, 'Oh, you can't stay here,' Well, where the heck are we supposed to stay? We need something.”
The man pointed to LA’s Green Streets initiative, which provides safe parking options for people to sleep in their cars at night. The ordinance maps streets where individuals who live in their vehicles can park from 9PM to 6 AM, a program not available in Reno.