A Queer Latina's Plea for Yes on Nevada's Ballot Question 1

I grew up in a rural town, where I met people with different experiences and opinions than my own.

Living as a closeted queer Latina wasn’t always easy, and I had my fair share of rude comments and fear that I would be discriminated against for my gender identity. While I tended to be vocal and clap-back, it felt helpless. There was nothing I could do to make people realize that we are all truly, “created equal”. Until now- 

Nevada’s Ballot Question 1 will change the Nevada Constitution to allow every person, regardless of race, color, creed, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, disability, ancestry or national origin to have equal rights and be protected against discrimination by this state of any of its political subdivisions. This is Nevada’s next step to making sure the U.S. Congress can ratify the 28th Amendment, to make it true that we are all created equal. 

Many people have similar experiences as my own. This is why Nevada’s midterm is so important, and why I need you to vote.  By voting “Yes” on Question 1, we can help those in the same helpless position I was in.

Students, you can register and vote on campus all week, until November 8th, with the UNR General Election Poll Location from 7am to 7 pm and catch the [recent] Vibrant Voices Podcast to hear more on why you should vote yes on Question 1. 

Citizen’s Forum Contribution by Lily Andrade

How the Reno Burrito Project Just Might Change My Life

Below is a journal entry from the second time I volunteered with the local non-profit Reno Burrito Project. After small beginnings, it has become a community network devoted to distributing food and resources to the houseless population in Reno, dispersing 500 burritos to those in need every other Sunday. This entry will act as documentation of where I started in this whole journey of attempting to define what it means to ethically give back, connect with my community, and be a good person without having to give up space in my own life for coping and growing. 

Reno Burrito Project is very intentional with one of the words in their brand name: project. It means a mission, aim, or purpose accomplished through the collaboration of a network of people. While a project can be started with one pair of hands, it can make waves with a couple dozen more.

Projects take time, they take commitment, and they also take belief. To offer part of yourself from start to finish means you have faith in its end result. So imagine what type of impact would happen if we made helping our fellow human beings a project? Consider the difference between the wave one person makes, versus ten or twenty. Consider how our lives and surroundings would change if we had an entire community of people committing and believing in their fellow human beings.

Starting higher education was a choice that took a lot of sacrifice. I almost anticipated myself suddenly taking the one class that would make me want to drop out of college or give up on all the work I had done so far. Especially being the first person in my family to pursue higher education, the daunting statistics created a web of anxiety I had to pierce through before I could even begin to picture success. But weirdly enough…that moment, that dreaded class, never happened. 

The more I learned about the ethics, purpose, and power of journalism, the more drawn in I was. The deeper I immersed myself, the more I knew I had found passion within passion within passion in a field contingent on sharing human experiences and forming connections. I instantly began to understand that journalism isn’t just about being a conduit to the people for news and their sense of awareness- even though that’s a big part of it. I learned that journalism is also about bearing witness. Not just to the big, fantastical things in life that have fifteen other reporters there; but to the moments that people in our own community experience each day they live their life. 

I will admit, I’m not sure if live or survive is the better word to use there…

Journalism is about making people feel seen. Feel heard. Feel valued. In a modern pandemic of loneliness, the simple act of not just seeing someone, but seeing someone, can go a long way. So, when I met a person who created an organization for exactly that: seeing, valuing, even loving people for the sake of being people, it was honestly the most fulfilling opportunity I had experienced in my adult life.

I’m also a person that is all about listening to your gut. As I am an individual who tends to pit their body against their mind, the part I trust most within myself is my intuition. And sometimes you meet someone that you honestly feel like [they] can completely transform your life. I was blown away that from day one, one person and their organization could make me feel that way.

Blaize created the Reno Burrito Project in 2020. It started with just him, and four burritos. Even with their first group of people, the Reno Burrito Project team was only able to roll and distribute fifteen burritos to unsheltered community members in Reno. The organization now rolls and distributes three to five hundred burritos every other Sunday. 

Let’s look at the mission of Reno Burrito Project. It’s astounding that in such a short period of time, I feel like I have stumbled upon the path that may change my life. 

I personally believe that right now is a pretty pivotal time in the social and environmental climate. I’d be lying if I said that didn’t cause me anxiety; I feel like I’m working forty hours a week to survive and not to live. It’s difficult to plan for and aspire for an uncertain future.

So really, truthfully, honestly, it’s difficult for me to feel like I’m operating with purpose all the time. And you might be able to relate to that. 

But the thing about Blaize, is that he’s likely seen just as much tragedy as I have; he knows the heights of human selfishness and has acted witness to the poverty, sadness, and loss in our own town. 

But despite knowing the heights of human evil, that does not deter him from working towards the heights of human compassion. I’ve never met a person with such an all encompassing devotion to people; loving them, seeing the best in them, offering constant space to improve- all while maintaining the balance in his own life to have space for personal enjoyment and care. Hope can be hard to come by, so when you meet someone who isn’t just hopeful, but spreads hope in a contagious way, it’s something you don’t let go of.

Let’s talk about what the day looked like.

It started with rolling the burritos; the space we were making the burritos in was donated, as was all the meat, beans, tortillas and rice. The people rolling the burritos were all volunteers, as were the people who cooked the food beforehand (ya know, outside of the insane amount of food Blaize himself cooks). 

I was surrounded by people who virtually had no common ground with me- opposite majors, different ages, different economic classes, but we were connected through one mutual thing: the desire to do and see better. We had rich conversations in an environment that not only allowed for thoughtful discussion but encouraged it.

Then, we loaded up wagons with burritos, water, clothes, and other donated pantry goods. 

There wasn’t much structure to our process. If someone looked hungry- determined usually through the bearing of every item they own in shopping bags, carts, or boxes- we offered them food and water. If they wanted one or ten burritos, we let them take what they needed. If they were willing, we asked their names, had conversations, told them about our day and they told us about theirs. 

While working our way down Virginia Street, I met Thomas, Michelle, Tyrese, Michael, AJ, Sam, Bethany, another Tyrese, Lindsey, Mickey and many more.

Today I looked into blue, brown, green, and hazel eyes and I saw stories and lifetimes and pain and loss. I saw joy and hope, but more often hunger. I saw relationships- mothers and daughters, boyfriends and girlfriends, best friends and only friends. These relationships made me ponder on the adaptability of community: it made me wonder how many of these relationships were formed on the streets and how many of them existed beforehand. Either way, one conclusion is that a sense of community can form anywhere, and the other meant that community can be sustained anywhere. It showed me that humans have a desire to take care of each other. 

Today, I spoke and I listened. Then stopped and really listened. Today I saw person after person after person.

People spoke about their workweek, they spoke about the last time they ate. They laughed and showered us with thank yous and you’re awesomes and remembered our names when saying goodbye. I saw person after person after person.

As I had these conversations, these people didn’t lack anything that made them a person: they had names and families and favorite foods and loved warm food just as much as the rest of us do. The only thing that these people were missing were walls around them and a roof above their heads. It was the way they had to savor each bite of their burrito, because they had zero clue when they would be able to obtain their next.

The other thing I kept encountering, was the justification these people kept trying to make for why they were deserving of food. The jobs they worked, how they’ll pay it forward, why they were in their situation to begin with. But, every time, I found myself stopping them, insisting you don’t need a reason, take as much as you’d like. But, that also forced me to confront a little deeper each time that we live in a society where one has to prove their worth in order to be granted kindness. 

Or really just to be granted decency. 

I get bogged down with that thought, with the weight of the issue of poverty, houselessness, food insecurity- all of it. Yet I think the main takeaway from today wasn’t about showing me how much sadness exists out there, but instead the avenues for hope to blossom. But we have to choose to walk down that avenue in order to get there.

If we as humans can’t take care of our fellow humans purely for the sake of them being humans, then we’re losing out on the heights of human kindness we ourselves can reach when we work as a collective. We’ll never come near the change we can accomplish if we use our own limitations as a reason not to push ourselves to help others. 

The purpose of this project, of any project, really, isn’t to say you should give despite the fact it may disadvantage you financially, emotionally, or professionally. The purpose is to motivate others to consider if they have space and time in their life, today, to do something for another person. 

As Blaize reminded me, it’s not how largely you give, it’s about whether your generosity is proportionate with what you have. Of course, no person can determine how much space you have to give in your life besides you, but if you end up answering that question honestly, not only will you find room to offer kindness to those around you, but each day will become more gratifying because of it. 

Let’s be honest- caring and having empathy for people is no easy task. It requires stepping further than just acknowledging when a situation sucks; it’s sharing the pain in the most honest way you can within the capacity of your own lived experiences; BUT when you are limited by that capacity, ask yourself why. Consider the loss of another person, and imagine that level of loss in your own life. Empathy forces you to confront the comfort that you've had the opportunity to live in. Empathy connects people on the basis of one thing: humanity. And if we work towards that level of empathy, maybe we will find our polarization, our divide with each other, much more obsolete. 

This also reminds me of another thing Blaize had said to me- what’s wrong with doing something good to feel good about yourself? If you do something kind that uplifts another human, even if just for a moment, what’s wrong with sharing that act of kindness and potentially helping someone else pay it forward? 

