Motel Owners Get Organized but Fear for their Future in a Changing Reno

Motel Owners Show Up to City Council to Save Motels from Possible Extinction

At 5:30 p.m., on a recent Monday, the Council Chambers at Reno's City Hall began to fill with local business owners. One row in particular, nearest to the front, filled up entirely, as seven men of different ages took their seats next to one another. 

They were motel owners participating in one of the City of Reno-designed sessions referred to as the Motel Inspection Program Community Workshops. Basically, it was a forum to gather public feedback on figuring out how motels can continue to exist in Reno's changing landscape.

“They want to rightfully upgrade and do away with blight in downtown Reno, they don’t have a fight with the motel owners when it comes to things like that,” Walter “Eddie” Floyd said. “The biggest issue is what kind of expense are we going to be looking at because whatever expense there is will be then conveyed to the tenants.”

Floyd, a Reno entrepreneur in media and other ventures, who was one of the men in that filled-up row, is working with motel owners to help them with their public relations at a time their business model might be at the threat of local extinction.

New apartment complexes are springing up across Reno, but with high prices and demanding credit checks and deposits, these are unaccessible to many who now rely on motels for their housing. Photo by Robyn Feinberg for Our Town Reno

What Happens Next?

The City of Reno’s website says the overall aim of the workshops was to preserve affordable housing units while also ensuring they are both safe and properly maintained. Other facets of the workshops included talking about mitigating blight within Reno, and supporting revitalization efforts.  But some motel owners say they fear new regulations and stricter inspections will make their current business model impossible. They also say they feel it’s a power and money grab currently going on for the new Reno where they will quickly find themselves on the losing side.

What happens next or when isn’t entirely clear, but there is talk long term rooms will have to be equipped with costly kitchenettes and there will be more stringent motel inspections which owners will have to pay for on a per room basis. 

One motel owner said he thought it would be $100 per room, and he said, if you have about 100 rooms, that would be an “outrageous” amount of money. He said if motels remained open in those circumstances, tenants would have to foot some of the bill, which would make living in motels less affordable.  Another motel owner said he thought he might have to follow others in selling his motel property as he said his business is quickly becoming unsustainable to turn any kind of profit.

Motels are being emptied out ahead of destruction.  For motels still standing and not bought out yet, the proposed Motel Inspection Program aims to set a distinction for motels with  extended stay options. Those that are advertised as extended stay motels are facing an imposition of fees, such as adding apartment-style details to the rooms, and paying for more inspections themselves. Photo by Robyn Feinberg for Our Town Reno

The Risk of More Homelessness

“One of the biggest issues our city is faced with right now is homelessness, and if you destroy 300 rooms you are putting about 600 to 700 people out on the streets, and these people can’t afford apartments in our town,” Floyd said of more and more motels with long stay options being bought out and bulldozed. “So, they either have to leave, which they can’t afford to do, or they have to go to the homeless shelters."

For several decades, motels in Reno have served as a housing option for thousands of low-income residents, as tenants only have to pay a flat fee per week in order to obtain a room, cable television, laundry service, and other amenities. Tenant fees tend to never reach more than $230 per week and many times require no deposits.  These long stay motel rooms also tend to be more accessible for tenants with limited income, bad credit or criminal records.

Many motel residents pay their rooms month to month, and some for years on end as most cannot afford deposits or rising rents in Reno. The average motel tenancy is estimated at 50 percent of senior citizens according to city documents. 

With more and more of downtown properties being bought out by companies such as Jacobs Entertainment, motels are being demolished with little to no word in the public realm on a large-scale affordable housing replacement solution – which if it does exist could take years of planning before implementation and realization.

“The tenants don’t want this, I have a stack of letters, probably 8, 9, 10 inches, from residents saying ‘Please don’t move me I’m a senior,’ or ‘Please don’t move me I’m trying to improve my life going to college and this all I can afford, I can’t afford anymore,’” Floyd said of tenants living in motels they fear will soon be bulldozed away.

Representing MOST= Motel Owners Support Team

While Floyd does not own a motel in Reno himself, he was informally hired by a group of motel owners to be their public relations manager and lobbying spokesman four months ago.

“I’m the spokesperson for a majority of the downtown motels and the owners of the motels, and it’s called M.O.S.T and that M.O.S.T stands for Motel Owners Support Team,” Floyd said.

Floyd’s job consists of communicating with the community and City Council members on the owners’ behalf.

“He’s basically helping us represent ourselves, getting the motel owners together, and all of the public relations work,” said Nav Bajwa, the owner of several local motels, including the Pony Express Lodge. Bajwa was contacted via phone.

The Jacobs Entertainment group has also purchased the current Sands casino as part of plans to create a new entertainment district in the downtown corridor.

Motel Owners Give Voice to Their Concerns

A self-proclaimed public relations man, Floyd is the founder of World Matters Inc., a company providing programming for radio stations, including a radio show known as America Matters Media. Bajwa sais that several other motel owners had originally begun working with Floyd when they bought spots on his radio show in order to express their concerns over current development issues in Reno.

“We figured that we would buy some radio spots, and he [Floyd] ended up helping us,” Bajwa said.

He said this new platform helps him and other motel owners voice their concerns to the public.

“They [the motel owners] do things that people don’t even know about, like once a month they will take tons of food to the homeless,” Floyd said. “And the weekly motels, some of them are truly bad ... (but) some of them are needed, otherwise we are going to have the most horrendous homeless problem on our hands that you can imagine,” he said.

Floyd said he enjoys working with Reno’s motel owners, and that the majority of them want to improve their properties. When asked if Reno was facing a moral dilemma between development projects and the growing homeless population, Floyd’s answer was simple: “There is no question about that.”

Floyd's radio programming with America Matters Media served as an initial soapbox for motel owners, and then led to an even closer partnership. 

Hopes to Open a Lodge for the Homeless on a Ranch

Floyd says he also wants to help the growing local homeless population.

“I’m going to open a lodge," he said. "The reason I’m going to open a lodge doesn’t just have to do with the homeless, but it has to do with military veterans suffering from PTSD and also people who have been suffering from addiction and they’re trying to get over it—those are the two main thrusts. I’d be helping the homeless, you have to understand how many of our veterans are homeless, it’s disgusting. [And] So many addicts are homeless.”

The lodge Floyd is talking about is still in the planning and design stages which he said would take at least a year to be constructed and then be useable.

Floyd plans to build a new lodge to house homeless people on his property, the Wynema Ranch, located 29 miles from Reno on the California/Nevada border.  The ranch already serves as a wild horse sanctuary which he runs with his wife, Shari Floyd.

A Checkered Past Not Impeding His Drive to Help

Floyd says he has struggled himself with addiction and will be sober 11 years this June.

“I’m one person, and I can’t take care of everybody so I had to pick my battles and my battles are for our military veterans and for our people recovering from addictions,” he said.

Floyd plans to set up donations for the planned lodge, as well as apply for federal and state business grants. To be able to run the lodge, and get the necessary regulatory approvals, he says he will start his own PR campaign for the project.

Floyd, who was convicted of drug money laundering in 2007 and sentenced to four years in prison by a federal judge, said that that conviction will not affect the business he plans to open or any grants he plans on applying for.

When asked if helping others was a mission in his life, Floyd responded that he only wanted to help the people who were willing to help themselves first.

“If I can help the homeless, especially by taking care of veterans and people recovering from addiction, that’s my goal, because without that help, they would be homeless and I don’t want to add to the homeless problem, I want to subtract from the homeless problem.” 

For now, he is also helping motel owners who he says are keeping people off the streets with the affordable rooms they provide, a business model now at risk in the changing Reno landscape.

Note: Interviews with Eddie Floyd were conducted in-person and via email. Comments from Nav Bajwa were collected via phone call. Some interview answers were edited/adjusted for clarity with no change to the original content or meaning.

Reporting and Photos by Robyn Feinberg for Our Town Reno

Mary, an 'Angel' Leading Local Volunteers to Distribute Food for Those in Need

A Former Nurse Leading a Ministry of Help

Mary McKnight, a 69 year-old retired nurse, did not want to be photographed, but she shared her story and how she has come to help so many people in our region, including at the Reno Center of Influence food pantry by the Veteran's hospital for the past two years.  Other volunteers she leads testified to her leadership, the value of helping her in her endeavors, helping others and working as a group. The distributions are open to any volunteers, and all are welcome. 

"We distribute food to the needy, whether they are homeless or veterans or whoever needs food. We do this on the second and fourth Fridays of each month for the general public and on the fourth Wednesday of each month we do an exclusive for veterans," McKnight explained as to the specifics.

The pantry relies on outdated goods provided by local groceries.  "In the last two years, we have tripled the numbers of the people that we help. Our plan is to spread the word and allow everyone the right to benefit from our help," McKnight said.

A Long but Worthwhile Process

People in line show their ID or their SNAP card (the federal USDA Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program offers nutrition assistance to millions of eligible, low-income individuals and families).

"We hand them a bag and they take what they need within reason and usually they leave with a few bags full of anything and everything," she said of the specifics.

The distribution though is just the end of a long process. "I start around eight o’clock in the morning and go to different stores to get [food] donations. I put [these in] my truck and I transport it to the receiving area. Together with other volunteers, we sort everything whether it's produce or bakery or dairy or dried goods and canned goods. It usually just depends on the amount of donations. We then sort and refrigerate ... We try and help as many people... None of the food goes to waste."

