Maggie, Protesting in a Car Caravan to Cancel Rents during Coronavirus

Concerns About the Future After the Eviction Moratorium is Lifted

There was a small turnout for a local Cancel the Rents protest in Reno, but that didn’t stop the organizer’s passion. 22-year old Maggie Mae Rose works as a customer service representative for a large retailer in Reno. She didn’t want the name of her job to be public. Rose has been able to work from home during the COVID-19 pandemic but that might come to an end. On Tuesday, April 28, her work will reevaluate whether or not to continue employing its staff. If Rose gets furloughed, she will receive her last pay check on May 8, 2020.

"Right now I feel privileged to be in the position I'm in with having money still coming even though I might not have that for much longer," Rose said, "Even if my situation is good, I think it's important to be there for others that don't have a good situation. I know people that are afraid if they can’t pay rent. I know people that are scared about, are they going to be able to buy food? I'm not even doing it for myself. I am protesting for every family with one kid to five kids that are terrified," Rose said.

As long as Nevada is under a state of emergency, Gov. Steve Sisolak ordered a moratorium on evictions. This means tenants can’t get evicted from a property but they must still pay rent. Rose wants rent to be canceled until people can get back on their feet.

"Cancel all rent, all mortgages for homeowners, we even are extending to like small landlords, small businesses, like people that are definitely going to be affected by this," Rose said, 

Rose said Sisolak’s eviction moratorium might cause a false sense of security because tenants will still continue to accrue rent during the COVID-19 pandemic.

"Your rent will have to paid but then you're going to be further in debt. So I think that's something to talk about because now you're just adding to your whole debt situation, which is a stress in itself,” Rose said.

Many tenants in Nevada could be facing eviction after the moratorium is lifted.

"It's a hard demand but it is an important demand and it is hard to put a time limit on it, I'd say. But I do think if we're going to do it at all, it would need to be until people's employment went back up, for people to actually go back to work to get a paycheck to pay rent," Rose said in regards to how long rent should be canceled.

Seeking to House Unsheltered Individuals in Hotels and Motels

Another demand of the Cancel the Rents protest was to house vulnerable populations in vacant hotel and motel rooms. Rose said this can be implemented in Reno especially when so many motels sit empty and wait to be torn down. 

"The CDC guidelines on social distancing and having shelter during this time is so important. When you look at the solutions for that, we shouldn't be stripping off parking lots to have homeless sleep on them. What we're talking about is, we already have all these empty houses, why aren't we using these to benefit our community and have shelter for the homeless? We hear about, specifically in Reno, shelters getting too full or there's just not enough resources. We can extend that to these motels and these hotels," Rose said.

Rose said housing for undocumented individuals and currently unsheltered individuals is crucial. 

"This demand itself extends outside of pandemic. This is just like a demand that we just want period because it's really concerning and disheartening when you see all these empty houses that are just sitting around in your town and you see homeless people on the street," Rose said.

In California, Gov. Gavin Newsom launched Project Roomkey, which aims to provide 15,000 hotel or motel rooms for houseless individuals who are vulnerable to getting the virus like seniors, and to those who have been exposed or tested positive for COVID-19. A little under 900 individuals have been housed as of this reporting.

“I think [Sisolak's moratorium on evictions] is just not enough. I don't think it actually provides support to families that are waiting for their unemployment," Rose said.

Organizing Efforts Look Different Amid Pandemic

Due to social distancing guidelines and prohibited in-person contact, organizers from PSL needed to get creative in order to have a COVID-19 friendly protest.

"I think the biggest thing is definitely safety. We understand that we have freedom of speech and we have the right to do what we're going to do but we also know the reality of the situation. We know that there's a virus out there. I think that we believe that we must act right now to defend our demands and to defend our people but at the same time, we need to understand that there's a pandemic going on and that we need to be safe. We need to be smart about this and just responsible. I think that would be probably the worst thing ever if maybe we got what we wanted but then someone got sick because of the event,” Rose said.

Rose said car caravans are a great opportunity for a new form of protest under the restrictions of the pandemic but it has its limitations. Protestors who want to participate must have access to a vehicle. Additionally, Rose said organizing can be challenging when you can’t merely walk up and talk to your neighbor. She has grudgingly moved her protest preparations online, which is not her first choice.

"It's hard right now because usually we would do outreach, which is like walking around the street, talking to people in our community about it, getting their input on it [and] inviting them to the event. However, with obvious safety guidelines we can't do that," Rose said.

Reporting by Lucia Starbuck for Our Town Reno

Tabu McKnight, a Barber, Waiting for His Doors to Reopen and Government Help

“Honestly, I’m always a person [who expects] a feast and famine type situation.  Where things are going well, it’s not that I expect the worst, but when the harvest is good, [I think you should] prepare yourself at some capacity [for when it’s not].  I’m a firm believer in that.  “

Q: What got you started as a barber, and where did the passion come from for your business?