The space you provide in your life each day for empathy, is an opportunity to inspire those around you. If we, as a collective, begin to reframe our mentality to this perspective, our possibilities are boundless. 

And maybe, as I live each day a little kinder, a little more open, a little more generous, I’ll see a change. Maybe, despite my gender or my sexuality or my income or my clothes or quite literally anything else that stops someone from connecting with me, I’ll see people.

I’ll see people and they’ll see a person back, every. single. time. Maybe, just maybe, it’ll change my life.

Writing and photography for Our Town Reno by Vanessa Ribeiro

Prime Riverfront in Reno, from Mansions to Tents

Anyone strolling along the Truckee River through Riverside can’t help but look up and admire the “mansions on the bluff” as the Historic Reno Preservation Society has named them on their popular historical walk.

As in most cities with an urban river (minus LA !) waterfront, or water overlook, houses have always been sought after. Reno, a city that at times seems to be destroying much of its architectural heritage, is lucky to have managed to keep this beautiful historical district mainly intact.

First developed by Senator Francis Newlands at the turn of the 19th century, this area, part of Old Southwest, is also known by his name, Newlands Heights.

Senator Newlands, while a Nevada representative, helped develop the Bureau of Reclamation, which led to the irrigation and dams that allowed dry Northern Nevada to be developed for colonizing expansion. He also wrote the resolution which annexed Hawaii, a sovereign nation, to the United States, without a referendum of their people. He was an avowed white supremacist who tried to repeal the Fourteenth Amendment. His name still remains on a marker in Newlands Park on California Ave.

On the northern side of the river, looked down on by the bluff, a growing number of our unhoused neighbors make their homes until they are moved on. (None of these encampments photographed are still in use).

 Also, at the end of Riverside past Booth Ave. is an abandoned craftsman style house and huge parking area behind a chain link fence. It seems to be a perfect area for a neighborhood public garden which would bring more needed green to an area next to the river and provide a good area to manage runoff from rain.  The property is owned by the city, who recently, at the July 20 City Council meeting, considered the potential disposition of this prime development -possible property. 

For more information on Newlands Heights Historic District, and other historical areas of Reno (some sadly destroyed now) go to RenoHistorical.org or try their great phone app RenoHistorical.

Our Citizen’s Forum contribution and photos by Dina Wood

Dani DeRosa, My Experiences at the County Jail and Trying to Avoid a Return

Having being cornered at the 4th street bus station when dehydrated and simply trying to meet my visiting friend, the last thing I was expecting to do that day was shouting things like "neurodivergent lives matter, BLM please just take us with you," as I was arrested for trespassing. People still don't understand developmental disabilities, especially for assigned female at birth people. Many females are middle aged when they finally earn their proper diagnosis. It is easier to diagnose women with personality disorders than assess for things like autism and even ADHD.

PART 1

I did not have to survive by drinking from a jail toilet this time. A month I’d been in that hole last time getting attacked, brought in for “trespassing” at a bus stop and yelling at cops for getting in my space when I was trying to go home. I’d just wanted to find my friend who was visiting from out of town.

Between the two jail visits I was hallucinating from heat stroke in a shed where I tried to build a temporary shelter.

Sick, prone to dizzy spells, unable to find water, delirious. Becoming homeless can happen to anyone. You may be so lucky to survive it.

I find myself now on a perch, what I’ve been calling temporary respites. A week in a hotel room. Gouging into my precious savings. But surviving above desperation and therefore priceless. A trip to Reno Behavioral Health [Reno Behavioral Healthcare Hospital] to find glorified babysitters but also professionals working to be the change. They make it so hard to survive these days, sometimes it feels like.

Smart phones when I just need analogue and simple interactions and old fashioned manners. The pursuit of simplicity and towards thriving. I get to sit comfortably and write right now-that is a privilege. It connects me to all the other marginalized writers living and passed who’ve been through the same “character building” adversity. Writers already have character. In fact we have billions of characters.

Conditions Inside

Jail. I did my best to keep the toilet clean. A steel, industrial beast next to a broken sink. Trying to organize, sort, clean the trash that they would not come and get. Weeks in I scrubbed the floors down with shampoo and sandwich bags for scrubbers. I’d used bread to muffle my cries when I was in so much physical and emotional pain and I knew I was still just being observed. I passed out and my glasses broke. That’s Parr Blvd for you. Cat food sandwiches and justice is a box marked n/a. They don’t always have you do the medical intake. There’s a box that asks if you think there’s a chance you’ll be raped while in jail. When you know you’re being drugged and you wake up to the smell of K-Y Jelly there, the question never leaves you. 

This last time when I was there for 12 days I finished an entire book in about three days, a feat for me: Antoinette’s Sister. I missed my own sister terribly. Getting into a groove where my glasses-less eyes squinted over the words, stinging but blinking through it, I remembered my best memories with my sister. How she’d visited and tried to plan a nice time for us at the spa and how my actions catapulted me back into trouble and them into worry. I lost my job. I won’t lie about it.

This is homelessness. It does not give you a break to catch your breath or save money for next week. Even if you have support it is viscious. It makes you especially grateful for the people you keep on your side though. They are precious as ever. 

Conditions at the jail: this time they actually changed our clothes. I still painted murals on the walls with the flavored vitamin powders.

The P and anchor combo of the Kotwica, Poland Fighting. One of the many emblems in the world simply saying “they’re not going to get away with it.” Breonna Taylor with a heart. A drawing using soap as chalk on the Nevada blue door of her. “Say their names.” When you’re stuck in a garbage Petri dish, rights not recognized, you cling to dreams.

A freedom fighter ally, you know other people are in there for similar reasons who’ve come in at the same time as you. Other people subject to performative cruelty and suicide attack groups. That’s where a person is targeted, say in the controversial gang-stalking way, and pressured until an already vulnerable person loses their grip on mental health. There is cause to believe there may be a correlation between this phenomenon and the “stop it hurts” #stopithurts article regarding performative cruelty and the torture of, if memory serves, a man with autism. I’d give my pinky toe to find that article right now but I’m coming up empty. 5 minute search be damned. 

Autistic Lives

I watched TV briefly while they transferred me to a different cell when I was first brought in the 2nd time out of 3; the Obamas looking concerned and a little pale. I stared back at their eye contact with the camera. I’d looked at the American flag earlier that day and felt pride in hoping there’d be an autistic movement to follow the Black Lives Matter one.

Autistic Lives do Matter so much. We are often people on the cusp of or at brilliance yet so hindered by the trappings of social and everyday functioning; usually the social aspects that don’t serve anyone anyway such as undue ridicule, passive aggressiveness, any indirect communication, which is why sometimes humor can be difficult and people on the spectrum can be perceived as emotionless. Not that females can prove they even have it once they’re adults. It is costly if you can even find a doctor who is up to date on the research.

I was strong, not emotionless in my cell. Hours went by in the beginning when I was naked, only with my imagination and old, green Velcro garments which barely stuck together to close. I was not given my insomnia or any other medication besides the dosed porridge and soft bananas they gave once a day.

Hours of torture passed and I couldn’t speak.

I had to just lie there on the concrete like some discarded dog. I couldn’t believe we were on US soil.

This last time though when there was actually cause to arrest me, officers beat me down and pushed me into the concrete of that first intake cell for no apparent reason. They laughed. There was even a person of color with cute red glasses that looked like they might be queer based on the pixie cut. The last twelve days were waking up and trying to beat the pain in my spin and left side to sleep. #policebrutality is alive and well. It is still laughing at us. 

The first two times there I had seizures and no one did anything. It was entertainment to them. I braced myself against the blue bed tray and its pad for dear life. I bit down on the toilet paper roll so as not to bite my tongue. I banged on the door with all my power. I was not entirely alone. There were the other inmates. We could not leave to interact but we suffered and communicated together. There seemed to be others who were free to move around more. They’d gossip, laugh, yell down things like “suicide!” Their hate was enormous. I still consider those who could have acted and instead stayed voyeurs to be Nazis. 100% American Nazis. I made this opinion known. I dished back, trying to throw education back at their obscene stupidity. What’s worse, they lied and told my family I’d left and that’s why I missed my trial hearing. I thought I was going back to them in a box.

First time brushing your teeth in about a month is an experience. Just now doing isn’t after 13 days is practically a luxurious experience what with the new toothbrush and paste. That’s what it comes back to after tragedy: well, sure is nice to not have rotting gums now. What a pleasant turn of events.

There was the terrible rumor of me being like Pocahontas going around. I’m not entirely sure why but my theories will stay private for now. My heritage is mine. And there was having had to live in an actual tent. In my mind and with witnesses of the other inmates I embraced the rumor to symbolically steal back the land.

All the US land was a stretch even for our bored, tortured minds so I said I wanted the prison torn down and given back to the Native people.

All we have is poetic justice. It was a beautiful moment, say what you will. Because this is nothing short of a war. Our side gets filtered in in waves without organization while the oppressors need only wait and watch. It is a fact everything is under surveillance. In my dreams I cut the proverbial ribbon to demolish that hellhole.