"I have been doing it on my own through the non-profit organization I started 21 years ago and that was up in Truckee," McKnight said of feeding those in need. "I was working at Safeway when I was still in a nursing profession and I realized how much food was being put into the dumpster and I had gone to the manager and asked if we could distribute some of this food to our senior center in Truckee. So, I started getting bakery outdated foods from Safeway and started taking it out to our seniors and distributing it out there in Truckee and as time grew so did the need and the need increased and word was out and people I knew referred me to the Safeway in Reno and I started picking up there. Through those donations, I met another couple who were doing some of the other grocery stores in town and they asked me to join them. As time progressed the stores kept giving us an abundance of food and we kept giving it away," she said.

From a Farm to Helping to Inspiring Volunteers

McKnight said growing up with a large family on a farm guided her helping ethos.

"Working on our farm has helped me to learn the value and respect of others.  We would all work together for the common goal--to help each other and share. After graduating from nursing school, I realized from within I had always wanted to help others. When it comes from within --your heart follows!  There isn't a better day than when you see the face on one----- that is saying 'Thank You for all you do, and the help you give to all of us.'"

She says those who are helped often find it in themselves to help others, leading to a chain of love and care.

"I truly feel if I can help one person, that one person can help more," McKnight said. "So, it’s about touching that one person to touch and help two more families....  I do it because it's not a job or responsibility, it’s the love. The homeless and needy are our other family," McKnight said.

Testimony from Other Volunteers

Saline Navarrete

" I have a personal job but this is my volunteering job. It's God's work. I met Mary the first time we ever opened this establishment, that was like 2 years ago. Ever since then we've become very good friends and she's a member of our family. She has a very big heart. Very awesome person, very nice, very humble. She helps out a lot of people. People that don't even see her. You know I have a lot of coworkers that when they need help or food, I can text Mary and Mary offers to help. When I’m around her, I feel lots of love and appreciation. God blessed us with that angel. "

Dori Umlauf

"I met Mary at the food bank because she brought in food to help the needy in the neighborhood. She's a great friend. She's very loving, very kind, gentle and compassionate. She shows love to everyone that comes in. We need people like Mary who have a compassion for those who have less in society. We need people who are younger to come and volunteer and not just seniors who are retired. You can't depend on us all the time. Purpose and love inspires me to volunteer."

James O' Connor- Volunteer

"I have known Mary for about two years now. I help in the food pantry, in the thrift store, every day, five days a week because God's been good to me. It's time I give back. It's his grace that makes me want to do this. Mary is great, without her, we wouldn't have what we have here for the food pantry and we do help about 4,000 people a month from all over Reno. "

Photos and Reporting by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno

Anthony, 'Trying to Get it Together' but Stuck on Drugs

Anthony, who we recently met at the Eddy House a downtown Reno drop-in center for local youths on the streets, says he can’t stop using drugs even though he knows they are ruining his life.  He says since he’s been homeless over the past year, his drug addiction has gotten worse and he wouldn’t wish his predicament on anyone else.  

“I can't stop.... They have controlled me. I can't stop them. All of the drugs. Every drug you could think of. I do it. Not to say that drugs are cool, drugs are most definitely bad stay away from drugs don't do them at all. They mess up your life. Don't do it. Don't do it… It only gets worse and worse.”

Missing School and His Parents

Anthony says he misses school.  He says he loved science and would one day like to study chemistry if he could.  He says he loves his parents, but that they separated, his mom got remarried, and his family situation just stressed him out, leading to his drug addiction.

"As soon as I found out that there were drugs to do, I started doing them,” he said.  “I have tried to seek help to overcome the addiction but I guess it's just more on me than the help I get because even the help I get is like a slap in the face type shit. And honestly, it's for the birds. I rather just die …. That's just me….”

Anthony says left his home and says he started doing ‘stupid things’ with his friends and wound up homeless. Photo and Interview by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno

Harrowing Experiences at the Shelter and on the Streets

He has been spending some nights at the shelter, but describes it in harrowing terms.

“It’s a hell of a place. We've got a lot going on there ... Veterans, people pooping, pissing everywhere. We got a lot of crazy people. So yeah. That's interesting and very sad.”

Out on the streets, he says a lot of other homeless pretend they are crazy even if he doesn’t think they really are. “There's just this gut instinct feeling that lets me know they're not crazy but they act like they're crazy. But they're not crazy. They just make like weird voices and they act like they're not talking to me…”

One of the drawings recently posted inside the Eddy House.

Respect for Everyone and Respite at the Eddy House

“You should treat everybody with respect no matter how they look. You know you never know what they carry, what knowledge they have …. And it's just you know what comes around goes back around. It's better to be a better person,” Anthony said.

Some of his only refuge is listening to music, including reggae, dubstep and hip hop.

He tries to spend weekdays at the Eddy House, where it feels safer. “I wake up, I come to the Eddy House, I shower, go to sleep for a little bit. Then I go back to the shelter and I repeat that. But I'm trying to get it together….I don't want to be a problem back home. I don't want to cause any more problems. My only regret is just being alive. I'm one of those people that feel like I'm not supposed to be here at all. It just it is what it is.”

Reporting by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno

Mackenzie and Gregory, Homeless and in Love

Challenges of Love and Homelessness

“It’s fun to be with him. We like each other,” Mackenzie said.

“Sometimes we talk and we look at the clouds or we just make jokes about things,” Gregory said. “Sometimes I’m like 'Hey, can I have your autograph?'" “A lot of people say I look like Whoopi Goldberg,” Mackenzie explained.  

But they say it’s also a lot of work to make love work while homeless.

Gregory, 59, who used to work in security and in other jobs, but lost his way due to drug addiction, met Mackenzie on the streets of Oakland.  

They recently moved to Reno, where they’ve also found it difficult dealing with police.  They avoid the main shelter because it separates couples.

“We have already been told by the police that we can go live in the shelter but we don't like the shelter because there is a lot of bad personality. It's crowded and full. We are a couple and we don't want to be split up. The [police] even refused us to lay or camp in a park which is strange.”

They say in Oakland they didn’t have that problem. “In Oakland, you can go to a park and sleep peacefully, you do not get harassed. Here they hassle you even if you close your eyes and lay down,” Gregory said.

Keeping Each Other Safe and Dumpster Diving

They look out for each other, him at night and her during the day. “I promised her that I would never let anything happen to her and I never let anything happen to her and we worry each night we go to sleep because we have seen stuff happen at three or four o’clock in the morning. We have been threatened, we have been called all names. Sometimes it’s scary, most of the time I’m awake. Night time she sleeps, I stay awake so that I can protect her,” Gregory said.

“When he sleeps, I stay awake,” Mackenzie said.

They also help each other with their health problems.  Gregory has back aches and has survived several heart attacks, while Mackenzie has problems with her feet.  “I’m always in pain everyday,” she said. “I can’t get up sometimes, he has to help me out sometimes. I can’t take my meds because it will make me go to sleep.”

They were tired and hungry during the interview.  They says they sometimes go dumpster diving.

“Sometimes we’ll be so hungry that I’ll go to a restaurant and look at  garbage just to get us something to eat. That's something that I’m ashamed of but we have to eat,” Gregory said.

"That's all we own right here... two blankets and some clothes," Mackenzie said. Photo by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno

Missing their Children and Struggling to Get Back on Track

Both have had three children and miss them immensely.

“My daughters are 32, 31 and 17 years old. They don’t know we live in the streets at all. That's what we don’t tell them. I don’t want them to worry about me at all. I don’t want them to feel that they are obligated. They are not obligated at all,” Mackenzie said.

Gregory also has three children and misses them, but understands he hasn’t been in their life.

“My firstborn should be 38 years now, my second child who has the same name as me lives somewhere in ... Florida. I ran into my son on the streets and it didn’t go well because I wasn’t in his life and I think my kids they don’t look at me as a dad because I never supported or took care of them at all. I hate myself for not being in my kids life and it's really hard because I think about it and I beat myself about it.”

What would he tell his children if he could talk to them?

“I’m sorry that I wasn’t in your life. At the time, I was going through a hard life, it wasn’t you guys. Dad had a drug problem back then and I had nothing to offer but my love. There was no way I could have taken care of you guys and whoever raised you, they would have done a better job than I would have been able to and just don’t worry about me, just go on with your life. Don’t worry..."

Like some older homeless, they say they feel it’s impossible for them to get their life back on track.

“I had a job and I lost it and everything else went downhill,” Gregory said. “The company went out of business and it has been hard finding another one because we have no address … no phone, no clothes. It’s hard.”

He said once you lose your footing it’s hard to get it back.

“People look at you and say you need a job. I put in applications. They don't want me because I don't have experience and they don't want to train me so that I could get the experience and it’s hard because sometimes I would be so hungry and people would tell me to go find a job. My mother used to tell me if you’re hungry go knock on people's doors or go to the store and tell them you’re hungry. I used to do custodian work and I did security. As I got older, I had high hopes of being in law enforcement but it didn't work out. I was out of the streets. I had no steady place to go. Living with a friend became too expensive and I found myself on the streets by myself,” Gregory said.

Gregory says meeting Mackenzie changed his life for the better, and he feels good that he is helping her. “She feels safer …  if she was by herself, she would get maybe raped because there's a lot of guys here who would try to hurt her. She would try to find somewhere safe to sleep but nowadays there is no safe place to sleep,” he said. Photo and interview by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno

Defining their Love

Gregory said they are like any couple trying to keep the relationship they value so much going.

“We discuss things and we talk things out. I don't think we are better than anybody, we just live together and we hang in there,” he said.

“He’s fun to be with,” Mackenzie said of Gregory. “I like him a lot. He keeps me going a lot. He’s special to me. Very special.”

Photos and Reporting by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno

Victor, Caught in the Cycle of Incarceration and Homelessness

Since the 1980s, there’s been a steep overall rise in both incarceration and homelessness across the United States. Studies show that those who leave jails and prison face an increased risk for homelessness, while those experiencing homelessness are more vulnerable to incarceration.