[I got started] probably at about 14...but I got into barbering out of necessity as a young man.  You know, due to financial constraints, I didn’t have the money to afford a haircut. So, I just learned to cut hair on my own. Hair has always been something that my family’s done, just at home and around the table or places like that. So it started out as a necessity, but then I turned it into a business.

I got really serious, like professionally, at maybe about 18. I was cutting hair, and then I started to transition into business and make it a career. It wasn’t my initial thought, it was just something I was good at.  But as I started to hone in on my craft, I had really great mentors to...tell me to take it to the next level and treat it like a business.  [Cutting hair] is a billion dollar industry, so that’s what I started to do.

Q: Before the coronavirus hit, nobody could have predicted that the whole world could essentially get shut down.  As a small business owner, were you prepared at all?

So when it hit, even in the beginning...I just had a little inkling [that it might become more serious].  When you look at the location [where the virus started spreading], it’s an international business spot.  For me, being an economic person, that just makes sense.  You have people traveling back and forth from Beijing and having exposure to New York and California, and even in Reno.  So I just knew that eventually it was going to happen, but I didn’t know the magnitude to be honest.

Q: When things started getting worse in the United States and we eventually got the order in Reno to shut down businesses, how did that feel?  What was your reaction when you realized the business you’ve worked so hard to build and that provides for you would have to be closed?

When it hit us, and when the mayor and the governor told us we have to shut down, the mental aspect of it was really hard.  I mean, mentally and emotionally it was the hardest for me, all the anxiety, the anger, the frustration, the depression, the worry...I can even say my blood pressure probably went up just because I have a family. I have two kids and four grandkids. 

And I’m talking to my wife saying ‘Honey, what are we going to do?’  You know?  The bills don’t stop at the shop or in my personal life.  I still have bills I gotta take care of, and you’re telling me that I’m not essential.  So, what are we going to do?  What’s the next step?  [The city is] telling me to shut down but you haven’t given me an alternative...and [if I keep doing business] then I’m threatened with sanctions of getting my business taken away or shut down in Nevada because I’m violating a code.

I don’t want my business to close, because I do feel it’s a very important business to the community because of all the relationships built in the barbershop, all the families and generations and traditions of men and women bringing their kids in.  Outside of [kids] and marriage, the longest relationship you probably have is to your barber, so I feel like I was essential.  

So I dealt with all different emotions and feelings and anxieties that I had to get a grip on because it was really starting to affect me.

(Above a video done by another Reynolds School of Journalism student Maryan Montgomery during busier times.)

Q: Do you feel like you’ve been given enough assistance as a small business?

I’m still frustrated with how things are with the stimulus package, which I thought was just kind of a joke.  It didn’t trickle down to us, which is kind of how our economy is too in the way that it was structured.  It’s not a surprise, but you see these mega companies that make tens or millions of dollars a year and they’re able to [get assistance]. But the backbone of our communities, businesses like mine, or mom and pop shops that keep the community going, we don’t really get any assistance.  And that hurts.

I don’t get unemployment.  We requested a grant of $10,000 from the Small Business Administration online, they said we would receive an answer in one to three days, it’s been five weeks.  We tried payroll protection, but the banks are using that like they’re trying to do regular credit and it wasn’t supposed to be that way.  It’s supposed to be ‘What’s your business? What’s your expenses? Do you have your tax return?’ and two or three questions like that.  And I’ve crossed off all those boxes but come to find out, ‘Oh well we don’t have any money for you.’  And that’s really hard.

The other part of this is, we have to pay for our own insurances and everything out of our own pockets, but if we don’t have the finances to do that, then everything ellipses.  Insurance is elapsed.  Health coverage is elapsed if you have it.  The majority of us, I’d say about 80 - 85% of the barbers or people in our industry don’t even have health insurance, they’re just paying out of pocket.  So we don’t really have a stimulus plan for people like us that are independent contractors or business owners.  They don’t have a plan and we don’t have financial assistance.  We gotta beg for it. 

One of McKnight’s customers after a haircut at Tabu of Reno’s Barber Lounge. Photo courtesy of Tabu McKnight.

Q: Have you been able to find any ways to generate extra income while this is going on?  Independent appointments or anything like that?

I’ll make some house calls or do something like that, individual appointments...but I battle Crohn's Disease.  I’ve had 11 surgeries and I have [a compromised] immune system. So it came to the point where I was like, I’m not going to do anything, because I’m not 100% sure of what I’m walking into.  So it became that progression of wanting to do it and needing to do it to...am I putting my family at risk?  Because if I brought something home and gave it to my wife or my grandkids or my kids, I don’t know how I would forgive myself.  So I kind of had to shut everything down.  

And the other thing is people don’t want to pay you for what you’re worth. They look at it as just a haircut, but it’s more.  I have to pack up all my equipment, pack it in my car, leave my family, my house, and my safety to come wherever you are whether you are whether you’re in Lemon Valley or the south end of town or Truckee.  It’s not just the cost of a regular haircut.