PART 2

Wake up at 5 am. Leap out of bed to receive tray of porridge and a banana of varying conditions. A weak but much appreciated coffee. The milk always smelled off but I’m not used to drinking dairy milk. If you got a reusable tray they’d be back in about fifteen minutes to get it. Then you’re lucky if you have a decent book to read or are excellent at keeping yourself amused. 

Today I’m having coffee at the Nugget in Sparks.

They have the most beautiful ceiling fans all throughout the restaurant. They glide around easily; four wooden blades set into ornate brass work. A spinning cog mechanism, lovely to watch glides smoothly above the fixture.

A vanilla yogurt parfait with berries and granola is an excellent choice. There’s so much beauty in being able to sit here without pain, having stretched out the new kinks from Parr’s latest beat down. 

Getting to listen to mellow music, background chatter of mellow conversations, the clanking of dishes and the comfortable feeling after bathing and getting fresh clothes you’ve picked out for yourself.

I like to think I’ve always been appreciative of the little things but these harsh experiences definitely make the little things all the more pleasurable. The privilege of owning capable technology, the almost miracle of being in good health, the simple kindnesses exchanged with the waiter. I readjust and feel my left glute and tailbone flare up slightly. The damage could be deep and affect me when I’m older but I’ll do something close to my best to keep the machine of my body well maintained. 

The warmth of the ceramic coffee mug, classic shape, heavy with thrice refilled freshness.

“You doing okay, hun?” The waiter, she scratched gently on my jacketed shoulder. “Probably a lot better if I left you alone,” she says in an undertone. I laugh. I am such a puppy dog.

This is blissful compared to the bark of “DeRosa, meds!” Or “DeRosa, face the wall with your feet together and arms crossed. Bring your left arm down like a chicken wing.” Chains, cuffs. Then off to the court room of chaos where, unbeknownst to me it would be the last day, they have me and another woman kneel on a back row bench to apply an ankle chain with cuffs of bright yellow.

They don’t leave any wiggle room and readjust the chains around my waist to make them more secure. Breathing is still possible so that’s always a triumph when dealing with police. 

They take us and a group of about seven men to a transport van. There are three windowless blue sections in the white windowless vans. The seats are padded with seatbelts. “Watch your head,” one of the deputies says.

Then we’re closed in darkness until they turn on the engine. Sterile white light illuminates the small area and there are two cameras on us. About twelve minutes later we’re at an unknown location squeezing between the van and a garage wall.

I was told we were going to court but was surprised when it wasn’t in the usual zoom format in the jail courtroom. We are brought, ankles pinched by the metal cuffs, to a large room with plastic chairs in rows before a tv.

Why bring us from one zoom court to another? They have us females sit two rows behind the males. Then a movie starts playing.

The Joker and my Beautiful Lawyer

It’s the first one with Heath Ledger as the joker.  What the hell?

The men laugh, everyone sitting with a seat or two in between them. About twenty minutes later they start to call us one by one.

When my turn comes the deputy asks if I can see him because he knows I have sight difficulties. I appreciate that. He tells me to go to an elevator that’ll lead me to another officer. I comply.

Strange to be in the same routine where the most exciting thing to happen is wether you’ll get egg salad or cat food as a sandwich to suddenly watching Batman and standing solo in a random elevator.

I exit and am told to sit at a desk. A moment later my beautiful lawyer is there, blonde with a muted navy suit, manicured pink nails, kind.

She reexplains the plea deal we’ll be taking and I’m shown into a proper court room. We’re at the Liberty courthouse in Reno proper. I sit off to the side and wait as others present their cases to the young judge. She always tells the defendants her hope for them.

Basically “I hope you turn your life around” but with more caring than you’d expect from the rigid, straightforward experience. This room probably saw a lawyer I knew present many cases.

I imagined not too long ago if I saw the inside of a courtroom it’d be as a reporter not as a criminal.

A wave of shame has me lower my head and face the wall. But I remember that no one worthwhile would judge me too harshly for the mistakes made when dealing with mental illness. I knew I was disappointed and concerned by my actions and the over $1000 fine was enough, if anything could be, to ensure I didn’t do anything like it again.  I also have to stay out of trouble for just under 200 days, meaning don’t get arrested, or it’ll be six months in jail. No thank you! 

I’m about three cups of coffee in wondering what else I can share about the experience of this year. I’m not out of the woods yet. Seven nights at a hotel with a restaurant nearby though comforting does not stability make. 

The first mural I painted was a collage style. There was the image of my future published and printed novel, The Kaleidoscope, with polaroids over and around it. The portrait of me or perhaps a younger version of my father. The rasplemon flavor vitamin drink mix with a few drops of water made for a decent red color. A list of people we’ve lost from BLM and my friend Laurie Frost. Rest in power. Rest In peace. 

Writing by Dani DeRosa shared with Our Town Reno

Dani is currently working on a novel and is available for writing/photography and design work. Dani can be reached at tbaubles@gmail.com

life along the highway in Reno

I ran across this road by accident

But it caught my attention as I looked around

There’s so much of a difference from house to house

Some are nicer than others

I just want to document what I see

An abandoned business sits at the end of the block 

The shadows I like a lot

I like the soft green on the building

There’s a man smoking on his motel balcony across the street watching the sunset 

The speedboats remind me of my uncle

He took me out on his a long time ago when I was young

More dogs seem to bark at me every time I go out and do this

For how some of them might look, these homes are quite charming 

I don’t hear any kids or any sign of kids

I’ll keep walking down the whole street, one after the other, blocked out windows and busted in door handles

The RV is broken down too

Children’s bikes are around the back of it, how sweet 

I remember my bike as a child, but nostalgia is a dangerous thing 

It’s so quiet, and the wind is burning my lips

Photos and Essay by Jake Lorge for Our Town Reno

Protecting Our Eloteros after Crackdown by Health District

In the past two years, the Washoe County Health District gave cease-and-desist orders to multiple unlicensed street vendors, and trashed all their food.  

In March, it hosted a Spanish townhall to help eloteros as they are sometimes referred to in the Spanish speaking community to obtain business permits.  Some people in the area still complain about the growing presence of street vendors, but many rely on them for affordable fruits, and tasty treats such as esquite (corn with cheese, mayo and powdered chile served on the cob or a cup) and raspados (a flavored shaved ice).

Another popular item is mangonada, a mango cup with chamoy, lime juice, tajin, and other spices. It is a blend of sweet, spicy and sour. 

Mangonadas are served in cups, making them easy to take on the go and eat while exploring around town or lounging at the park. Taco trucks are also popular at night in the Wells Avenue District. 

Street vendors announce their presence with bells and horns. Among other items they sell are Takis, and chilindrinas (flour fritters with valentina and lime). 

What’s your favorite from street vendors and do you have a favorite elotero? 

Reporters Ariel Smith and Nancy Vazquez support these small vendors. “The food is out in the open and you see what you’re getting compared to restaurants where you can’t even see what’s happening in the kitchen,”  said Ariel. “You can decide for yourself if you want to eat it.”

“These people are simply trying to make money for their families and are earning it instead of begging for dollars. I have heard of no one who has ever gotten sick buying food from these people,” said Nancy. 

Citizen’s Forum Contribution by Nancy Vazquez and Ariel Smith

An Ode to Downtown Reno Believe Plaza Skateboarders

Lights from the Space Whale sculptures shine over the downtown Reno city plaza as locals enjoy their passion of skateboarding. Small, yet so big, much like the city itself. Bringing a nice space for passionate skateboarders around Reno to share and enjoy as they do what they love under the western sky.

The Truckee River flows on besides the skateboarders, giving them another beautiful sight to gaze at while enjoying their favorite hobby.

Skateboarders come from all different parts of the city, ranging from many different ethnicities, but all are equal at the Plaza. All come to the same place to display their passion for skateboarding and to take a break from any struggles they might all face. No matter where one might come from, when at the Plaza, we are all passionate skateboarders or an interested audience.

The Plaza isn’t the only skateboarding area in Reno, and it’s not even close to being the biggest or having the most obstacles either. So why do many skateboarders choose this very place?

The Plaza sits where no other skateboarding park in Reno does. In the middle of downtown Reno, where many locals and visitors enjoy their early nights.

Believe! says the plaza’s other sculpture. Every time a skateboarder may fall and fail, a big sign that is hard to miss, tells them to get back up and try it again. Don’t give up and keep on skateboarding. Believe in yourself and the community around you that wants to see you succeed. 

Our Town Reno contribution by Reyden Morett

If People Could Just Not Litter in Midtown, a Photo Essay

the unlucky penny

only a few steps away, but stuck in the middle

all alone

hanging, buried, forked 

neatly arranged in the wrong place 

in the vast open, sometimes caged

Next time you decide to skip the garbage can and throw waste on the ground, think of what is actually the trash: the wrapper or you?

I set aside quite a bit of time to go to Midtown because I figured it may be difficult to find trash to take pictures of. I snapped my first picture at 11:03 am and the last at 11:22 am. I took over 70 photos, and lots of trash is not even represented in this series. It is frustrating and sad, especially considering most of the trash was near if not right next to a garbage can. 

In elementary school basic respect of other people is taught, but why are we not emphasizing respect for the environment. It would take only a few extra seconds to find a trash can and make a difference.

If everyone made the effort to not litter, there would be no litter. 