"I love leather," Victor said when we caught up with him at the main downtown shelter.  He says he used to spend his money on drugs and alcohol, but now that he's sober he prefers to use extra money on stylish clothing. Photo and reporting by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno.

A Revolving Clanging Door

Every year, more than 600,000 people exit the criminal justice system.

Some return to their communities, but many are thrown into homelessness.  The significant proportion of those who were homeless before they were incarcerated often return to shelters, abandoned building and illegal campgrounds.

Victor says he's healthy and strong and can work. He says he doesn't have any mental health problems.  He says his hair is natural and not "hippy" or "druggy". Photo and reporting by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno.

Proud of his Kids

Victor says his kids were born in the United States and have their own kids now, making him a proud grandfather and father.  

“They are big kids, some are working and some are going to school. I see them everyday. Six of my kids live in this area, in Reno. They are like friends. They know that I was a drug addict and alcoholic and they support me.”

Victor says he lost all his belongings and apartment the last time he was incarcerated so now he carries his possessions in a small backpack. Photo and reporting by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno.

A Growing Homeless Population

Victor says he believes the homeless population in Reno has grown over the years.

“Twenty years ago, there was like 20 homeless people. Now the number (just gets) bigger, (there are) more crimes, more drugs, more (of) everything.

He says he's available to work, with good boots and gloves, and that he often does odd jobs.  He says he's also thinking of returning to Mexico, but that for now he lives moment by moment on the streets of Reno, trying to avoid being incarcerated yet again.

Julia, Helping Local Opioid Addicts in Her Daughter's Name

Losing Her Daughter but Not Her Will to Help Others

“When she walked into a room she owned it. She had a really big personality. While she was in school, she was gifted and talented. She was a dancer for many years with a local company here in town and she had done the Nutcracker several years in a row. She had a beautiful voice. She was very artistic and very smart. So, she was just, all around, a very cool girl. She was …. she was my baby. ”

Picetti tried as best she could to save her own daughter.

“For five years I worked with her to try to save her life,” she remembers. “But there was also another component, and that was mental illness. So, she was, very high functioning and her mental illness was borderline personality disorder …. And so even though she was high functioning, you would never tell that she had a personality disorder. But what happens is when people have a mental illness no matter how small or how large they tend to self-medicate. So, Jane started self-medicating at a young age...For five years, I tried saving her life and it was a journey you know, in and out of treatment centers and just lots of therapy and trying different medications…”

She said Jane had been clean for a while before her death, going back to school and taking part in family Sunday night dinners. On the last family dinner she attended, she remembers talking with her about hamburgers and food and her classes at TMCC.

“If you become clean and you stop doing the drugs for an extended amount of time, and then you try them again….  a huge danger is overdose. And that's what happened.”

A screengrab of the local Ridge House which helps people kick away addictions.

From Devastation to the Jane Aubrey House

Picetti says the loss brought her family closer together, but that initially her daughter’s death was devastating.

“I mean I couldn't get out of bed for the first couple of months. I mean losing a child is the most painful thing I think a human being could ever go through ... but it's been three years. And I just had a hand in opening up three recovery homes. The first recovery home was named after my daughter. It's called the Jane Aubrey House and it serves six women between the ages of 18 and 25ish who struggle with opioid addiction.”

She says typical recovery programs of 30 days just don’t seem to work.

“It was really important for me to build a program that was longer than 30 days. I wanted something that was going to be as long as it could take in conjunction with therapy and back to work opportunities and peer support. So, something that's complete, a complete program for these individuals. So, they have a better chance at recovery and sustaining that recovery and being successful in life. The type of people I work with are the younger generation. So, between 18 and 25 ish because you know they still have a chance … “

A screengrab for a 2016 event for the Jane Aubrey House. Picetti says showing love to those in recovery and putting them in a home family environment with like-minded people increases their chance of getting rid of their addiction.  

Success and Heartbreak at the Ridge House

The Ridge House also caters to young men facing opioid addictions, and she says there’s both satisfaction of huge success and total heartbreak in the work she does.

“We have another home that is for boys, the same age group 18 to 25 ish. And I just love them so much and they know that I love them and it's really fun to see them grow. The biggest challenge is relapse but it's also super common. Matter of fact …. they say it can take five to seven times, someone relapsing five to seven times, before it sticks, before recovery can really stick. That doesn't happen all the time but that is kind of the norm number. So, the biggest challenge is to see these young individuals slip and fall. We have lost a few which is heartbreaking for me because they're like my children. I mean, I really do care and love, love, them and I get to know their families and such. But then, to see them succeed is just so incredible … with smiles on their face and when we sit around and tell each other what we're so thankful for and you know they tell me that they're thankful that they're not on the streets anymore and they're thankful that they're not going through withdrawals anymore, because it's super painful coming off opioids.”

The Ridge House also deals with gambling addiction and alcoholism. She would like to see more beds for the program and more longer term recovery options.

A TEDx Talk at UNR

Watch Julia Picetti above speak publicly about her journey. She says speaking out has opened minds and doors. "I was fortunate enough to do a TEDx talk and because of that talk I've actually had people in other communities across the United States reach out to me and asked me to come to their communities and help them and teach them how to bring their community together.... My church got involved, Grace Church, and they actually started a recovery program called HopeFirst and it's a six-million dollar program with three million dollars of it going back into our community here in Reno for additional homes to house these people who are going through a recovery …. "

Follow the Money

Picetti says people should also look into what caused some of the opioid epidemic, and how excessive manufacturing, prescription and use of pain medication and painkillers such OxyContin, Percocet, Palladone, Vicodin, Percodan, Tylox and Demerol, among others, left many people being addicted and then also sometimes moving on to heroin.

“I think that people need to follow the money I think that a lot of people have gotten very wealthy off of this crisis and you know …. you look at the pharmaceutical companies and pain management so you know back in the 80s it was always a doctor who didn’t want you to be in pain you know …. and that's what they were taught. They were taught that… It just escalated in a lot of prescriptions being prescribed when they probably didn't need to be…. And here we are like 30 years later and this crisis.”

Picetti says localized efforts are crucial, such as the one run by Grace Church in Reno. Above a screengrab of their initiative you can find here.  “We can't wait for the government. We have to pull our own britches up as a community so you know your churches and you know your local entities and the leaders in your community need to come together and do these campaigns such as HopeFirst and so on and so forth.  If you have land that you're just sitting on … donate it so we can build affordable housing so we can help people, so we can give them a really good foundation, so they'll be more successful," she said.

Battling the Lack of Affordable Housing in Reno

Picetti is also getting involved in efforts to help with the lack of affordable housing in Reno as she sees the issues of addiction, homelessness, and mental illness as being all intertwined.  She sees this as a crisis on the entire West Coast.

“Our town is growing and it's prospering and so therefore a lot of people are moving in. And I'm happy about that. I'm happy about all of that. I think it's really great because we just went through a horrible recession and you know we're coming out of it and we're coming out of it stronger. So, I am happy about that but …. you know we have over three-thousand homeless children in Washoe County …. and  because of the influx and because we are becoming super popular for lack of a better word, it's raising the rents … and it's making it difficult for people who have a lower income to afford a place to live. Even the motels are getting expensive. So that creates a lot more homelessness. So, it really is unfortunate and it needs to be addressed and I know our cities are addressing it. But things don't happen quickly all the time …”

Once Homeless Herself, Now Fighting for Underdogs

Picetti was homeless herself in her teen years, after she ran away from her dysfunctional childhood home when she was 15.  “I did not graduate high school. I lived out in the streets for two years. My home life wasn't as good as it should have been. I just had a rough childhood without getting into details and it was just best that I left. It was scary. I slept in alleyways. It was cold. I went several days without eating and then everything that comes along with homelessness and also begging for money. I was an only child and I decided that I didn't want to continue being homeless. My faith helped me and I had an epiphany that I really wanted to have a good life.”

For those addicted, she says they should realize that what they have is a disease, which they shouldn’t be ashamed of. She recommends seeking help as soon as they can from those they trust.

“It could be a family member or it could be a friend or it could be a doctor. Whoever. But just have that conversation. If you're truly down and you're in your addiction you just need to have that conversation with someone that cares for you and get help because having a disease isn't something that you should be ashamed of.  You need help and you need love and you need tools for the rest of your life to be successful.”

Love and Reaching Out

If you feel a loved one or a friend is addicted, only love is the answer she says.   

“You really need to love them where they're at. And sometimes that can be very difficult … It's a disease and you need to get them help and never give up on them. Now I'm not saying not to have boundaries and such but never give up on them. If they want to get help, do whatever you need to do to get help there. There's a lot of help out there. I mean we don't have enough but there is a lot of help out there and you just you need to love those individuals.”

As she fights for her daughter’s legacy through her work and convictions, Picetti also fights for her own.

“I would like to be remembered as a person who cares deeply for the underdog,” she said. “Maybe not so much the underdog but I really care deeply about people who have maybe made mistakes but want to stand up and walk in the right direction and really try. I care deeply about those people and if I can help them have a better life because they want to have a better life and they want to do the work I will certainly be there for them. So that's how I want to be remembered.”

Photo and Reporting by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno

Araceli and Jaime, Volunteering as a Family at the Eddy House

Finishing up a Volunteer Shift Together

Clipboards in hand, Araceli and her father Jaime Zamorana are finishing up their four-hour shift at the entrance of the Eddy House in downtown Reno, greeting other volunteers and youth living on the streets who today are ready to be counted for the 2018 Homeless Youth Point in Time Count.