Q: When your business is shut down and you can’t get enough financial assistance or make income on your own without risking your health or your family’s, where does that leave you?  What are you able to do?

The only thing I can do is beg and plead to go into debt, just go to my banks or credit unions and take out loans and get into debt and use that to help me stay afloat.  And it may seem crazy, but it’s well worth it.  I consider that good debt if I can still provide and do what I need to do [for my family].  Because I can make that money back, it’ll be a struggle but I can make it back.  And if this continues then I’m okay with that, I just have to figure out different avenues in order for me to have some income come in.

I don’t want to get into a situation where I just throw caution to the wind like some people are doing, or how some people saying [the virus] isn’t that serious.  This is real.  And it’s really a life and death decision for me to be around groups and crowds of people and find myself in the hospital, having my immune system try to fight a virus that we have no answer for at the present time.  So if it goes on, I just have to go into debt.  Whatever I have to do, I just have to do it in order for my family to survive...I’m not worried about my credit score. If my credit drops to zero, I can get that back up.  That’s better than letting my family starve.

Tabu’s has gotten high marks and praise in the community. Barbers from the shop have also often volunteered at community meals and gatherings for those without shelter.

Q: With how uncertain everything is, what are your thoughts about the future, how we can deal with this, and where we go from here?

I would say that trouble does not last always, and that’s a true fact. It never lasts always. So we can be assured of that. Another thing is take the time to love the people that are around you and embrace the time we have now, because [the virus has shown] that we’re not promised tomorrow even though we live like that.  Because in a matter of seconds or a matter of weeks we find out that people and things don’t always last too long.

Another thing is that, if you’re a business owner, make your business better, rebrand yourself, take the time we have [during the shutdown] to fix the holes and deficiencies that we let slip through the cracks, because as business owners we spend a lot of time working in our business but not necessarily becoming better at business. 

I’m not going to worry about frivolous things at this point in time.  I’ll take care of my house, take care of my family, and keep God first.  And we’re going to make it through because it’s not going to last always.

So I would say to take this time to be better at business and better overall as a person, take advantage that there’s time that we have to sit down and reflect, and regroup, and we energize.  And I know we’re all struggling in a sense, and some of us are doing a little better or worse than others.  But if we have the opportunity to help somebody else, then let’s help somebody else.  

Q and A by Luke Keck for Our Town Reno

Jennifer Calazada, Out of a Job and Trying to 'DoorDash' while Studying

Out of a Job and Feeling Lonely

Soma, a lingerie store in the Summit mall in south Reno, was the store she was working at until non-essential businesses were forced to shut down. She went from having to cut her hours to being completely out of her job in one day. 

“At first they cut our hours to like 12 hours, and then the day after my boss sent a group text. That we were closed, and at first we were being paid through March and then that’s when they closed all non-essential businesses, all through April. Now, I’m ‘doordashing’ but that’s not consistent--they’ll send you an order but you have like 30 seconds to accept it. But there’s days where you won’t get that many orders, and other days you will,” she said. (For those not familiar,  DoorDash is a San Francisco-based on-demand prepared food delivery service)

 With the UNR campus having to also close down due to also being deemed non-essential, Calazada struggles not only financially but also socially. She’s also had to deal with new challenges of classes going all online.

“My professors are still trying to figure out how to administer these tests because they don’t want them to be open-book,” she said.

Calazada says she has been making the best of efforts to stay positive and watch out for her mental health.

Zoom not an Ideal Replacement

While her professors have made efforts to have students still have that daily interaction with others in their classes, she says it still feels lonely as most of the students in her classes choose to turn off their cameras or microphones.

She’s grateful for having the sessions though. “I haven’t been really having contact with people like I should, I guess it’s nice even though it's just for an hour,”  she said.

As the days keep on going and people all over the world are forced to make compromises, Calazada tries to closely monitor those around her, including her family.

“They try to hide their worry so they don’t worry me,” she said. “My mom is still worried but she tries to hide it. And my dad is in denial, but even when he’s outside he still is careful and tells me to ‘be careful.’”

Calazada says it’s important to look forward to some sort of normalcy up ahead. She says she has plans for her delayed birthday party.

“I’m going to the lake, and BJ’s. I was supposed to go on my birthday so I could get my pizookie (a skillet cookie), but then social distancing happened. So yeah, I’m going to the lake, BJ’s, the arcade...and oh yeah dancing. I was supposed to go dancing on my birthday, since I haven’t gotten to dance in a while,” she said.

Reporting by Tatiana Ramirez shared with the Reynolds Sandbox

Ordeals to Get Unemployment Compensation during the Crush of Coronavirus

Still Waiting on My Own Claim

I remember the exact moment when I first heard about the coronavirus—It was a few days after New Year’s. I was at work when my coworker asked if I had heard about the developing virus in Wuhan, China. I was working as a server at a local brewery and distillery so I was slightly worried because we frequently hosted large parties but I didn’t expect what would happen in the coming months. 