Earth Day Citizen’s Contribution by Emily Richards for Our Town Reno

Entering the Magical Land of 5 Dog Books in Midtown Reno

On the outskirts of Midtown on Holcomb Ave is a muted yellow house with an abundance of arugula. The small off-white flowers cascade down the walkway. Like many homes in Midtown, this one has been converted into a shop. 

I sat down with the owner of the bookstore, Manuel Simpson. His home is what you would expect of a well-traveled collector — beautiful rugs and paintings sit on the walls, books and DVDs are stacked neatly.  Simpson is in his late 70s. I met him while working as a barista.

He is a little eccentric and very well-read. Every once in a while he would bring me a book or two while I worked and tell me which chapters to look forward to.  Simpson says he opened his bookstore in 1980, with rare books including on Nevada and local Native history.

He explained his sales tactics. “I’ve found and it may not be true anymore that the only way to get somebody to buy books was to make them feel guilty so when broaching a certain subject like Nevada Indians or the history of Pyramid Lake i would say … ‘you don't know this’ and they would buy the book. I couldn't make them feel guilty enough to read William Faulkner… so it’s simply a local reason,” he said.

Over the course of the pandemic, my own values shifted. Like many young adults, I desperately wanted to escape “local.” 2020 was supposed to be my year of travel. I intended to celebrate graduating high school with a trip to Guilin in Southern China. Sufficient to say I did not go. Instead I grew up a little, I embraced the sagebrush and landscape that surrounded me. I had become susceptible to his sales tactic.  

“I think other people oughta know what it is that’s going on where you live,” Simpson told me. “Wallace Stevens starts a little poem with the lines ‘I am what it is around me.’ And if we are what it is around us. Then we should know something about what is around us.”

I am admittedly very unfamiliar with Nevada history and our Indigenous culture. While I’ve made an effort to learn more over the past few years, much of it has not stuck. This unfamiliarity is what interested me most about this shop. When I asked to see it, Simpson warned me that it was a little messy. 

We walked between the yard connecting his home to the shop. It was full of arugula that had spread years and years ago. He picked some for me and with bundles of arugula in his hand told me his theory that older cultures must have come up with reincarnation after watching plants spread.  

After his quick tangent, he walked swiftly to the back porch of his store and set down the bundles. He moved a stack of chairs that had been blocking the door. Inside it was dusty. Bookshelves were full and numerous paintings, photographs and prints had been stacked upon them. 

The artwork caught my eye immediately. Dozens of sand paintings were scattered across the rooms, some no bigger than a palm and others the size of laptops. The sand paintings on display are art objects that have been created by placing colored sand on top of smooth uncolored sand to create designs. 

“They started doing sand paintings on boxes and other things,” Simpson explained unprompted. “But, I was told that the sand paintings in frames were sold by art galleries. The sand paintings without frames were sold by Indians themselves on a blanket on the street mostly in Arizona … Sand painting is basically a Navajo art that's where they were. These are mostly Yei,… the females have oblong faces and the males have round faces. These things used to be done on the ground. They would do sand paintings and it was used as a healing process for somebody who was sick and when the patient recovered they would destroy the sand painting.”

Simpson also showed me his collection of hand woven Seri baskets. He also has one small Paiute basket, handwoven out of fallen pine needles.

“I first started collecting baskets when I was [visiting] with a group of Indians in Northern Mexico called Seri Indians. They have been called by many people the wildest people on earth and I met some women accidentally and we made fun of one another for about five hours on a blanket. Then they decided to take me home with them which was two hours north on a dirt road and I started going down there,” he remembers. “I must have gone down there half a dozen different times and I would take them clothes and they would make me baskets and I loved it.”

The baskets are beautiful and intricate. Red, tan, and black fibers are woven to provide structure for their tapered shape. They are spaced out evenly and not crowded, so patrons and Manuel can appreciate their craftsmanship. 5 Dog Books is a special world onto its own, full of treasures with a curator unlike any other in Reno.

Our Town Reno Citizen’s Forum Contribution by Ariel Smith

County Clerk Candidacy Sparks Renewed Concerns

Whenever Kenji Otto has his hat in the ring for an elected or appointed local position, members of the community want others to know about his past racist Tweets they verify with previous screengrabs, some directed to Nevada alum and civil rights leader Colin Kaepernick, his overall aggressive political tactics and why he should not be chosen.

One resident wrote us: “I am a super worried resident in Washoe County that has been scared to speak up in fear of retaliation. However Kenji Otto is running for county clerk and this scares so many people. When he was on the North Valleys CAB, old tweets of his were brought to light and they are absolutely awful.”

We reached out to Otto and his campaign but didn’t hear back. His campaign website says he has “a History as a “Fixer” of government brokeness [sic].” His detractors point to a past of bullying and outrageous social media.

Two other Republicans have filed for the County Clerk position Randy Amestoy and current office holder Jan Galassini. Amestoy doesn’t have a website we could find, but Galassini has one which seems much more detailed per the nature of the clerk position. “Goals for the future include technological improvements, continuing to preserve historical records for future generations, creating document filing efficiencies, and improving digital access to all Clerk’s Office records,” is an example of her stated goals.

We emailed Galassini for comment on the Otto situation but didn’t hear back.

When he was on the North Valleys Citizen Advisory Board other community members pleaded for his removal for months, saying it was impossible to find any common ground with him.

At a June 2020 Washoe County Board of Commissioners meeting, Jeanne Herman defended him, while also announcing his resignation. Herman is also on the Operation Sunlight right wing list of “Nevada candidates to support.”

“I found this gentleman to be extremely American,” Herman said of Otto at the time. “He is a half Japanese person and I never experienced any racist attitudes about him. He’s worked hard in doing what he did. He’s worked so hard that he had a stroke and now has resigned from the CAB and I think he’ll be a great loss and we’ll miss him.”

Another Republican on the Board Bob Lucey struck a different tone. Commissioner Lucey said there should be a way to remove appointed people from boards if it’s verified they have posted “things of intolerance on social media.” Democrats on the Commission Board backed Lucey in their own comments.

A recent post on the Say No to Creating an Unincorporated Town of Cold Springs on Facebook indicates: “Just a heads up, the main person that pushed to turn Cold Springs into an unincorporated town is now running for county clerk.  Those that have had a history with Kenji can vouch for why this is so alarming.  He is once again bringing up forming the unincorporated town out here on nextdoor, even after it failed miserably in Red Rock.  Please, for the sake of our county, Do not vote for Otto.”

Minutes from a July 2021 Washoe County meeting indicate: “Mr. Kenji Otto displayed a document, a copy of which was placed on file with the Clerk. He opined that Nevada had been taken over by the Marxist government. He believed the Nevada Democratic Party intended to replace elected officials with Marxists.”

He’s also been involved in efforts to turn Cold Springs into an unincorporated town, according to members of the community, repeatedly going door to door in this endeavor.

There were also public community comments in September 2020 when Otto had been put forward by the Herman camp to be on the Washoe County Board of Adjustment District 5, which has “responsibility for reviewing and approving variances and special use permits for the unincorporated portions of the county.”

In public comments, his intimidating conduct and racist social media were brought up again as his application was removed. With the backing of Operation Sunlight and the mobilization which was seen for Herman’s attempt to change local voting rules, seen by many as discriminatory, residents fear Otto might have a chance to win the clerk position at the ballot box.

Our Town Reno reporting, April 2022

Protesting Companies in Our Area Still Doing Business As Usual With Russia

Last week the Yale School of Management lists 131 companies in 28 countries which continue doing business as usual with Russia (https://som.yale.edu/story/2022/over-400-companies-have-withdrawn-russia-some-remain).  Of these at least 29 companies operate in the United States as the table below shows. Our objective is to let the companies know that continuing doing business with Russia will have a negative impact on their US business.

Among companies, which do business as usual with Russia (even with curtailed activity as explained in editor’s note below top photo) are Acer, Lenovo, Asus, Xiaomi, Huawei, Toyota and Mitsubishi. Acer, Lenovo, Asus, Xiaomi and Huawei products are sold through major retailers’ stores in the US including Walmart, Costco, Best Buy, Home Depot, Office Depot and Staples. Toyota and Mitsubishi sell their cars through their dealerships in the US. The hope is that protesting these retailers’ local stores and the local car dealerships in question would encourage them to put pressure on Acer, Lenovo, Asus, Xiaomi, Huawei, Toyota and Mitsubishi to end doing business with Russia.

Another aim of the protests is to raise awareness in our communities of the plight of the Ukrainian people and their struggle for democracy and freedom.

The proposal is to conduct protests by people displaying signs. The protests, lasting about 40 minutes each, would be held in front of Walmart, Costco, Best Buy, Home Depot, Office Depot and Staples stores as well as the Toyota and Mitsubishi dealerships in Reno/Sparks. Additional goal of the protests is to attract the attention of the local media, thus amplifying the protests’ message.

Hopefully, such protests would be replicated all across the country.

If you can help achieve this goal or have ideas on this matter, please contact VictoryToUkraine1@gmail.com

 Slava Ukraini!  (Glory to Ukraine!) 