Inside, the front rooms of the drop-in resource center are filled with art, generosity and a joyous mood.  Employees from Great Clips hair salons are giving away free but still very stylish haircuts.  Some youth who spent the night on cots in the Eddy House’s chill room are still warm inside, giggling and full of energy after eating Burritos.

“They looked so happy to wake up comfortable somewhere, and be able to immediately grab breakfast. They were saying ‘oh my gosh burritos …’  They were so excited, so that was really nice to see,” Araceli says.

Homeless youths were encouraged to create therapeutic art as part of the day's activities. After being counted and surveyed about their current conditions, they were given access to donations, food and other services. 

Looking to Become a Seven Day a Week, 24-Hour Center

The Eddy House also wishes it could be like this every day of the year, where it wouldn’t just be a Monday to Friday business hours drop-in operation, but a fully-funded seven days a week around the clock program.

A posting on their website indicates the center is in need of a $1.5 million annual budget to accomplish this goal, which they say is equivalent to the money northern Nevada casinos raked in just last night.  

Araceli, 21 and currently in the Human Development and Family Studies program at UNR, agrees: “There’s a lot of bad influences out on the streets, so if they had a place where they always felt safe and comfortable, it would be much better for them.” Jaime, who works for a property management company, says without a 24-hour center, it’s very difficult for kids to get a job or to stay in school.  

During her shift, Araceli was also given the task of conducting surveys with the homeless youth ready to be counted.  “We hear where they are staying, and what assistance they’re not receiving and how hard it is for them to get jobs because they don’t have a safe and secure place,” she said. 

No Home to Turn Back To at Night or When Rents Go Up

Araceli says when her own rent went up recently, she moved back in with her parents, a luxury youths on the streets don’t have. 

“A lot of the youths say they can’t go back home, even if they had the opportunity they wouldn’t, because it’s not a safe place for them.  They don’t consider it a safe place,” she said.

The survey task is given to the young adults among the volunteers. “There is kind of that connection there so they aren’t afraid to open up and talk about certain things,” Araceli explains.  

Many businesses and individual made very useful donations, which homeless youths could choose from.

All Around Volunteers

Jaime says it’s his wife, a social worker, who inspired him, Araceli and his other daughter to volunteer.  They also help at food banks, the Nevada Humane Society,  the Give Kids a Smile program, and with Habitat for Humanity. 

“We are grateful for how fortunate we are,” Araceli says. “My Mom had a rough upbringing so they like to let us know how hard it is for people out there who are less fortunate than we are. We like to do what we can.”

Employees from Great Clips also gave free haircuts. 

Inspiring Others

Araceli also tries to inspire her friends to also volunteer. 

“It just feels good, to know that you are helping somebody,” she says. “Even if it’s just putting a smile on someone’s face, they like the company. I do have friends who tell me it’s so amazing that I do this, but then they never try to until I tell them exactly what we do, and then some come out and volunteer with me, after I let them know how awesome it is.”

Today she felt inspired herself by how busy and productive the Eddy House felt.  

“Some of the kids, they’re leaving and grabbing more people to come back here.  The word is going out.  I’ve seen it all over the local social media.  New people are getting introduced to the Eddy House. This is a place that’s so great. It deserves help from all of us.”

Photos and Reporting by Our Town Reno on January 25, 2018

Alan, Disabled and Squeezed out of Housing in Reno

Suddenly Priced Out

Alan says he rented a downtown Reno apartment which he could afford for eight years, up to about $560 , but that recently the monthly price on his unit went up to almost a thousand dollars.  He says he tried sharing costs with a fiance but that didn’t work out, so he ended up living by the river for a while.

“Then the police came along and told me I had to get to the shelter so here I am,” he said at a recent outreach event.

Like many others, he calls the recent trend in higher rents the “Tesla” effect. He says he’s happy locals are being employed by Tesla, warehouses and other tech companies, but he says for those depending on fixed income finding affordable shelter has become nearly impossible.

“My check isn’t doing me any good. I can’t pay any rent,” he said. “It’s so that now you can’t afford anything and you are out on the streets.”

Shunning Roomates, Running out of Options

Alan said he considered looking for roommates, but that wouldn’t be his first choice.  On the other hand, without roommates, he says he doesn’t like his current options either.

“I want to live by myself, but the only way I can afford that is in a bad neighborhood with cockroaches and everything else,” he said.  

He appreciates all the help he’s gotten at the main downtown homeless shelter, but hopes it’s only temporary.

Alan carries his stuff around and now relies on the shelter for sleeping after he says he was pushed off of living by the river by police. “It’s okay,” he said. “It’s better than being down on the streets and freezing to death, but I had plenty of blankets and sleeping bags by the river.”

Shelter Woes, Pushed off the River, Trailer Dreams

Alan points out many downsides to nights at the shelter. “(It’s)  listening to people yelling, screaming, fighting. There’s lots and lots of people who need mental help although there are less and less agencies to take care of them.”

Alan says living by the river he feels he was harassed by police as part of efforts to hide the growing homeless problem, which has recently worsened across Western states.

“Nevada doesn’t want any homeless people,” he said.  “I know because it’s bad for business. As you can see there a lot more homeless than they pretend that there are. Anybody that thinks Nevada has (few) homeless, they don’t know what they are talking about. I’m from here, I know what I’m talking about. In every neighborhood there are homeless people living in the corners and the cracks. This is getting more and more. It’s not just here, it's like that all over. So something has got to change.”

A Warning to Others

He wishes he could find a place where he could rent out or share a trailer with costs he could afford. He says he’d be content that way.  

He warns others his situation could soon be theirs as well.

“Don't forget it takes just a minute and somebody that has everything could be homeless just like that. So don’t judge or (look at) people badly that are homeless because you don’t know, one minute you can have everything and one minute it could be gone and you see the same people going up as you go down.”

Photos and Interview by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno
 

Ruth, A Lonely Widow at the Shelter

Ruth Wood, a widow for the past ten years, says 2017 was one of the worst years of her life. The recent California transplant says she broke a hip and shoulder, and ended up penniless, while being abandoned by most of her family.

The 62-year-old says she has four grown children but that she lost contact with them along the way.

“My son, he’s a professor at the University of Arkansas. I’m really proud of that young man. And my girls, they are all mothers and grandmothers. I’m a great grandmother by the way.”

Reading and Quiet Walks

One of her hobbies is reading which she says she’s been able to continue despite her hardships.  “I read constantly. It doesn’t really matter what I’m reading, you always learn something from … the written language. I read plenty of novels. I’ve read all the classics.”

She worked many years as a waitress and janitor, but now she says she’s just looking for peace and quiet and ways to rest.

“What I do everyday, I walk downtown where it's nice and quiet. I can’t deal with all the screaming and yelling, people wanting to fight….”

Reporting by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno

Edward, a Gambling Addict in Reno ‘At the Bottom of the Barrel’

The 72-year-old self avowed gambling addict is homeless now, having lost way more money than he made, having stopped working, spending his disability payments in casinos.  He says he can’t resist coming back to Nevada and Reno.  He says he was in Salt Lake City for a while, but then came back to the Biggest Little City to gamble some more.

“I've won a lot of money. But I lost a lot of money,” he said at a recent outreach event outside the main homeless shelter in downtown Reno. “Quite simply, when I’ve won and I've won several thousand dollars, I probably lost more than triple that. It's an addiction as bad as drugs and alcohol all put together. It’s a very expensive habit. I don't drink, I don't do drugs. But I gamble. Believe me, that is the worst of the three.”

Edward was waiting patiently in line hoping to get donations to help deal with winter. He says he's tried to stop gambling but hasn't been able to. Photo for Our Town Reno by Prince Nesta.

A Gambling Illness

Edward calls it an illness, which he says he just can’t stop despite going to meetings and seeking help.

“ When I go to a casino, I have a hard time stopping…. I can't get up and leave. I have an illness and I know that.”

He says he’s all alone in his life, with his Social Security income, his Medicare, his fatalism, and his uncontrollable urge to gamble.

“If I (could go) back to my younger years, I wouldn't have gotten into gambling, that’s for sure. Because it's a very expensive source of living. Whatever you win, you lose lots, lots more. It's not really worth it. It’s sad but I just can't get over the urge to stop it.”

He’d like to go back to Utah but can’t seem to find the will to break his addiction and go. “This is not a good environment, for my gambling addiction with the casinos. Utah is a fairly safe haven for me because the Mormons, they will not allow (gambling) and I could entertain myself other ways than visiting a casino and losing my money.”

"I have another addiction to smoking. I started smoking a long, long time ago. So that’s two addictions, gambling and smoking. My advice is don’t get into either of them if you have any kind of a brain." Photo and Interview by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno

His Advice: Stay Away from Gambling

To others in Reno, he has simple advice: “Stay away from any form of gambling. Racetracks, lotteries, casinos, any form.... Please. For your own sake, avoid it at all costs. Get into something more productive, something more solid... something. Get a life. That's more than what I got unfortunately and it's hard to reverse what I got. I tried and tried but it's an insidious disease and it will drag you down. To the very … bottom of the barrel and you don't want that. Nobody would want that.”

Edward says he used to work and had housing and a car, but now he’s been homeless for the past five years, and he feels no one would hire him anymore because he’s too old. Photo by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno

“ I’m just trying to hang in there, hang on and hope for the best,” he concluded.

Photos and Interview by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno

 

Marcus, Recently out of Homelessness, With Common Sense Ideas to Help

Many social workers were homeless themselves at one point, or in tough predicaments, or surrounded by family members going through difficult times. Many who give and help others are often just a misstep away from being homeless themselves.  Perhaps, it’s knowing the difficulty of fighting for survival every moment that opens their heart to others.