I am a 28-year-old journalism student at UNR working nights and weekends to pay for my education and costs of living. On March 17, Governor Sisolak mandated all bars and restaurants in Nevada close for 30 days to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Unfortunately, it has been over a month and my initial unemployment claims are still pending because I am a student, who under different circumstances, cannot qualify for benefits.

The Cares Act waives the weekly work search requirement but Tamara’s UI home screen displays ‘issues delaying payment’ due to the specificities of being a student and a worker at the same time.

A Community’s Support

This is not a cry for help nor am I asking for pity—I simply want to share my experiences with others to reciprocate the same support I received from Reno/Sparks Mutual Aid Group on Facebook consisting of more than 4,000 community members. The group was originally created to share information about grocery stocks, unemployment challenges, face masks and other resources. 

One of the group’s administrators Meghan Kathleen, recently made a post stating,“don’t expect too much of yourself while we’re all surviving a collective trauma.”

The tied-up phone lines are among the biggest complaints from people trying to file for UI in response to COVID-19. The Nevada UI Office has extended its hours open from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Friday yet many people still struggle to make contact with any available representatives. I’ve heard stories of people trying to call over 200 times per day or the phone line disconnects after being on hold for an hour. 

Tamara’s call log on the morning of April 21st showing failed attempts at reaching three different Nevada UI phone numbers. “It’s extremely frustrating if that’s the first thing you hear in the morning, day after day with no answers.”

A Voice of Reason Amid a Cloud of Frustration

Steve Zuelke worked over a quarter century for the Nevada ESD and actively offers advice on the Reno/Sparks Mutual Aid Group suggesting actions people may want to follow. In an interview on Monday, April 13th, Zuelke elaborated further into how the system typically functions, and how best to deal with it in these times of upheaval.

“The unemployment claim system is typically operational 24 hours a day, seven days a week, except when it is down for maintenance. I would recommend that they leverage off hours filing claims and records via the internet very late at night and very early in the morning. If they do so they will face less competition for available resources,” said Zuelke. 

 Zuelke did not have any advice for the phone lines and could not comment specifically about the need for more UI workers as he is now retired but mentioned the self-serve system was designed for a minimal amount of interaction. 

The Nevada UI website has repeatedly been down for maintenance due to the mass influx of claims.

A Complicated System with No Room for Mistakes

Zuelke expressed the dangers of misinformation to those filing for benefits during difficult times using an analogy to best explain why he attempts to point people in the right direction. 

“I could not simply for lack of a better term, a retired firefighter, sit around and watch my neighbor’s house burn down if there was something I could do about it,” said Zuelke. 

He said unfortunately any mistake a user makes during the filing process can be damaging as very few people have been trained on the technical language to understand how UI works exactly.

“What has happened in this event is very similar to what happened in the toilet paper aisles, everyone needed it at once,” he said, making another analogy.

Zuelke personally believes it’s too early to tell if this recession can be compared to the Great Recession differentiating COVID-19 as systematic and to be determined by what the public and businesses do once the crisis is over. 

Steve Zuelke (right) received his Certified Public Manager designation by former Governor Kenny Guinn and Director of Health and Human Services, Mike Wheldon.

A Newsletter with Some Hope

The Governor’s office is working in partnership with the Nevada Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation to deliver a weekly newsletter with information on recent UI developments. It contains hope for more relief.

For example, Gov. Sisolak recently announced the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) plan amounting to $600 to be disbursed to all eligible claimants into their accounts directly. 

The newsletter additionally contained a newly established help-line (800) 603-9671 to better assist people filing new claims— but it cannot provide information on existing claims, leaving us many still at square one, and still only hoping for some of this money we are being promised, but which we just get into our accounts at this crucial time.

Reporting by Tamara Snight shared with Our Town Reno

Mary Charles, Providing Peer Recovery During A Time of Coronavirus

Trying to Help Others During the Pandemic

With many clinics and drop-in centers closed, routines being skewed, unemployment soaring, isolation and general stress increased, work to help houseless individuals in the community recover from substance use has never been more crucial.

Mary Charles, who has been a peer support specialist at the Foundation for Recovery since Nov. 2019, is now working from home and hosting online meetings everyday at noon for community members in recovery. 

"There's not a lot of other people out there doing it and this is definitely a vulnerable group of society. We can be uplifting to them and help them through their walk," Charles said.

Foundation for Recovery physically closed its doors but Charles and the staff are remaining busy to connect people with the resources they need. Charles said a majority of her day consists of phone calls now.

A Hug was a Life Changer for Her

Before landing a job as a peer support specialist, Charles was houseless for several years due to domestic violence. She was staying at different parks, but mostly returning to Paradise Park. She said she didn’t feel truly seen until someone approached her with sympathy and kindness.