Our Town Reno Citizen’s Forum Contibution from Joseph Hoshen, Sparks, Nevada, April 10, 2022

Repeated Concerns over the Treatment of Reno's Unhoused and Lack of Affordability in Pandemic Survey

In terms of personal changes, several people who responded to our survey said they were still working from home and for the most part enjoying it.  One respondent said they were less career oriented, with “lower risk, higher reward positions” making more sense. 

Some learned new skills and developed new hobbies, like stock trading or baking bread.  Others focused more on creative pursuits, such as music or taking longer walks with their dog.  Several said they became more selective in who they choose to spend time with, getting better at saying no to toxic relationships.  Several also said they had kids, and refocused their lives around their families and a healthier lifestyle. 

In terms of acute difficulties, members of our community reported worrisome debt,  stress and isolation, forced separation from family members, increased anxiety and taking anti-depressants.

Those working for tips reported lower wages, while those who had businesses said they were trying their best to keep going, despite short staffing, supply chain problems and inflation. 

Higher and higher rent  was largely the biggest complaint.  One respondent said they made an offer for a dream home at the very start of COVID but with the down payment equalling their entire nest egg, they pulled out due to uncertainty. “Now our rent keeps going up as does housing prices, becoming a homeowner no longer seems possible.”  The dream house was then bought by a landlord, they wrote.

One person said they lived in a motel and were just “waiting to get evicted like everyone else.” Another respondent said they moved three times over the span of the pandemic with rising rents and renovations affecting their decisions. Another had to “move and downsize as well as change roommates twice.”

In our section of how Reno and Washoe County are now helping the unhoused with millions of dollars of federal money at their disposal, responses showed alarm.

One respondent said the lack of better help was “almost criminal.”  Another called the Cares Campus “a kind of ‘passive’ genocide. Putting vulnerable people (many disabled) in a warehouse with wave after wave of communicable disease is not mere incompetence.”  Another called it “a no win situation,” while one respondent said there was “no care.”  Many said they had heard of problems or “major issues” at the Cares Campus and several said they wanted ongoing sweeps to stop. 

Some expressed frustration there were resources available but many weren’t seeking or getting help. 

“I could write a novel the length of Moby Dick about how frustrated I have become with the treatment of unhoused individuals. Not just by local government, but by the public as well,” another wrote. 

One person said they believed the pandemic had amplified the number of houseless.  One said “Reno used to be a kinder place a long time ago. But now it has a targeted aggressive plan to get rid of as many of the homeless as it can.”  

In terms of ideas to make Reno better, answers included housing for all, rent caps on apartments, higher local wages, a new highway for the Spanish Springs, Pyramid Lake area, safe camps, designated safe parking, “a more tolerable view of those in need,” universal basic income, better public transportation with expanded routes, as well as promoting cooperative ownership models.

Many stated expanding affordable housing as what should be the main focus, including for the elderly rather than “words and sell-out to developers.” 

To also help the unhoused, one respondent said there should be several more “fully equipped, safe and staffed shelters for the houseless,” as well as a mobile street mental health crisis team and “removal of anti human architecture and spaces.”

Our Town Reno Survey, March 2022

Mutual Aid Groups Prevented from Helping Outside Cares Campus

It seems volunteer donation and mutual aid groups are no longer allowed to serve around the Cares Campus.

We've received several reports of people being shooed away and told they weren't allowed there anymore.

We wrote to Washoe County officials, and got this message back from spokeswoman Bethany Drysdale: "We were receiving numerous calls from REMSA and RPD about the congested entryway blocking their ability to access the Cares Campus. So vehicles are no longer allowed to stop or park there. Volunteers could move elsewhere, but would need to check with City of Reno on where they are allowed to set up."

We wrote Reno Direct which told us to contact their media line. We've had no response there.

Any thoughts, or your own recent experiences you can share? #helpeachother #helpourneighbors #renomutualaid #renocarescampus

Wednesday, March 16th, after the above initial post was released, Reno’s media office indicated we need to leave voice mails in the future rather than text messages. They also included their own update: "To help protect pedestrians from traffic and ensure emergency vehicles can access the campus in the event of an emergency, the street in front of the Cares Campus must remain clear. Volunteers are permitted to assist inside the campus. Here is a link to the Washoe County website which provides volunteer opportunities at the Cares Campus and contact for food, clothing, and other donations: https://www.washoecounty.gov/homeless/Cares-Campus/community-engagement.php "

Current volunteer opportunities seem to be just lunch right now under official supervision within the 10:45-1 pm time frame. Any thoughts from mutual aid groups?

Our Town Reno Citizen’s Forum, March 2022

Reno’s Hostile Architectural Takeover

Around the country there are constant conversations of cities integrating what is known as “hostile architecture,” and Reno is no exception. Hostile architecture is an urban-design strategy used to purposely restrict behavior and often targets those that use public spaces more often than others, specifically the unhoused.

Many cities use hostile architecture as a way to drive the homeless from sleeping on benches or sitting in certain areas.

There are many forms of hostile architecture around the country from spikes to segmented benches and so much more. Reno specifically, really likes segmented or uncomfortable benches which can be found throughout downtown.

What people often seem to forget is that the homeless community within cities are still people. Real human beings who sometimes have no choice.

People often forget all it takes is one layoff, one increase in rent, one landlord to let you go before you find yourself homeless as well.

Research says over 50% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck. That just shows how fragile things can be in our lives. Instead of spending money on hostile, blatantly obvious creations to deter the homeless we should be investing resources into how to help them. 

These people are mothers, fathers, people with degrees, family members - all who live complex lives. Deterring these people from existing in certain places to try to keep a certain “aesthetic” within the city should be questioned.

Photo Essay by Carly Olson shared with Our Town Reno

What is it like to cover the Unhoused Community in Reno? A 2021 Look Back by Richard Bednarski

As a longtime resident of Reno, I have been keenly aware of the unhoused ever since I first served food with Food Not Bombs nearly two decades ago. About 18 months ago, I began listening to their stories and in that time, not only has the amount of people living on the streets increased dramatically, but resources have dried up, affordable housing has gone by the wayside and covering the stories of the unhoused has become more difficult. 

In the past four years the population of the unhoused has increased by nearly 1000% according to official statistics (although their accuracy is always uncertain) while developers like Jacobs Entertainment have bought up and demolished many motels. These lodgings, though in poor shape, were often the last affordable place to live or the first for many people with bad credit and no savings. The motels have since been replaced with fenced empty lots and promises of an entertainment district.

This past year, local officials also proudly opened up the $17 million CARES Campus, a massive tent-like structure nestled against the freeway interchange on Fourth street, capable of holding nearly 800 people. The compound also included a strip of asphalt for about 40 tents, what was known as a safe camp. 

This massive undertaking was made possible by emergency pandemic relief money from the federal government as well as the owner of an RV storage who accepted an offer on his lot nearly $2 million dollars greater than market value. Officials touted the ability to provide space for pets and couples, something not available at the former $20 million Record Street shelter. Some officials said the CARES Campus would help to eventually eliminate homelessness and blight altogether. 

As a reporter for Our Town Reno I have tried relentlessly to get inside and show the community what this shelter looked like. Within weeks of opening reports began to surface from inhabitants and local advocates about moldy food and lack of cots. During July, which was officially the hottest month ever recorded globally, reports came out about no cooling stations and lack of water for hydration. As more and more of these stories began to surface, I wanted to get a firsthand experience of this to report back to the community.

The City of Reno has since transferred operations and management of the compound to Washoe County, which is reportedly in the process of injecting another $38 million dollars into the project. With this kind of public money behind a project, I reached out to County Commissioner and chair of the Community Housing CHAB, Alexis Hill about the take over. This podcast and interview was informative as she laid out plans the county has to reach zero people living on the streets. This includes the goal of building “a comprehensive real-time, by-name list of all single adults experiencing homelessness in our community.”

“It’s also working with our nonprofit partners to ensure that they use the same system,” Hill said.  “We don't currently have a database where everyone is using the same system. So that's our next step is getting everyone  incentivized to get on that same system.”

Hill also said she could help me get a tour inside to learn more about the shelter. As a photographer, I began thinking of a visual narrative that would tell the story and help educate the public about conditions inside the CARES Campus. The challenge would be to illustrate this story while protecting the privacy of people living there. From the beginning I was clear about not taking any photographs of inhabitants, but rather focus on the employees who run the shelter. 

Hill directed me to Bethany Drysdale, the media and communications manager for Washoe County. Initially, she welcomed the idea of a photo story about working conditions and the CARES Campus. But after several weeks and a buried email, the tone changed to no photos and moving the interview off site. Some of the concern was to protect the privacy of the inhabitants as well as prevent COVID. This was also during a time when images of moldy food and broken showers were surfacing on social media from inside the campus. Drysdale said the concern came from Volunteers of America (VOA), who operate the shelter. 

As winter returns, the city and county have been scrambling to provide enough shelter and refuge for the unhoused.

This lack of planning by local officials is dumbfounding and it seems to happen every year. They wait until the week of a cold snap to scramble and provide emergency shelter for the unhoused. This year the City of Reno has been distracted purchasing a dilapidated glass whale and bringing electric scooters to town instead of addressing the unhoused crisis. 