“It sucks. It really does,” Marcus said of homelessness. “Me, myself, I do have my own family but yeah, I'm trying. I'm trying to help out my family while helping out others too because others do need help too.”

An Idea for a Housing Program with an Extra Twist

If he had the resources, he says, he would open up a two year housing program for the homeless, where they would give him $50 a month, and then he would return all their money when they moved on.

“It's basically to help them get on their feet. They'll have a place to stay. They'll have a place to shower, clean clothes, everything like that. But also, I'm going to do a little trick with them every time they get a check. When they get their check, they hand me 50 dollars so I can put that aside for them. So when they're done with the two-year program they have that extra money to fall back on.”

He says it would be pet-friendly, as he sees that’s a problem with many shelters or solutions for the homeless, where they can’t have their most cherished friends with them.

“They can bring pets. I don't care about pets, because pets come on, you can't be mean to somebody you can't tell one person, Yeah, they can have this pet and then tell another no.  Everybody's allowed to have pets.”

But drugs or alcohol would not be allowed. “I want them to be clean while they're doing this program. I want them to be able to succeed. Not fail,” he said.

Marcus says his time in homelessness gave him compassion for others in similar situations. “I would just sit there and just be sad all day because of the fact that I'm homeless. There's nothing I could do at the time. But once I started getting on my feet that's when I realized that I need to help the homeless myself. And it's not really need, it's a want, because they deserve to be treated like humans too. They're not animals.” Photo and Interview by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno. 

Insecurity on the Streets

The worst part of being homeless, Marcus said, was having no security whatsoever, and belongings repeatedly stolen.

“That's the toughest part is there's a lot of people out here who have the money to buy their stuff, but yet they want to steal from homeless. That's not right. Because that's taking away from somebody who already has basically nothing. “

Marcus recently went to the shelter for a donation event. Photo by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno.

Worried About Rising Rents

He is worried about landlords across Reno tearing down or improving the affordable, if somewhat run down, places and rising rents.

“They're being selfish because they want to make the money …  And that's wrong. That's definitely wrong. I wouldn't do that to people. I would like, if I was to buy a place, I would leave it at a cheap rent because of the fact that it helps other people be able to get off the street…. You cannot make it to where it’s harder for everybody to live but make it easier for (just) the rich people to live.”

Reporting by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno

Amber Dobson and the We Care Volunteers, Loving Saints Helping Others in Reno

Perseverance and follow through are also key to being a good make that excellent Samaritan, and Dobson has been on it for seven years now in Reno. She helps mainly at the downtown shelter, but has helped elsewhere previously including at various encampments.

“It's necessary. If it wasn't necessary, I'd be doing something else, but it's very necessary. We have doubled the amount of homeless here,” Dobson said at a recent gathering outside Reno's main downtown shelter, which got many in need better prepared for winter months and more, with coats, caps, gloves and shoes being donated, as well as free lunch and haircuts.

On this particular day, Dobson woke up at four a.m. to make sure everything would run smoothly for the donation event.  She coordinated family members driving into Reno to help out as well as dozens and dozens of volunteers. She also did her own early morning shopping to contribute her own donations.  There were lines and lines of people waiting for hours, so it was a huge success, even if it is heartbreaking to see all those in need.

Seven Years Helping in Reno. with Growing Volunteer-Based Services

It’s been a process for Dobson, but she says well worth it, and the homeless community now depends on her organizational wizardry.

“We started in 2010 just as a grassroots group on Facebook and in 2011 we became a federally recognized non-profit. And we serve a meal here (at the homeless shelter) three nights a week Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday nights. It's all volunteers that come out. We have no government help, no corporate sponsorships. It's all people who just care about our community and they come out to to serve…”

Dobson has created a community of volunteers, and some nights up to 20 show up. Companies, doctors, the Pirates of Reno, a group from Verdi all chip in on different nights, for different occasions.

“So it's different every night,” Dobson explains, “but every night one thing is, it's there. We give them a home cooked meal ... We also provide (people) with clothing and toiletries, the necessary things they need for days.”

The above is a video postcard by Jordan Gearey of a recent We Care Volunteers outreach event.

A Personal Journey to Help Others

How does one become a volunteer with such a big heart and such outreach? Dobson, a Bay Area transplant, says her parents volunteered, and so she grew up seeing people helping each other.  Others in Reno inspired her, and helping a little then led to helping more and more.

“When I came here in 2010 from San Jose, on Facebook there was a gentleman who was making peanut butter jelly sandwiches for the homeless and he would take them down the river. And he was asking for people to volunteer with him. So, I didn't really know a lot of people here.  So my son and I we went and we would make peanut butter jelly sandwiches with him and one night he said ‘do you want to come with me and distribute them at a tent city which was 250 people living in the day?’ and it had snowed the day before we came out here…. And we just came out with ramen and peanut butter jelly sandwiches. And everyone was so grateful. And my son and I on the way home we were just like ‘we have to be able to do more’. And so, we just started and started helping. And we even came out and helped other groups. And then, we just decided to do it on our own and it really just worked that way. It wasn't like I ever thought in my life I was going to do something like this. But when the opportunity came we just stepped up and said you know, we've got to do something and it just grew into what we have today.”

Dobson explained the We Care Volunteers name, in the context of those receiving help" “I think you know a lot of these people are estranged from their families and friends and they don't have anyone that they can talk to or they trust to talk to. So, when we come, we're like a family to them and I'm hugging people all night long. If they've got something on their mind or someone passed away or something they find out they have cancer or something that's happened to them they can come to me and they can tell me about it. And you know we pray about things together... It's about for them to know that genuinely the people come down here and leave their own families or their own warm homes. And most of them don't fix a meal for themselves that night because they're here instead. And they know that, they appreciate it. You know, we're here in the snow. We're here in the rain. It doesn't matter. Even during the floods and they asked us, not to come down, we still came down. So, they know, for seven years consistently, (it) doesn't matter what's going on in our lives. We're going to be here. For some people, they've never had that, they’ve never had anyone care that much.”

Challenges in Growth

Some of the challenges she faces come from the growth of the services she provides, but she says that’s a good problem to have.

“We started off with carting my food in my Wrangler and then we outgrew that ... we went to a van where we are outgrowing the van and so we need to think about you know getting a bigger vehicle for transporting things. So those are the biggest challenges really. It's just like any other organization or business as you grow you have to expand, you have to. You know, look at what you can do to make things better every single time.”

"Be grateful for what you have and pass it on," Dobson said. "And you know there's no reason to hoard things and keep it all for yourself. The more you give, the more we all all benefit. It just needs to be a season of thankfulness and giving not just during the holidays but all year round."

Avoiding the Word 'Homeless'

As some other activists, for those she helps, she prefers to avoid the word “homeless”.

“I mean I hate that …. the word homeless ... because you know they're houseless, but you know the whole world is our home. And if we had affordable housing here in Reno, a  majority of these people would not be on the streets. I've been here seven years and I've seen in my own neighborhood that their rents have tripled. So, where there was an opportunity a couple of years ago for someone to get some funding and get off the streets right now with the way the rents are? … And so, I just want people to know that everyone of these people could be you. I mean all it takes is …. being ill or having someone die or getting a divorce …. those things can can set people out on the streets and they have no place else to go. So, I mean I would love people to realize that they are no different than you and I and that they deserve to be helped.”

“I'm still going to be here, three nights a week," Dobson said in addition to special outreach events such as above. "As long as there are people here who need food. We're going to be here. I just take it one day at a time because I'm totally open to wherever the universe asks me to do.”

Noticing the Affordable Housing Crisis in Reno

“We have pregnant women sleeping on the streets. That's just ridiculous," Dobson said of the current housing crunch. "That makes me very disappointed that you know our elderly people, that our veterans and women with children that they have to be put underneath that kind of stress.”

If someone is interested in joining the We Care endeavors, Dobson said they shouldn't hesitate. 

“ People can find us on Facebook. We have a website. You're welcome to come out any Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. You can come by yourself. It's a safe place…. Families can come. And it is really rewarding... No one person can do it. It takes a community to help others.”

PHOTOS, REPORTING AND VIDEO BY PRINCE NESTA AND JORDAN GEAREY FOR OUR TOWN RENO

Paula, the Bead Maker: "I Would Make the World a Better Place"

Insecurity on the Streets

Paula has had a heart wrenching life but she keeps going on. She says making and selling beads, earrings and necklaces help her cope with her difficult situation.  She says she’s had to leave children she had to the foster care system. She says she now lives in a downtown motel with her current husband, and tries to make some money panhandling while also selling crafts along the Truckee River.

Paula says she often deals with having some of her possessions or even what she is trying to sell stolen.  “This is my art, but I have to be careful because people out here can be so mean,” she said.  “This morning someone came by and stole almost all of the bracelets that I made.”

She says she’s had phones and book bags stolen in the past.

“I make beads. That's my trade and my trademark and my craft. It calms me down a lot so I do a lot of bracelets, necklaces. I love to thread beads. I also sell earrings. I used to sew for a living and now I don't have the tools, the materials and the sewing kit you know. I don't have a machine so I can’t do it but I'm very good at sewing too.” Photo by Jordan Gearey for Our Town Reno

Motel Life and Missing Children

She doesn’t mind the motel life, with she shares with her currently ailing husband, who looks for odd jobs as best he can during the day.

“[The motels are]  loud and old but to be able to have a place to sleep is all I could ask for,” she said. “You know I want to make something of myself,” she said.  “I want to be somebody you know, I want a roof over my head.”  