"There had been other people when I was out there who said, 'Oh, we can help you,' and you go to that business and once you walk in there they look at you like they're not trying to help you anymore," Charles said of her own turnaround.

"When somebody has been there, when this person came and found me at the park, I didn't want to talk to her either. But she told me, 'Look, I've been where you are. I've been homeless. I was an addict.’" She had her own issues, I just knew she got it,” she said of what worked for her to trust someone else.

Charles said it can often lead to a more positive outcome if outreach workers have gone through similar situations.

"I remember the day that I felt human again. It was when she talked me into going into her office for services, which I did not want to do and I kept fighting it. I finally showed up and she hugged me. That was the day that I felt human again because here I was with dirty clothes on and not feeling like I deserved to be there, [but] she didn't care," Charles said.

Photo of her composition notebook from a previous Our Town Reno article. Charles wrote about her experiences while living on the streets and the day she felt seen for a therapeutic writing workshop called Voices Of Inspiration, Courage, and Empowerment (VOICE). Read her essay here: http://www.ourtownreno.com/our-stories-1/2018/10/13/stop-looking-at-me-mary-healing-from-abuse-with-her-own-voice

Housing is Crucial

Charles said on her last night on the streets it rained, soaking through a tarp above her, making her cold and wet. She said housing and a job that she loves have changed her own life for the best.

"I was in full-blown substance use disorder and living out on the streets. I've had huge changes because I'm in long term recovery now and I have this amazing career that I love. I like my life a lot," Charles said.

During coronavirus, Charles says she also supports using some hotel rooms to shelter houseless individuals, a solution other cities have pursued.

Reporting by Lucia Starbuck for Our Town Reno

Bailey, on the Frontlines of the Grocery Store during Coronavirus

Tension and New Measures

While many places have shut down, one of the busiest places is now the grocery store. People rush to the toilet paper aisle to see if today can be their lucky day. Grocery carts bump into each other. Many shoppers aren’t wearing masks. The Trader Joe’s in south Reno where Bashay works has all the potential of a contamination zone.

“There's a lot more stress and you can really feel the tension of our customers,” Bashay said. “People are really grateful that we're open and that we're working and that we're still stocked up. ”

New measures have been put in place including staggering people in. “We make sure we only have like 30 to 40 people in the store at a time so people can safely keep their distance,” Bashay said.

Along with customers, Trader Joe’s is also concerned with the safety of their employees.

“Right now we're really just going with what the CDC has been putting out...our company has sent us reusable masks that we can take home and wash and wear everyday. And we have been wearing plastic gloves pretty regularly along with being given breaks to go wash our hands and, you know, just make sure that you're trying to be extra careful.”

Going to Work to Pay Bills

Like many others, Bashay says she has no choice but to keep working. “I have rent that I have to pay and car payments,” she said. She considers herself luck and is grateful for her work despite all the current risks. “Our company has been doing a really good job of trying to keep everybody working as much as they want to,” she said. “So, my hours have remained the same.”

But she sees underlying structural problems. “A lot of people that are working right now are working because they have to pay rent and because they have to support their families somehow,” she said. “And I think it just really  points to the bigger issues of our economy and the downfalls of capitalism that people have to put their lives on the line right now to survive.” 

The fear of becoming sick has not escaped Bashay’s mind. She says she is not as scared of herself becoming sick but she is weary of infecting others.

“I'm pretty lucky. I'm young, I'm fairly healthy. I have a good immune system. I'm not necessarily scared of getting sick. I am afraid of catching it and not knowing and then spreading it to other people,” she said. “My sister is living with me right now and they're diabetic, so I have fears of  bringing it home with me.” 

People practice social distancing before being allowed into the Trader Joe’s.

Doing it for the Community

Having to work and still continue school online is yet another stressor for Bashay during the pandemic.

“For me, it's been really difficult realigning my schedule so that  I give myself enough time to do all the work in my classes that would've been done in a classroom...I don't have the free time that I know some students have right now,” she said.

Finding a new balance has proven to be difficult, but for Bashay her job has now become more than just a job. She says it has become a duty towards her community.

“A lot of people are out of work right now and I'm lucky enough to not be, I have a job that  is necessary for people,” she said. “I'm putting food on people's tables and it feels good to be able to do what I can since so much of this is out of our control. I want to be out there helping people in the way that I can help people.” 

 Reporting by Gracie Gordon for Our Town Reno

Lacy Foster, Keeping People Housed at a Motel During a Pandemic

COVID-19 Disrupts Motel Community

While horror stories are surfacing of motel tenants getting harassed if they can’t pay rent and bullied into moving out, the staff at the Desert Rose Inn said no one would be getting evicted on their watch, even deciding that before Gov. Steve Sisolak put a moratorium on evictions on March 29th.

“I'm really glad that the governor did that because that's a little bit of a weight lifted off some people's shoulders because it was already bad in this town for housing," Foster said.