While the CARES Campus does provide resources for many in need and a place to stay, there are members of unhoused community members who still avoid it out of fear of losing their possessions and the general atmosphere inside. I’ve heard numerous times the risk of theft is not worth staying in what they call a prison-like shelter. These possessions most often include paperwork and items needed to help continue the process of finding a job and housing. This is also one of the issues with sweeps, these items are thrown away by officials leaving many to start the housing hunt all over. 

As winter has arrived, the local governments continue to apply a band-aid to a problem that is not being addressed. Affordable housing is non-existent in Reno. Recently, the City of Reno called the police on community members at a city council meeting when they arrived to provide public comment about the lack of affordable housing. Mayor Hillary Schieve called this protocol yet it might have been the first time a police presence was requested at a public meeting. 

My reporting of the unhoused and affordable housing crisis has built a strong foundation of empathy and compassion in my journalism. It has also shown me the injustice the city is dolling out by providing tax breaks to out-of-state developers who promise so much while so far delivering very little but local problems. 

As I branch out in my career, I cannot help but wonder, where is Reno headed and what will it become when we prioritize ephemeral entertainment development projects over supporting people who live and work in this community?

Farewell Essay by reporter Richard Bednarski for Our Town Reno

A Call for a Local Rent Cap Based on Lived Experiences

Helping out with Gas

Nevada residents need a legislative rent cap as soon as possible. Without it, our homeless population will continue to grow, along with poverty. It is unnecessary suffering amongst Washoe County residents.

I was driving down Longley Blvd today, in a hurry to get home after a root canal. Shortly past the Nevada Humane Society, on the opposite side of the road, I saw a disabled woman standing behind her large red van and an older woman sitting inside. It appeared that she must’ve had a recent stroke as her right arm was nuzzled outside her jacket and her left leg was supporting most of her body weight. It’s 44 degrees; the van was turned off; and this woman was holding a homemade cardboard sign that said, “Need gas.” I couldn’t help but drive a bit further up and turn around. I asked her if her van could make it across the street to the gas station, and she teared up replying, “Yes.” Up to this point, this seems like a heartwarming story, but I did not expect what happened next. 

I pulled into the gas station behind her and noted the pump number she stopped at. I parked near the front door and thought I might as well get some Aleve and a ginger ale while I was there; I could feel the numbing somewhat wearing off and felt a bit grateful for the mask because my face was a droopy drooling mess. I entered the store and, shortly after I walked in, a man followed in behind me. He made quite an entrance, speaking loudly to get my attention.

“I just gave that lady $10 a bit ago. She pulled in here, got gas, and then went right back out there and put her sign up,” he said. He stiffened further and his volume increased, and it felt as if he expected me to say, ‘Well, screw that lady then. Geez, the audacity of some people!’ Instead, I replied, “That’s a really big van” and shrugged my shoulders. He knew I was insinuating that $10 would barely move the needle in that thing. 

“I don’t care; if you still want to help her, then help her,” he puffed, and he walked out hastily. I paid $20 for her gas and exited the store. I could tell that she was relieved when I walked out and her gas pump turned on. I’m sure it had crossed her mind that I might not be willing to pay for her gas because that man gave her $10. Thoughts began to swirl in my head as I drove home.

Ignorant and Inconsiderate?

I thought to myself, ‘How can someone give $10 in gas and expect that to be enough for such a big vehicle? It’s almost as if they need what they give to be enough.’ Or, how can someone give with any expectations at all? Words I’d heard before also came to mind, like: ‘Well, people shouldn’t drive such large vehicles if they can’t afford the gas.’ My all-time favorite is, ‘People need to take what they’re given and be happy with it.’ And, that lady should’ve drove somewhere else if she was going to keep asking for money.’

I began to recall some comments I had read earlier in the day about the homeless who had been living in the weekly motels that were just knocked down, and ones we hear about all too often. ‘I was once homeless; I struggled; and I had to work so hard to get out of that situation. And I did. People just need to work hard and get a job.’ I found myself irritated by the time I pulled in the driveway. How could people be so ignorant and inconsiderate? How is it that people expect those who need help to live and make it with less that they have?

Obviously, those two women needed help, and they were trying to get somewhere. Sure as hell, excuse my language, they weren’t getting very far with $10 and, if I had the money, I would’ve filled their tank so they could dodge the scrutiny that the angry man was doling out. Ignorance. Yes, let’s force these women to drive to several different gas stations to ask for gas money so, by the time their tank was full, it would be empty again. We are not the ones standing out in the cold, disabled, and asking for gas money. People don’t just do this for fun. The struggle is real. I have experience. 

My Mother’s Example

My mother makes a bit over minimum wage and yet, every time she sees someone asking for money, she gives what she has. As a child, I never understood. I often found myself upset and thinking that if she didn’t give her extra money away, I might’ve had a new pair of shoes for school. In reality, it wouldn’t have made much difference. What my mother was giving me was hope and kindness and what she was giving them was a few singles or change here and there. 

It seems to me that often those who struggle the most, give the most. I think this is because we understand what it feels like to struggle. We just want to make someone feel a little bit better. My mother was in an abusive relationship early in her life and wanted to get away so bad, but money was the deterrent. Well, at one point, it became so bad that she bought a bus ticket from North Dakota to Reno. She was pregnant with twins and had two other toddlers. She was lucky when a woman making the same trip saw her struggle and gave her some money for food along the way. When she arrived in Reno, NV, she was homeless. 

Stay with me because there are some important things that need to be said here. Some things that you won’t expect to hear. People, in general, have this notion of what it means to be homeless and why there is a homeless population. Not to the fault of many because their judgment has most likely been clouded with the ideation of the consensus. There is this looming judgement surrounding homelessness, that they choose to be homeless. They are drug addicts. They don’t work hard enough; and they just want a handout. Maybe this is because people find comfort in not taking a moment to think about how possible it is that, one day, they could be homeless. Or, how easy would it be to make one mistake or to be the mistake of another and end up homeless? Rent struggles only exacerbate these challenges. 

Many Struggling

Often, it seems, the weeklies are the last stop to homelessness. I am not so sure that last stop can always be avoided through just hard work and perseverance. I tend to believe that it is luck of the draw pertaining to one’s circumstances. What circumstances you ask? To name a few: kids, age, race, mental capacity, immigrant status, and public assistance. Let’s talk about public assistance including higher education financial assistance.

The woman at the beginning of this story might’ve been on disability. Disability is around $1700.00 a month, if you’re single with no kids. There are several things one must do to keep that monthly check, like, endless weekly appointments. Not only are these people struggling to pay their rent and bills, but they must figure out transportation to these appointments and how to get food.

What about students who are on financial aid that barely covers the expenses that accompany the high cost of a college degree? Now imagine already struggling in such ways and then rent increases dramatically. Well, your money isn’t increasing and, if you get a second source of income, that’s likely going to be more than that funding allows. When someone is struggling, there isn’t one answer that will fix it all.

Hear Us out on Rent Caps

Now you have invested time in reading this article and might be questioning what any of this has to do with a legislative rent cap, especially, since I said one answer will not fix it all. Let me explain. When prices rise and income doesn’t, then those already struggling suffer the most. Living paycheck to paycheck or week to week in a motel means that one slip up or problem can equal homelessness. With rent prices hiking up so high, it’s almost impossible for those already struggling to keep up. The impact of that one problem is almost provoked by exorbitant rent prices. So many now have no room for any surprises, but life is full of surprises so, when that number is called, well… And, we all know that it is impossible to prepare for every one of life’s challenges. COVID-19 is a good and most recent example. 

From the census bureau 2015-2019, the poverty percentage for Washoe County was 10.7%. This obviously doesn’t include the homeless population, so I imagine the real number is higher. Not counting the homeless, counted were 47,151 people living in poverty in 2019. COVID 19 happened in 2019 and many lost their livelihoods. Those already struggling… well, I think we can imagine the heart-breaking stories. My colleague, April Garcia, gathered narratives from people in our community who are struggling. Don’t let the number be deceiving because these narratives mirror a plethora of stories from throughout Washoe County. Her idea is that this community needs to hear the struggles of those productive citizens who are living on this verge. Hopefully, this will begin to change the common ideas of why people become homeless in the first place, as well as place an emphasis on the importance of rent regulation. 

Huge Chunks Going to Rent

UNR freshman Denise currently lives with her boyfriend at the Greentree Apartments. They pay $1285 in rent for a 1-bed 1-bath that includes a laundry unit. Their biggest stress is money, especially now as they both just started new jobs and only work 35-40 hours a week (one earning $18.50/hour the other $22.00/hour). A huge chunk of their bi-weekly paychecks goes to rent. Most utilities are included except for electricity, and on top of other expenses such as bills, college tuition and food, they have very little money to save for personal expenses, let alone the upcoming holidays. Although home life is okay, Denise and her boyfriend both feel that the amount of rent they pay for a 1-bedroom apartment is suffocating. They struggle to keep food on the table, and there isn’t much left to budget with beyond a looming fear of what the future holds.