Does she have regrets not seeing her children anymore? “I don't want to see them suffering,” she said. “I see a lot of kids on the streets and they need better places. If you can't take care of them, then they have to go to foster care. I feel sad. I miss them but I also don't want to see kids on the street.”

She says she used to babysit, and was a dog walker and also once worked at Planet Hollywood as a waitress, but now she focuses on selling her beads. She says she likes it when people talk to her or give her a hug, but that it's rare these days. 

A Typical Day and Fears of Being Targeted

“ My typical day is waking up, having breakfast, going to the  library, making some beads, and trying to get money for something to eat. If I make a little money, I go to lunch…. [At night,] I like I listen to music a lot, then I go to sleep.”

She is wary of proposals for new anti-vagrancy ordinances for downtown Reno.

“I don't think it’s fair targeting the homeless like that,” she said.  “They should target everyone not only the homeless. People should have peace, love and togetherness to help the homeless people, handicapped people. If it was me, I would make the world a better place.”

Photos and Reporting by Prince Nesta and Jordan Gearey for Our Town Reno

 

Marie Miley, Facing Eviction During the Holiday Season

Marie Miley recently moved to Reno from the Bay Area, enticed by lower rents, and easy to find work in temp agencies.  But making choices based on finding cheaper rent has become a nightmare.

Just as she was able to sort out utility problems in her two-bedroom, $725 a month apartment she shares with her husband and young adult sons, Miley faces imminent eviction from the Stardust Apartments.

According to news reports this building was recently sold to California-based ‘Conventus Real Estate’, and all tenants were told in early November they had 30 days to move out. Photo by Prince Nesta

Ticking Clock

The clock is ticking.  Miley found storage, but didn’t have money to afford a large storage so she had to cram her stuff in. 

“We had to get a very tiny spot. So, things are crammed in and it's just not fair,” she said.

The scramble is on for Miley and several dozen others in her predicament still living at the Stardust Apartments pressing to find new lodging.

“We can't even find a place. You know some of us are looking at living in a motel because we can't find an apartment.”

Where to go Next?

There’s a move though in Reno to force motels to differentiate between long term and short term residents, and to have kitchenettes added to some rooms, which would add considerably to motel rates, reducing affordable options further.

Miley said some of the other tenants were paying rent as low as $500, monthly rates which have become harder and harder if not impossible to find in the current affordable housing crunch Reno is facing. 

There have been relocation efforts and assistance offered, but for some of the tenant new livable solutions have yet to be found. Photo by Jordan Gearey for Our Town Reno

Unbearable Stress

Miley says the stress is nearly unbearable.

“I've been married 22 years and we've never had to deal with stuff like this,” she said. “So, it's extremely stressful. And then I was sick on top of it twice with strep and with bronchitis. So, trying to get better, trying to go to work …. And trying to move stuff out of the apartment and the storage all at the same time was extremely stressful. And I believe that's what kind of put my body down even more with another sickness, because I wasn't resting. I couldn't rest. And even now, we're sleeping on the floor, waiting for the other shoe to drop. And I can't sleep … I wake up maybe at two o'clock in the morning and I can't go back to sleep because I just keep thinking where are we going to go? I have kids. You know I don't want them having to be without a home.”

Miley described the predicament of others currently living at the Stardust and now fearing for their future. Photo by Jordan Gearey for Our Town Reno

Describing Other Residents in the Same Lurch

Miley says the situation for others in the building also breaks her heart. Many are on fixed income, and Social Security and/or disability payments don't bring what they used to in terms of housing.

“We have a lady downstairs there, she is in her 80s. She's blind…. And her son lives in Japan so he can't come over and help her. And so, she's relying on tenants that used to live here to help her. And then we have another gentleman downstairs who has cancer and he has a hard time getting around. We have another gentleman who is pretty much bedridden with an oxygen tank on him. And they don't know what they're all going to do. They're all kind of in the same boat. And it's pretty sad, because you know, we're all in the same boat.”

She is hoping for more help, especially with the holiday season and frigid nights just around the corner.

“I know that not everybody in this country has no compassion… They're throwing a lot of families out on the street on the holidays. We don't have money for Thanksgiving or Christmas… You know we were trying to rebuild our finances so that we can get into another place and that's extremely difficult. So yeah it would be nice if they had compassion and gave us a few months at least or try to rebuild around us so that we could stay and not have to go through this.”

Reporting for Our Town Reno by Prince Nesta with additional photos by Jordan Gearey

Ace*, Suicidal, Surviving Shelter Life, Fleeing Family and Hearing Voices

Newly Homeless Again

Ace says he’s newly homeless again after he said he had family problems back on the East Coast with his older brother and mother, who both siblings depend on.

He says he didn’t agree with his mother taking his formerly jailed brother in. He says he had been a caretaker, cooking for his mom.

He’d been to Reno before and felt people didn’t bother him here, so he came back. He says he’s also had periods of homelessness in St. Louis, Missouri and Portland, Oregon, among other places, but he feels safer in the Biggest Little City.

Since being back out on the streets of Reno, he says he’s suffered from food poisoning, though, and will now try to avoid some of the local soup kitchens.

Depending on Social Security Disability Payments Rather than Work

When on the streets, he gets by with the Social Security disability payments he’s been receiving since he was 21 for psychiatric disorders, including constant bouts with paranoia.

He once tried working in low-level jobs but he says it put him and others in danger.

“I can't work with other people because I feel like I'm I'm doing double the work,” he said. “And I'm always working around individuals who are either on drugs or alcohol. I don't want to go back to doing what I used to do... I used to take a folding knife and I used to cut my chest to prevent myself from cutting people while I was at work.”

He says gotten in fights at homeless shelters over disputes. “I think I have anger issues,” he admits. “I hold things in. Because I'm declared disabled, mentally disabled, I'm always wrong. The person who is not disabled is always right. And if that person's wrong it doesn't matter what I say because I'm mentally disabled.”

A Typical Day Back and Forth from the Shelter

Lately he says he’s been trying to stay calm while staying at Reno’s main shelter and described a typical day.

“I get up from the men's dorm. I brush my teeth. I try to keep you know hygiene. As much as possible … I try to. I try to stay clean. After I use the restroom, I scan my card, because you have to scan your cards so that way you can keep your bed. Otherwise, the staff will cut your lock. And throw your things out. Once I'm out of the men's shelter, I go across the parking lot, to what's called the day area ... aka the pit. And I stand in line and wait until 8 o'clock. These gentlemen come in with bagels and donuts. I usually have a bagel, because I try not to have sweets. So I grab a bagel and I start to walk to the Believe (sculpture) area here between North Virginia street and Central street. And I stay here for hours until I eventually go to the downtown Reno library. And I play chess alone, although I did play with this gentleman last week. I usually play chess to improve my chess skills.”

Growing a Beard not to Be Bothered

He says he’s been growing a beard not because he likes the look, but not to be bothered by others.

“I don’t like the beard. But I keep it. As a disguise in order to blend with the homeless people. It seems that with the beard [other] homeless people tend to be intimidated by me. Normally I would be … clean shaved. But because I’m I’m in the condition I am right now it’s best if I stay with the beard. And so law enforcement may see that and they may feel threatened. But law enforcement here as long as you’re not committing a crime I don’t think they really bother anybody.”

Attempting Suicide

He says he’s attempted suicide twice, once trying to drown when he was briefly in the Navy, and a second time in Missouri, when he swallowed 39 aspirins.

He says he’s tired of suffering, constant insomnia, and the way he says someone could help him the most would be for them to shoot him dead. The voices he says he hears wouldn’t allow him to kill himself.

He also has a twin brother, he doesn’t speak to anymore, and is childless himself, as he says he doesn’t believe in bringing children into a world “that’s evil and pain.”

Click on this link here for an interactive map of some of Ace's harrowing and painful journey.

"Don't Feel Sorry for the Homeless"

He says people shouldn’t feel sorry for the homeless. “The men's dorm, a lot of the men they come in drunk? Why. Why do they come in drunk? Why do they say they need money, when they they've been drinking? Don't feel sorry for homeless people. Don't feel sorry for me. The voices they will lead me to where I need to be, but don't don't feel guilt. Don't feel sad."

"[A lot of homeless] love to be homeless. They love to be drunk. They love to do their drugs. That's why they're homeless. I always found it difficult to be homeless because I don't drink alcohol. I don't. I don't do drugs…. Other homeless,  you see them around, just keep walking because more than likely they're under the influence of something.”

Now that his older brother moved back with his mom though, he says his plight is to remain homeless. “My mother was the reason I used to go back,” he said. 

“I would be homeless and then I would go back to Jersey because when I would speak to my mother she'd say no one helps her. And so I would go back to help her. But this time … this time I can't because, she keeps bringing the pain in her life. And I'm tired of that pain and I don't want to see her in pain. And so the best thing to do is just … to just to forget it…..”

Reporting and Photos by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno

'Carl the Steve', Seemingly Lost to the World in Reno

What we could get from Steve is that he used to work in a seafood restaurant in West Virginia, before leading a single, traveling life, criss crossing the country and ending up in the Biggest Little City.

His words are like poetry but they usually don't make much sense to outsiders. He ran the gamut from talking about being victimized by the Ku Klux Klan, to once using steroids and also being the father of quadruplets. As reporters on the streets, it's hard to verify the stories we hear.

We want to give a voice to the voiceless, but what if that voice is lost in a static fog, in a jumble of incoherence, accusations, conspiracies and pain?

Mental Illness on the Streets

We aren't doctors, we are just trying to relay stories which don't usually make it to the front page, six o'clock news or social media feed, but it seemed to us Steve suffered from unfortunate mental ailments. 

According to research from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, about a quarter of the homeless population in the United States suffers from some form of what is qualified as severe mental illness. 