The moratorium is for both residential and commercial tenants for the duration of Nevada’s state of emergency, including weeklies, which constitute long term housing for thousands in Reno. Earlier this month, a judge in Lyon County ordered the Extended Stay Suites in Fernley to pay $2,500 in damages to a tenant the business had locked out.

“We're kind of a community here,” Foster said of the Desert Rose Inn approach. “People talk, people hang out here. We walk our dogs together, we do things together here. We're not just: you live here and I live here. It's not that way. It's never been that way. There's a lot of my older tenants here that I shop for, and I go to their room and hang out with them. They don't have anybody. I've had to stop doing those things and that's really hard because now they're by themselves. That's the thing, we're supposed to isolate but sometimes that's not always the best thing either. I've been talking to a few of them on the phone a little bit more. But I think that's the worst part because we are close here," Foster said.

The Desert Rose Inn houses several families, veterans and a handful of seniors. "We have people that get a monthly check that don't work, their checks are still coming in like social security, they're still paying rent. Everybody wants to do their part and the people that can't pay rent, they're really worried and they feel bad. They're trying to see if they can help work around here, so sweet, which we don't do," Foster said.

Food Insecurity Concerns

Out of the 70 occupied rooms, Foster said about half of the tenants have been laid off from their casino jobs. She said their biggest concerns are running out of money for food.

"That's super sad and super scary. That is a horrible feeling for anybody, let alone if you're mother and I'm a mom. With this place, I see everybody as my family here. So, my first instinct is, 'Oh my gosh, how am I going to feed everybody?' That's where I'm at right now," Foster said.

In addition to collecting a smaller amount of rent, a decline of tourism in Reno has also hurt the Desert Rose Inn. From mid March to the end of May all of the room bookings from out of town were cancelled. 

"Tourism is down, definitely. Nobody wants to leave their own homes wherever they're at, let alone come to a city where they don't know anybody in quarantine," Foster said.

Foster isn’t bringing in any new tenants or nightlies either. She supports the hopefully soon to arrive $1,200 federal stimulus checks and deposits but she also wants to see more being done for small businesses. She worries about the expenses her landlord has to pay like utilities.

"We've got to keep these people with power and water," Foster said. “Because when people pay their rent, that's what we use to cover these things.”

Desert Rose Inn also employs two housekeepers, two maintenance workers and an additional office worker. Foster said no one has been laid off but their jobs do look a little different now.

Foster spends nights disinfecting the handrails of the stairs. During the day, she says, she talks to residents on the phone to stay in contact and check in.

New Ways to Operate in A Different World

Before the coronavirus pandemic restrictions, the motel’s staff used to go into rooms to clean and vacuum them, and provide tenants with clean linen, toilet paper and tissue paper. Foster said, as of right now, they have an adequate amount of toilet paper. But in an effort to limit physical interaction, the staff have resorted to leaving supplies in a bag on residents’ door handles. Tenants are instructed to do the same with their dirty linen, which is then cleaned immediately.

"With the tenant's laundry, we're so worried that they're going to shut down laundry facilities. So we got a system going now with them, on your service day where you get housekeeping is the day you could do laundry. We have a little sign where you turn it red or green if somebody is in there. Every hour we just wipe the whole thing down. We'll go in there and the tenants will have our bottle of water and bleach and they'll be wiping it down after they leave and everybody's really looking out for each other," Foster said.

Foster said her residents have also been following social distancing guidelines to keep everyone healthy. 

"We were going to put some tape out by the office window here, you know, six feet. As we were doing it, everybody was coming to walk up to either check their mail or whatever, and before we could even put the tape down they were doing it and telling everybody else, 'Oh hey, get back a little bit more,'" Foster said.

Reporting by Lucia Starbuck for Our Town Reno

Health Care for the Underserved, Different Perspectives on Reno's Community Health Alliance

NOTE: While coronavirus is extremely deadly, people are still suffering from other serious medical ailments. The Community Health Alliance is now working with Uber Health so the most vulnerable patients in Washoe County can be taken to their own vital medical appointments.

“A large percentage of our patients are elderly or dependent on public transportation. CHA has always been committed to providing high quality healthcare, and ensuring our patients can safely seek the care they need, with reliable transportation, is more critical than ever,” said CHA CEO Oscar Delgado in a press release today.

The release goes to explain: For medical visits that do not necessitate an in-person visit, CHA is treating patients via telemedicine for both primary and behavioral health, as well as offering drive-up visits for patients who are most vulnerable. This will allow CHA to minimize unnecessary physical contact, while still providing care to the community. Additionally, both the CHA program for Women, Infants, and Children (WIC), as well as the pharmacy, have designed curbside pick-up for breast pumps, formula and prescriptions, among other patient needs.