Stay-at-home mom, Lucille, lives in Fernley with her parents while her husband works in Reno as a truck driver. Lucille and her husband had originally lived in Reno at the Vineyards at Galleria, where they were paying around $1600 for a 1-bed 1-bath apartment. Although the rent included utilities and amenities, they were unable to renew their lease when she became pregnant because they needed more space and a budget shift. They moved in with her parents to save money and pay off hospital bills. It has been two years and tension has risen between them and Lucille’s parents. Lucille and her husband are desperate to find a place in Reno but the houses for rent are impossibly expensive. They wanted to find a decent house in a decent neighborhood to raise their child. One house that they liked asked for $2295 a month  (2-bed 2-bath; 1,879 sq ft) with no utilities but appliances included. For Lucille, having to rely on her husband’s income has strained their relationship, too, and she wants to go back to work, but the cost of childcare is too high, let alone the cost and time of a regular commute between Reno and Fernley. The couple wish for some form of rent control that makes it possible for them to find a reasonably priced rental in Reno.

A reasonable price for housing in Reno no longer exists. A wide search on Zillow reveals 912 sq. ft. for $1375.00 a 2-bedroom 1 bath. Oh, and let’s not forget that, to move in, it’s first month’s rent, deposit, and $500 per pet if you have any. I guess pets will become a rich person thing. 

We are Protesting

Well, here we find ourselves with a rent crisis that is bound to double the homeless population. What can we do? There is a lot we can do if we, the residents of Washoe County, band together to demand change. April and I have joined forces with another UNR student, Aspen Schuyler, to organize and carry out a demonstration.

We are actively calling out the residents of Washoe County who care to join us at the City Hall, One East First Street, on the 2nd of December at 6pm. 

This is when City Hall representatives convene to discuss new building renovations and their effects on the public. We are the public, and we can speak in these meetings, as well. You can sign up at the City Hall the day of the demonstration or beforehand online. 

Please know that this is not our job as students. It is not something we are assigned to do. This is an idea that we collectively created and are going to follow through with. We are doing this in the little free time we have. We work, raise kids, take classes, have relationships, and take care of personal obligations. But we know how important this is and how much it will continue to affect our community. So, at the end of our days and in the middle of our days, we sit just as exhausted as the next person and think of ways we can make a difference. How can we better our community? Right now, we have a rent crisis and see its effects everywhere.

We are calling out community to action. We can work with each other and for each other and demand that those who work for us take the initiative and implement something that will ease the burden on struggling Washoe County residents. We need our elected officials to enact emergency legislation that will deal with, what should be, a basic human right: housing. When will being human be enough for affordable housing to be important enough… 

Writing by Sasha Osorio with additional reporting by April Garcia and Aspen Schuyler shared with Our Town Reno

Meeting Matt and Mel at a Tent Village Right Behind My Classes at UNR

I am Bailey Shepard, a journalism student at the University of Nevada, Reno. Recently, I visited an unhoused encampment for a story for the Our Town Reno podcast. The encampment is right across the street from the University, right beside some train tracks in a residential neighborhood.

 It is a very drastic change to go from the millions of dollars that have been poured into the university, and all of the wealth and hope that you see walking around there, to then walk across a street and see people sleeping in shelters partially dug out of the earth, in tents, and having to constantly battle the elements. But there is a different sense of hope and strength that we see in the unhoused population in Reno, and that is their tenacity for life. It was the coldest day in Reno so far this winter, perhaps around 30 degrees Fahrenheit with the cold wind blowing.

I first spoke with a gentleman who did not want to give an interview but allowed me to chat with him a bit about his background and to greet his dog. He was originally from Texas but sounded like he had lived all over the west. I asked which places he liked the most and he said he liked being near the mountains, to which I wholeheartedly agreed. Not long into our chat a group of middle aged gentlemen sauntered into the encampment. It was in the backyard of an abandoned house, right next to an old abandoned nursing facility. The dog, which had not barked at our presence there, suddenly let out a loud series of barking at their arrival. 

They walked up and immediately informed the people of the encampment that this area would be cleared the following day to make way for the construction of more student housing apartments.   

I was both shocked and somehow not surprised. This was a story I had heard a lot about via my colleagues in the journalism school who report for Our Town Reno, that unhoused people were constantly being moved, and that little cheap motels were constantly being destroyed to make way for bigger more expensive housing units or dirt lots. Units that do go up are too expensive for many current Reno residents.

Here it was, happening right in front of me, the process yet again of corporate housing pushing the unhoused out of the spot they had for the time being.    

After this encounter I sauntered down the railroad tracks with fellow Our Town reporter Richie Bednarski. We saw more shelters set up along the railroad tracks when we saw a couple people gathering around a fire on this cold November day. Richie mentioned that he thought he had interviewed the couple before and that it would be good to go catch up with them. 

The names of the man and woman we talked with were Matt and Mel. These two had been interviewed by Our Town Reno in February when they were being forcefully swept from a Sparks location. We were glad that they were alive and well, and they shared the good news that in a few weeks they would be going into the ReStart program that helps with mental health services among the unhoused and also aids people to get into housing.  

I saw a different kind of hope that day. I saw people living, despite the difficult circumstances. I saw people creating a community with their other unhoused neighbors. There were fires for warmth, and an open flame being used to cook food. People gathered around the flame and chatted, and laughed. The scene is very common around the world. Even though here the fire is illegal. Some neighbors will call the police when they see fires lit, seeing it as a threat to their own properties.

But aren’t these just people living outside, in nature, as humanity started, and surviving despite the current odds. It seems that in America we ostracize the unhoused, we often harass them and keep moving them here and there. Instead of letting them integrate into the community, we try to keep them on the move and out of sight. Progress and change keeps them down as well. 

The cheap motels they used for housing are being destroyed for high rise expensive condos and apartments or other future promised developments. 

The encampments that naturally arise around the city are constantly being raided. If there is danger in some of these encampments it is understandable to want to break them up. But why then does the city not set aside some land for the houseless population to set up camps? Perhaps in smaller parcels if big encampments cause problems? And of course, more cheap housing needs to be built. With housing prices and rent skyrocketing across the country, it is not hard to imagine that it will only increase the homeless population of the U.S. and Reno in particular.   

I felt happy hearing that Matt and Mel had hope for the Restart Program that will hopefully get them back into an apartment. I could sense that they also were looking forward to this occasion.

In the meantime, Matt seemed perfectly content to have a place to settle down. A place to put up his shelter, a fire to keep him warm and to cook with, and a community of people around him to keep him company. The city of Reno, and all of us who live here, should look to be a community more to our unhoused population, prioritize stopping the harassment, and voice our desires for more affordable housing to be built in the city.

1st Person Essay by Bailey Shepard shared with Our Town Reno     

The Value of Thrifting at Savers

Located on the corner of Virginia Street and Kietzke, is my favorite thrift store, Savers. It’s where one can buy clothes, accessories, and a variety of household items. This week I went with Ethan who has yet to take part in the Reno thrifting scene despite living in the city for three years.

As we walk into the store we are greeted by one of the employees who tells us what the color of the day is. Today it’s purple. We head towards the back of the store to the men’s section. Along the back wall are hats of all kinds, bucket hats, baseball caps, and beanies. Right underneath are the winter jackets, small to XXL lined up against the wall. I am looking for a new oversized hoodie for the winter season while Ethan scans the t-shirt section. Our opposite styles and personalities start to show. 

Ever since high school, I have become quite fond of thrifting. You never know what to expect searching through the racks of clothing. In the past, I have found my favorite Jets hoodie and oversized tees looking through the racks of my local Savers thrift store. 

The jacket section, unfortunately, was a bust. A quarter-zip in emerald green caught my eye but it was two sizes too big and had “Reno-Tahoe Airport Security '' along the right side. Clothing with the names of local Reno high schools or casinos, like the Atlantis and Circus Circus imprinted across the front are not uncommon to find at this Savers. This is not the style that I am looking for.  

I was worried at first that Ethan may not have what it takes to be a thrifter, but it seems like he got the hang of it pretty fast. I noticed him sifting through the t-shirts as one of his hands was full of clothes. He showed me some shirts he picked out, one orange with a converse logo, another from a 2008 Reno Toy Run with illustrations of toys and Christmas gifts on the backside. 

We moved to the long sleeve section and I spotted a grey zip-up Disney jacket that had a vintage tag attached to it. The clothing with cloth tags that aren’t imprinted to the back are usually pretty old as many clothing companies/brands started going tagless in the early 2000s. 

I jokingly ask Ethan, “Are you a Disney adult?” 

Turns out he is. 

He grabbed the 1955 Disney Zip-up and added it to his pile of clothes that he intended to purchase. 

Ethan and I make our way back to the front of the store. We pass through the home goods section with blankets, pictures with clowns, kitchenware, and the section of books and records. At the register, Ethan sparks up a conversation with one of the cashiers who is often working. He brags about the vintage Disney jacket he found and how he is excited to bring his roommate the next time he goes. 

The Reno Savers is much different from the ones that I am used to back in Las Vegas. In Reno, the racks have Patagonia, Columbia, and North Face brands and a sweater section like no other. In Vegas, the selection of winter wear is almost non-existent as a result of the lack of cold weather.