This includes disorders producing psychotic symptoms, such as schizophrenia, major depression and bipolarism. In comparison, according to this research, only 6% of Americans are severely mentally ill.

"I'm tired, my brain is tired now. Time to stop talking to you. My brain is tired," he said as we asked more questions. Steve carries a mini black attache case with knick knacks such as colorful dice, deodorant, flashlights and jazz instruments. Photo by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno

Our Society's Deinstitutionalization

Over the last 60 years or so there has been what's called deinstitutionalization in this country, with more and more mentally ill pushed out of public psychiatric hospitals onto the streets and then often in and out of jail. Would Steve be better off in a psychiatric hospital at this point? Hard to tell, and who are we to judge?

This is how our interview ended as Steve had enough of being asked questions.

Do you love music? "Yes." What kind of music do you like? "My brain is tired. I've said all I could say to you..."

As the interview ended, Steve went back to sifting through his neatly organized and varied possessions. Photo by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno

Reporting and Photography by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno

The Chandler-Isacksens, from Barren Land to Wormtopia in Reno

What If?

What if some of your guiding principles were what Martin Luther King Jr. called “The Beloved Community”, and you created project after outreach project to also move your home, your neighborhood and your town in that direction, not worrying about social media likes, keeping up with the Joneses new plasma TV or even completing tax forms?

For Katy and Kyle Chandler-Isacksen, full-time change activists and parents of two “unschooled” boys, former teachers and cross-country travelers, their Be the Change Project in Reno has recently included producing a play on undocumented immigration, organizing events related to Standing Rock protests and going themselves, helping with community gardens, starting a garlic community festival, and leading a local bike-powered compost collection system for residences and restaurants.

As winter approaches and cold weather sets in, though, the Chandler-Isacksens actually slow down and huddle at their home on McCloud Avenue. “We actually live very simply without electricity, without fossil fuels on site. So what that does is, it ties us in with the rhythms of nature very closely, so in the winter and the fall with winter approaching right now, we wind up sleeping a lot more and we kind of slow down our work… And that's a really lovely time for us, it's kind of a time to rejuvenate and renew.” 

From Reno Rot Riders to Worm Topiaries

One idea they are looking forward to is expanding their Reno Rot Riders initiative, which turns waste around town into compost to build healthier soil and grow local food.

“We're also creating a new entity called Wormtopia,” Chandler-Isacksen explained, “which is going to expand on that. So it's going to be using food scraps and other green waste too and then using worms to make even more compost which goes to healthy soil.”

Any conversation with Chandler-Isacksen can quickly turn into big picture common sense reasoning.

“For the last several hundred years, particularly in the West, we have degraded our soil so much that some people estimate that 40 percent of the anthropogenically-sourced carbon dioxide that's been admitted into the atmosphere has come from the degradation of our soils through poor agricultural practices,” he explained.

“So we started the Rot Riders to bring awareness to that like, ‘hey we shouldn't be throwing this stuff in the trash, we shouldn't be throwing food waste out into the landfill.’ And so that's been an amazing project for a couple of years and it's been quite successful and it's growing. And now offshoot worm topiaries is coming out of that. It's an even better way that we can deal locally, hyper-locally, with the waste that we create. So it serves people and it also serves planet.”

The home garden feeds the family and animals. “When we got here the place was just kind of barren land with terrible soil,” he explains while birds chirp in the background.  “And we spent years building it up. We've got a ton of fruit trees here, just dozens of different types, peaches, cherries, apricots, apples, pears. We've got goji berries, we've got all sorts of different shrubs, and grapes and some of them are food for us, some of them are just food for the you know wild critters that fly around. We've also got annual garden beds with all the different types of vegetables you can imagine.”

Chandler-Isacksen is particularly proud of the Be the Change garden, on the half acre of land around his family’s home, bought dilapidated in 2011 with the help of fundraising related to their overall project.

He says this is an escape from what he calls “very violent” industrial food production. Their garden serves as an example to others, and a place for workshops for those thinking of starting their own backyard gardens.

“A lot of times people just pull up and say ‘what's going on here’ because it looks different. We have cornstalks in the back yard that are like 12 feet high right now. So it kind of drives a little bit of curiosity and opens up some people to coming in and seeing what's going on.”

Doing a lot on the homefront without electricity can save money. The family lives for very cheap, Chandler-Isacksen says, for under ten-thousand dollars for a family of four per year.

Challenges and Hurdles

Challenges include some loneliness of not having more people around live the same way.   “I think the biggest challenge we face is that some of the things we're doing are kind of wacky and weird or that could be seen that way like living without electricity," Chandler-Isacksen said. "So it's hard to do that without having a large group, that's doing that as well. So sometimes we feel isolated, and a little lonely in our work, especially around sustainability, but overall, we feel very supported.”

Attempts to start a new urban farm have also been challenging.

“Sometimes, it's hard to do what we want to do in the existing kind of legal structures like we've got this lot of land a couple doors down that we were able to fundraise for and we would love to make it into an urban farm and community space,” Chandler-Isacksen said.  “But there's several hurdles to making that happen. And some of them are kind of code and permitting, and I think they could be overcome but it's a lot of energy and it will take more time and more money.”

Chandler-Isacksen says it's also difficult operating at a micro, family, neighborhood level, while trying to interact on project with others not in their immediate surroundings.

Limits and Possibilities

There are limits too, Chandler-Isacksen admits, to saving the planet while so many humans suffer from poverty.  “I feel strongly that we can’t have any sort of environmental sustainability when people are struggling to have food, shelter, clothing and things like that.”

His advice for what others should do, as the globe teeters and political divisions within the United States and elsewhere deepen and divide?

“We need to be taking some risks and we need to be making changes because it's not going to happen at the federal level …. we can't wait. We can't wait for those solutions to come down the pipe. So it's what can we do in our own lives. That's why we call it Be The Change Project… People need to look into their own lives. What are their gifts? What do they have to share with the world? What is it that they can bring to the table?"

"What would you do if you knew you wouldn't fail?  If there were more people or even three percent of the people really following that, ‘what is it that you would do, if you knew you wouldn't fail?’ ... this world would be transformed overnight,” Chandler-Isacksen said.

Combating Apathy and Getting Wings

Chandler-Isacksen says many people feel overwhelmed by the news cycles they are sometimes bombarded with, which can lead to apathy.

“I experienced that too. It's like ‘oh my gosh! How are we going to do this? How are we going to combat this? How are we going to you know make this better?  But just go do it, go do something. And try to do it with a smile. There's positive feedback loops in that... you start doing stuff, you start getting support, you start getting some recognition maybe and it makes everything easier. So take the risk. You'll be given wings.”

Photography by Jordan Gearey with Audio Reporting by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno

Bill, Back on the Streets after a Stint in a Motel Room

Reno-native Bill Wright, also known by some as William or Mountain Man, is happy with the new storage space, PO box, bike, sleeping bag, Social Security income, food stamps, and modified health insurance he's gotten in the past few months.  These are all welcome additions to his rugged life.  They came with help from a social worker with Northern Nevada Hopes, who also set him up in a motel room.

But now he's also back on the streets of Reno, because after a while, he says, staying in a motel room just wasn't for him. His last stint "on the outside" as he calls it, lasted 15 years. How long will it last this time? 

 "I’d rather be out here on the streets," Bill told Our Town Reno.

Pros and Cons of Motel Life

He says at the motel he stayed at he could leave his dog Hurley and his possessions inside, while he ran his errands or went to get medical help for a myriad of problems, which all started with a workplace accident years ago to one of his knees. He could also leave the drama of the streets behind, he says, and play video games while being warm inside.  But eventually he says the cons started outweighing the pros.

Bill says he feels healthier now that he's living on the streets again. 

Bill says someone tried to frame him. "It was a mixed deal while I was there, but towards the end it got bad. Someone tried to set me up by throwing syringes underneath the counter, in the closet ... Some people, they’re bored, it’s a game for them. Other people, who knows?"

On his dog Hurley: “She’s a blessing, she keeps me … from hurting people, because they’re so stupid.” His new bike also allows Bill to control Hurley a little better: "All I have to do is turn the wheel and she goes the other way. "

His Social Security income is now about $700 a month.  He's found storage for $60 a month, and pays $200 a year for his new PO box.  Still with regular food and health costs, he doesn't have enough money for housing without assistance.  He doesn't want to stay in a shelter either, preferring to sleep outside with Hurley.

Asked if he had any concerns about the upcoming winter: "I spent 15 years outside already," he said. "I’ve been through 20 below one night. I’ve been through when it didn’t get over 25 for three weeks with a couple of feet of snow on the ground.... I’ve got a new double 25-below sleeping bag, so we should be ok." 

Empathy for Those with Few Options

With more motels being razed to the ground in the Biggest Little City and affordable units being harder and harder to find, Bill is pessimistic for many fellow citizens of Reno. "There’s going to be more homeless definitely," he said. "There’s very low vacancy rates.  All the low income housing, you can get the voucher, but everywhere is blocked up."

He says if someone wants to help, good gloves, hats, tarps, blankets and sleeping bags are always useful for those barely getting by, enduring every moment as a fight for bare bones survival. 

Whatever his own predicament, though, Bill always has a laugh to finish off sentences, and according to one social worker who recently met with him, "is the gentlest soul you will find around town."

Here is a previous story and video we did about Bill after a bridge he slept under in downtown Reno was cordoned off with new fencing:

Story and Photos by Our Town Reno, October 2017

A Downtown Motel Owner Resists, and Defends Himself

Pressure to Sell

McAllister says he gets calls, visits, even offerings of food, as part of efforts to have him sell the Desert Rose Inn motel on 655 West 4th Street in downtown Reno, amid expansion plans by Jacobs Entertainment Inc. to build a new "mini-Vegas" stretching from the Gold Dust West to the Sands casinos.