Listen to a podcast version of this story here

A New CEO Building Awareness for its Services

“There's a [saying] around town that we're the best kept secret,” Delgado said at a recent relaunch event, before the coronavirus pandemic imposed a nationwide shutdown. “My goal is to make sure that everyone knows that we exist, we have services that are available, that we have great providers, and that we're not the stale clinic that some people may imagine when you walk into a community clinic. My goal is to make sure that we are a strong backbone in providing primary care for working families across the region.”

As a federally-qualified health organization operating seven primary care health centers in Washoe County, CHA plays a crucial role in providing health care to our community’s most vulnerable citizens.

“In a way to [serve vulnerable communities] there really is a need to embed yourself within those communities,” Delgado said. “And we're at ground zero. We actually have a clinic at the Record street Community Assistance Center where we serve the homeless that walk into our clinics, at no cost.”

“It’s our mission to provide quality, accessible healthcare to everyone,” Delgado said. “No matter your background, no matter your economic background, no matter anything, no questions. Whoever walks through the door, we'll provide care for you.”

The healthcare services CHA provides its patients covers a wide breadth of care: from pediatric, dental, behavioral, optometric, to fully primary. In order to provide specialized care to their patients, CHA partners with various organizations in Reno. It also has mobile events for dental care, a pantry at its headquarters on Wells Avenue and a pharmacy.

“Our vision is to make sure that we are the trusted bridge to any other organization in town that is working with demographics that we serve,” Delgado said. “We partner heavily with the Food Bank of Northern Nevada, Hopes, The Boys and Girls Club and the Eddy House. So [the goal is for] somebody that walks into their nonprofits and has a healthcare concern, that they'll know that we're a trusted partner and we'll get them seen as soon as possible.” 

Ricardo Lucio is a long-time beneficiary of CHA who is now serving on its Board.

From Patient to Board Member

“I've been a patient of the Community Health Alliance for nine years now,” Ricardo Lucio said. “Growing up in the Wells Avenue community, you're very appreciative to have this type of practice in your community that provides excellent and affordable health services to you, whether it be medical, dental, or any other type of service. You always feel like family when they help you.”

To Lucio, CHA is more than just a community health care provider. They are an organization that is breaking the stigma of what affordable health care represents.

“A lot of people think that just because health services are expensive, that they don't have access to them,” Lucio said. “But Community Health Alliance provides affordable health services and a lot of people don't know about them, but they have them now in seven locations.”

Jenelle Stathes is a former teacher and mother of three, who says she understands the need for an organization like CHA in the community.

Local Needs

“I taught in a school where the only reason we couldn't have outdoor recess was because children didn't have coats when it was snowing,” Jenelle Stathes said. “If a child is sick, they need to be seen, Mom's snuggles and chicken soup can only go so far with a viral or bacterial infection. They need to be able to have a prescription to get better, especially with the attendance restrictions through the Washoe County School District. As a mother now, I always think of children and if my child can't be seen by a doctor, I know it's an even bigger problem for somebody who can't afford for their child to be seen by a doctor and that's heartbreaking.”

Stathes was particularly impressed by the messages shared by Delgado and Lucio.

“Hearing Oscar discuss the mission of CHA and then hearing from the patient that's now on the board discuss how CHA has impacted his life, it's just such a reminder of how vital a program like this is for our city.”

Ariel Rayo is a Community Health Services Representative at SilverSummit Healthplan.

An Insurer’s Perspective

“I believe, first of all, that preventative healthcare is a very important issue in Reno,” Ariel Rayo, who works in health insurance, said. “The more we have people taking care of their health by doing preventative healthcare activities, the less hospital visits we have, and the less ER visits we have, is less money that was spent. Then we have a lot of people who are under-insured or just not insured because their jobs do not provide insurance, they're contracted, or they just don't really qualify for any health insurance because of legal status, age, income, whatever the reason it is. So having a Community Health Alliance helps a lot because nobody gets rejected, they all get service.”

Rayo is confident that Delgado is the right man for the job in leading CHA forward. 

“[Delgado]'s a true advocate for the underserved community as a councilman,” Rayo said. “He cares about our community and Reno. So it's really nice to have that advocate person for our people.”

Rayo is also impressed by Lucio’s presence on CHA’s Board.

“[Lucio] is a true example of a person who was at one point underserved because of his legal status or level of income. That's a true story of how this agency is coming to serve a great purpose in the community.”

Frank Perez has been on the Board of CHA for the past two years.

Open Doors with Sliding Scale Fees

 “If you don't have insurance or if you do have insurance, that's not a big part with us,” Frank Perez, another board member, said. “We do a sliding scale fee to work with our patients and make sure that people don't get turned away. Regardless of people's citizenship status, they don't get turned away either. Our doors open, 100%.”

Having seen firsthand the new changes in direction for CHA, Perez is excited for what is to come under Delgado’s leadership.

“Oscar is going to bring another level of connection to the community as far as events like this,” Perez said. “This [Meet and Greet] is to me a very successful event where we're building a web with other folks in the community and building a stronger web. [Delgado] did say that CHA doesn't have to be a secret anymore.”