On top of the clothes and the abundance of plates and dishes that have turned into my college dorm room kitchen supplies, Reno Savers has also provided me with a lot of memories in some sort of way. 

It brings a sense of consistency to see the same three women working the cash register who never forget to comment on my “great finds.” I enjoy finding the small knick-knacks in the home good section that are older and are attached to a bit of history and making the trip with old and new friends to thrift. 

Reporting by Kayla Crowley and Ethan Morganti for Our Town Reno

Why the Benefit for Washoe County Court Appointed Special Advocates Foundation Matters

The Land of Make Believe was the early childhood refuge of countless kids of my generation, but I imagine Mister Rogers and his neighborhood of invariably kind characters features especially prominently in the childhood memories of we who couldn’t afford cable.

This is patently true in my case. The gentle presence of the indomitable Fred Rogers slipping into his cozy cardigans and opening a window into a kind, fun place for learning was one of few constants in my young life. I looked forward each weekday morning to transcending my chaotic real-world living room in favor of a world characterized by growth, and warmth, and inclusion.

I liked Mister Rogers, and I trusted him. He felt safe. He felt real. He gave me joy. He gave me hope. His influence persists when I find myself approaching a painful situation even to this day. I will always remember what he learned from his own caring adult—his mother—and taught to us;  he said to “Look for the helpers” when the world felt like a scary place.

As a child, I watched for helpers when my life felt scary, and I watch for helpers today when I’m scared for the future of kids who need more than they have.

It would be impossible to over-estimate the importance one caring adult can have on the life of an at-risk child, and the helpers I’d like to draw your attention to are the volunteers of Washoe Court Appointed Special Advocates, who help local foster kids every day.

On the eve of World Kindness Day, a holiday inspired by Mister Rogers himself, RenoStandUp and The Holland Project are hosting a limited-capacity, private evening of comedy, music, dancing, food, and fun benefitting The Washoe CASA Foundation. Enjoy a night of unforgettable fun, and help the helpers who are doing so much with some of our community’s most vulnerable kids! All proceeds will benefit Washoe County foster kids by helping to fund “Christmas for the Kids” holiday shopping trips with their CASA volunteers. Any remaining proceeds from the event will be directed to the Washoe CASA ComfortCases program to provide suitcase kits filled with personalized items clothing, personal care, and activities for individual foster kids served by Washoe CASA.

On any given day this year in the state of Nevada, more than 4000 children will reside in foster care. Each of these kids enters the system as a result of unsustainable hardships in their own homes and families, and every one enters the system while consumed to varying degrees by the trauma of their previous circumstances.

The adjustment to losing homes, family, normalcy, stability, predictability—everything a kid is accustomed to, for better or worse—is compounded by the lack of consistent guidance and support from a reliable source. Foster kids almost invariably experience the additional confusion, trauma, frustration, and loneliness of getting “lost” in a wildly overworked social service system.

In spite of countless good intentions and the tireless work of social workers, attorneys, counselors, teachers, foster parents, and other support sources, there is more need than there are time or resources.

One of the less visible, but most common consequences of being a ward of the state is shortage of people who are able or willing to spend the time, energy, or resources to help foster kids as individual, unique people, much less assess or fulfill their unique wants or needs; this has incalculable but profound implications for the futures of foster kids.

They are robbed of opportunity and self-esteem by the reality of living in foster care, to say nothing of the trauma that preceded or is interspersed with the “system” experience. Most foster kids fall into patterns they’ve seen modeled or resort to paths that lead to future trauma for themselves and any future progeny of their own.

Many will be in and out of foster care repeatedly. Many will enter the juvenile justice system or be further victimized by others within the system. Many will feel steamrolled by the system that is intended to care for them, and most will be at least partly robbed of their identities and feel diminished in value. The system as it most frequently works does not reliably provide for the stability of foster kids, nor does it typically set foster kids up for promising lives when they age out or are removed from the system, and this is a liability whose implications bode poorly not just for the affected individuals, but for the communities and families who will not benefit from the lost potential of their greatest resource: kids. 

CASA helps bridge the gap between the need for individualized, highly-skilled support and advocacy and the shortage of people and resources within the institutions and agencies charged with the care of foster kids.

An advocate is no ordinary volunteer, and the responsibilities they willingly accept are nothing short of heroic. Their work is integral to the well-being of every foster child they serve, and they make a genuine difference in the lives of kids who would likely otherwise remain on the margins of society for generations to come. CASAs interrupt the cycle and help foster kids create new patterns and expectations. Court Appointed Special Advocates are meaningfully changing the world for the better, ONE CARING ADULT and ONE FOSTER KID at a time. Kids need a lot of help with the scary business of growing, learning, developing, healing, and joining society as contributing citizens, and CASAs provide just the help they need.

CASA’s mission is personal to me. Owing to both the genuine smile and official messy bun of the soccer mom set that I typically wear, one might comfortably assume I’m a stereotypical middle-class suburban woman, replete with a wholesome back story.

One might even guess that I’m a professional, well-educated, community-minded, kind-hearted, passably fun person. You wouldn’t be wrong, but there’s a lot you might not guess. I’m a woman who is a mother, a wife, a teacher, a reader, a creator, a doer, and a giver. I can finally and unequivocally declare that I like me a lot, and I love my life.

I’m living passionately and meaningfully, participating in my community to its benefit, and raising healthy, well-adjusted, kind children. I am an exception to a tragic trend so common it’s almost the rule; my very life and my modest contributions to the world defy the predictions of most socioeconomic statistics. I’m not bragging; the credit belongs with an exceptional human named Sue who was the one consistent, caring adult who showed up for me when no one else would or could. 

I was the third of four children born to my teenaged parents. My biological parents were themselves the products of generations of poverty, neglect, abuse, mental illness, substance addiction, and the other myriad traumas that plague the American poor. Lacking the tools to raise children healthier than they were, my parents perpetuated the traumatic cycle by inflicting a similarly challenging childhood on my siblings and I, despite their most loving and highest intentions. Through a series of what can accurately be described as very unfortunate events, my brother, my two sisters, and I ultimately became wards of the State: kids with no legal parents, or more commonly called “foster kids.”

The time I spent as a foster kid in the Nevada Division of Child and Family Services system was tumultuous and traumatic. In spite of the good intentions and tireless effort of countless civil servants tasked with my care, support, guidance, and development., my teen years in the system were almost entirely devoid of predictability or stability, and they were liberally peppered with a variety of dehumanizing and painful experiences that typify the life of a foster kid.

Suffice it to say that being in foster care is probably about as uncomfortable as one would expect. It remains an unfortunate fact that there simply aren’t enough resources within the public social services system to provide personalized care or attention to all of the foster kids who need it, and I was poised to fall through the proverbial cracks when Sue entered my life.

My story is not mine so much as it is “ours,” because without Sue’s dedication, patience, expertise, perseverance, assertiveness, and altruism, my life would not be my life. Sue volunteered countless hours to change my story, and it is with effusive gratitude that I share what I humbly call “our success.” This modern-day heroine was appointed to be my Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA), and in this role she irrevocably changed my path.

As my volunteer Advocate, Sue represented my personal, unique interests and needs (and only mine) in Family and Criminal Courts, based on taking the time to get to know me as an individual and understanding my unique perspectives and needs, rather than defaulting to generic, impersonal (if efficient) best practices and policies for the rearing of children who find themselves without parents. Sue spent countless unpaid hours becoming a functioning expert on both me as a person and the legal intricacies of several cases requiring my reluctant participation, purely from a desire to help just one kid and in so doing, make a positive difference in her community.

Unlike with caseworkers or attorneys, I had Sue’s undivided attention; she really listened to me, and she amplified my voice. She validated my feelings and my needs. She sought justice and fair treatment for me. She helped me believe I mattered enough to do hard things, to try, to take responsibility for my own choices. She helped me find opportunities to build the life I desired.

She acted on what she learned about me and about my specific case to ensure that I had safe housing and care, was able to graduate with-even at the top of-my high school class, could establish lifelong relationships, and would go on to higher education and a life filled with the promise of better things to come. She helped me believe that the very life I lead today was possible. She invested in my future, and I hope I’ve been a good steward of that investment. 

There are thousands of foster kids in Nevada today in similar straits to those I found myself in all those years ago--lost in the system, each feeling more like a case more than a person--who would benefit immeasurably from the influence of their own personal advocates in the Court system. I hope to pay Sue’s investment forward by training to become a CASA myself, and I would encourage all those with the interest and ability to make a difference in the life a foster kid to follow this link to find out how you can invest in the future of foster kids with The Washoe CASA Foundation. www.washoecasafoundation.com

Because of Sue, I didn’t become a statistic. Because of CASA, more “success stories” are coming. Join us for a night of fun, and help us help the helpers. Mister Rogers would be proud. 

Citizen’s Forum Essay Shared with Our Town Reno by Jessica Sweeten

Fall in Reno 2021, a photo essay

Although Reno is located primarily in the desert, Reno residents are fortunate enough to see the changes in the air as we shift into the fall season. All around Reno you can see leaves begin to change colors and fall from their trees. From down by the river to neighborhoods around the city we are fortunate enough to see fall unraveling before our eyes.

Photos and Text by Carley Olson shared with Our Town Reno