“People are coming to my door on a Saturday morning and offering contracts when I refuse to answer their calls," he said. "They are contacting everyone. People on the side the Desert Rose Inn is on have not sold. Some of the motel owners have been here 20-25 years, this is their life. I’m sure some would sell at a decent price. But some might also say ‘I like doing this. I don’t want to sell but I feel like I’m being pressured to sell or I am going to be legislated out of my existence'.” 

The Carriage Inn, recently a motel for long-term residents, has been bought off and razed as part of Jacobs Entertainment Inc. plans for new downtown development.

Soon to Be Legislated out of Business?

Talked about ideas around City Council include requiring motel owners via ordinances to add costly kitchenettes to rooms for longer term tenants, such as what recently happened in South Lake Tahoe.

McAllister has previously thought of remodeling and adding amenities, but also thinks these changes would make the cost of rooms go up at his motel, which would hurt his clientele. "There are people who can’t afford a deposit, who can’t afford first/last month, they don’t have the credit checks required for an apartment," he said.

For new clientele, his going rate is $200 a week. "With that you get your phone, your wifi, full cable, housekeeping, and you get all your utilities paid for, plus your trash and everything else," he explained. 

He used to have monthly possibilities, but that created problems.

"We got rid of monthlies. It was too much trouble," he said. "Once a person plops down money for a month, you’ve got them and the next day they turn out to be crazy. It’s safer for our clients, it’s safer for us. You don’t want that in the place."

"I don’t mind redevelopment, but if you are using subversive tactics and you are being forced to something you don’t want to do, it’s really an affront to your freedoms," McAllister said of his motel's uncertain future. Small businesses around the Desert Rose Inn catering to a less affluent clientele are all gradually disappearing amid the Jacobs Entertainment expansion- related buyout spree.

Media Bias and a Bad Rap?

McAllister has also contracted with Northern Nevada Hopes for clients transitioning from medical cases into permanent housing. He sees his motel as having value for people who can't afford to live anywhere else. He also says the treatment of motel owners in local media is generally unfair.

"You’re getting the voice of developers, the city looks at them and says there is going to be more revenue coming in. The bad rap? In some cases it might be warranted. These are old places. But they’ve also been providing housing for people who can’t find housing. Statistically people who have shelter cost much less to cities. They are more secure. They are more mentally stable. You can also find them if you want to have outreach programs for them."

Part of the parking lot of the Desert Rose Inn, where McAllister says clients include travelers, temporary construction workers, young individuals and also families and elderly citizens.

A Diverse Clientele including Families

McAllister says those who live longer term at his motel include casino and hotel workers, cab drivers, warehousing employees, elderly on Social Security, veterans on military pensions , and young families trying to find better housing.

He doesn't like when families are forced to live in a motel room, but he says he does what he can to help them.

"If this is the only place they can stay, then at least we give them a safe environment. We have a pool for the kids. We’re very proactive about families. We’re very proactive about sexual predators. We’re doing a good job in that niche that we can provide."

A backside of the Desert Rose Inn. "Here we have rather diverse walks of life and we also have people who come through and need a place to stay for a few weeks while they transition to other housing, while they look for a job," McAllister said. 

Dealing with Code Enforcements

McAllister has heard code enforcement is getting more stringent on motels around town recently. A former policeman from the Bay Area, he also views this with suspicion. 

"Sometimes, they will swoop down on your property and they look for every little thing they can find. I think that can be an improper use of government. Having been in the police department, I’ve seen some things that I don’t particularly care for. I’ve seen things that are unfair to the person that it’s being put upon," he said.

In his own experience, so far with the Desert Rose Inn, he said it's mostly dealing with the Health Department and minor complaints.

“If there’s a complaint, they’ll come out and address that. We’ll find a smoke detector doesn’t work or there’s a screen missing from a window. We’ve been pretty good with them. Any bed bug complaints we’ve had, they’ve never been founded. And we have an aggressive program to protect against it."

He says the city government has a unique position, but that it shouldn't overstep in its hyped 'fight on blight.' "They have the ability to regulate facilities, through code enforcement and things like that. As far as blight, whose responsibility is it? The city has all those forces available to it through code enforcement. I think sometimes they are dumping it back on (property) owners, and giving bad PR to them, where they could be working with them, trying to clean places up. Those who can’t, of course you have to come down on them," he said.

The Star Dust Lodge and its iconic sign are no longer.  McAllister also warns against too much destruction.  "Sometimes the historical aspect of the building can be the selling point," he said. "It also adds character to the city. If you continually wipe out your past, you are going to wake up one day and say I don’t remember anything. There are anchors to every city which should be left in place. You have to keep in touch with your past. "

A Difficult Journey as an Unflagged Motel Owner

McAllister purchased the Windsor Hotel on West street in 2007, and the Desert Rose Inn the next year, just as the recession worsened. "The Windsor was more hotel and casino employees and they all went away with the crash," he said. "I lost the Windsor through lack of clients, and it got repossessed. It was purchased in a bankruptcy sale."

Unflagged means McAllister is independent and unaffiliated with a major chain. He spent his early days at the Desert Rose Inn, he says, getting rid of bed bugs, prostitutes, drugs and bad contracts.  “It was pretty disorganized," he said. "Contracts didn’t make sense. Money was being paid off for services which weren’t even there."

He says he also changed some of his business practices. "We used to bleed money, because people used to skip out on us and wouldn’t pay. You’d get somebody and they’d say 'ok I can pay you next week', and then they’d say it again. So now you’re out the window with the money, but you’ve already provided the services.  Now, we try and give people what they expect to get for the $200."

Hiring a new team also really helped, he says: "I finally got a really great crew, and that makes a lot of difference because they’re thinking of things before the problem is even there," he said. "I have a great general manager, housekeeping, and maintenance crews. My general manager has a lot of contact with people, she’s sharp."

As more and more people get displaced from downtown motels, McAllister says they are fearful of what's next amid high occupancy rates in apartments, where they sometimes can't meet credit checks or deposit requirements, seemingly endless waits for subsidized housing and a severe crunch on affordable options.

Worries Grow Amid New Development

What his manager keeps telling him, McAllister said, is that people living at the Desert Rose Inn are also worried.

"They’re worried about what’s happening around here, because their security is being threatened. We don’t like change. It’s work to change. We’ve got some place where they feel decent, and they can afford the rent and then go out and work and provide for themselves and their families. Now they are not sure what’s going to happen to us, or motels down the street," he said.  "For people who have a fixed amount they can spend on housing, they’re really strapped."

The view from the Desert Rose Inn office.  According to website records, the 97-unit motel was built in 1960.

Not Against Development

McAllister says he's not against development, but he says if things aren't done right it could be catastrophic for some of the less affluent members of our community, as more and more motels are shut down, before any new construction begins.

"The area is in need of development. You’ve got vacant lots," he said. 

"You’ve got closed down properties. A lot of it is because of the recession. There were plans to build before that and then it all got shut down. Developers have been looking at Reno as an inexpensive place to acquire property and with the gentrification of tech companies moving in, they are looking at it as a center for entertainment for younger, more active people, with higher salaries, so there is money to be had. I don’t fault them for doing that. But you are going to have a couple years of lag if you start a project now to get any type of affordable housing in place."

Reporting by Our Town Reno in October 2017

Harry, A Veteran Avoiding the Shelter and Too Poor for Motels

"The waterways are free, they can’t govern that, they can't tell us what can be done along the river, that’s free land," Harry Bogart said on a recent sunny day in downtown Reno, feeding his two small dogs, as he pondered new anti-vagrancy ordinances which are being pushed by city council. 

"This is Baby Bear and Gremlin," Harry, said of his two dogs.  "Lots of people come by and donate if they see you sitting with them. They bring you some food or take you to the store and buy some," he said of people's generosity. Photo and reporting by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno. 

Who Does Land Belong To?

"God made that land, not the city," he said of the Truckee river banks. "They should not be able to take that away from us. As long as we are not causing problems, making it worse. If we aren’t hurting someone else, let us live our lives. That’s my opinion."

Harry, an Elko county native, once worked in a warehouse job in Reno on PVC pipes, but he says the company moved to Arizona without him.  He worked for a while in hotel maintenance, but he says he needs surgery for neck and back problems to be able to work again, and he says he can't afford the procedures. As an Air Force veteran he says the local VA is trying to help him find housing, but for the time being his $700 of fixed income are not enough to afford rising local housing rates for even a motel room.

Avoiding Shelters and Hoping for Compassion

Like many homeless in Reno who are sometimes called "aid resistant" by local politicians, Harry avoids shelters and explains why:  "Shelters are made for different kind of persons, people who are there have a prison mentality," he said.  "They don't think along the lines of we could be working with each other. They work for themselves and they put you in a bad mood, put you in danger, I don't trust being in that environment, I can do better out here, that’s what I do," he said.

Harry speaks of violence at the shelters, and the presence of weapons. His dogs, which he walks every morning before the rush of traffic across downtown Reno, would not be allowed at the main shelter either, so that's a no-go for him. 

 "Not everyone that is homeless is a bad person," the country music and rock 'n' roll aficionado told Our Town Reno. "They may be homeless because they made mistakes, they made a wrong choice, or somewhere along the lines something went bad they couldn’t control or get over. Give us a chance. Give us an opportunity to be what we are. We are still Americans. We love this country and we are just trying to survive."

Photo, Audio and Reporting by Prince Nesta for Our Town Reno