“It’s really imperative to me that when people walk through our doors they feel that they are getting quality care, but also a sense of trust and respect,” Delgado said. “A lot of the families that we serve, I see as my family. We actually do see some of my family members that walked through those doors. What's important to me is that they feel no different walking through our clinics than they would going to any other private hospital or anywhere else.”

Room for More Growth

Delgado says he hopes to see CHA expand to continue serving communities it hasn’t reached yet. 

“There's a lot of communities out there that's still not being served,” Delgado said. “We need to hire more providers, open more clinics, [acquire] more square footage, and [hire] more social workers. It's only right that our neighbors are healthy, that everyone is healthy.”

As a native Nevadan, Delgado is excited to be able to further strengthen Reno’s communities and share CHA’s mission with them.

“There's not one entity that can do it alone,” Delgado said. “It’s understanding the importance of building bridges and everyone working together in order to make sure we provide the best circumstances to make sure our families are successful in our community.  I know that our community cares about that, so I'm excited to share that vision.”

Reporting by Scott King for Our Town Reno

Jeannie Jackson, From Parks and Recreation in California to Ideas for Reno

Life Before Reno

Jeannie Jackson raised four kids on her own, managed to remain strong, and even ran to be a city official in the Los Angeles area. She says she was brought to Reno due to high rent costs. She now spends her retirement in the Biggest Little City.

In 1982, Jackson’s husband left her and her four kids. To support her family she worked three jobs for a total of 16 hours a day. She even ran to be the mayor of Santa Ana three times.

“My girlfriends were tired of hearing me b*tch about my ex husband. So I thought, okay Lord, I'll go ahead and b*tch to the whole city of Santa Ana. It was so much fun. Second time, I ran against 11 men and they unanimously appointed me Parks and Recreation Commissioner for the city of Tustin (population: 80,000). So I got together with a counselor and we got a new youth center built in town. They give kids food, pre-baby sitting until their parents get home. So about 150 kids get babysat every day.”

Jackson said her time working in Parks and Recreation in Tustin previously has given her insight on how to address some issues in Reno.

Ideas on How to Help those without Shelter

Jackson says she moved to Reno eight years ago. She currently lives with one of her daughters and enjoys cooking for her, which was something she wasn’t able to do while she was younger.

Her experience has also given her ideas on how to help those in need.

“There's Americans that need homes and shelters. So I'd like to see a Breakthrough [an organization that helps people affected by poverty by providing resources and skills to help themselves] or maybe pup tents [a small one person tent] or some kind of way to shelter our children,” she said. “I lived in Las Vegas and there were children sleeping on 114 degree sidewalks and I think that could be labeled child abuse,” Jackson said.

Jackson said she would like to see some kind of foundation with a circus-like tent to hold other tents for families. Jackson said she would also rather see money that’s for prisons used to help those living on the streets and for children who are hungry.

Photography and Reporting by Lucia Starbuck for Our Town Reno

RISE, Still Helping Others Together During Coronavirus, But With Added Precautions

Fewer Resources Right Now than Before Coronavirus

With fewer resources available to the houseless population during the coronavirus outbreak, The Reno Initiative for Shelter and Equality (RISE) is continuing their RISE and Dine program providing dinner to locals in need, which they now view as even more vital.

“[Since the coronavirus outbreak] I would say there are more people asking for services, but they’re harder to get to,” said one of the volunteers Catherine Macintosh, who is also pursuing a Masters of Social Work degree.  

In the weeks since the virus started spreading, she says she has seen many people without stable shelter struggle to find even the most basic resources needed for survival. “I have a lot more people [say] ‘I can’t find food, or I can’t find a place to wash my hands.’”  

“These are my people,” Catherine Macintosh says of the guests at the RISE and Dine event. “I really like [working] in the trenches, walking with people...shaking their hand instead of pointing a finger. (Note: Although with gloves on now, maybe). It just feels real to me. It...grounds me when I'm able to help other people.”

A Vulnerable Population Made More Vulnerable

“We’ve spent years over-policing and criminalizing homelessness”, five year RISE volunteer and hospital chaplain Jennifer Cassidy said.

“We do horrible things.  [A homeless person] gets set up and stable in a small community or encampments...and [then] they’re moved, sometimes in the middle of the night. I have seen survival equipment thrown away; I’ve seen excavators grab carts [full of belongings] and throw them away...So it’s been bad already.”

Cassidy says she believes these actions have left the houseless population more at-risk in times like this.

“We’ve worked really hard against a community structure for people who don’t have access to things...and now we close everything down,” she said. “So it kind of leaves people high and dry and stuck and alone without the things that they need.”  

She pauses for a moment before adding, “Honestly, it leaves them f***ked.”

Cassidy believes people without shelter have been made more vulnerable during the current pandemic because of how local authorities have previously criminalized them.

What About Using Empty Hotels and Motel Rooms?

“I think the biggest problem is that there’s zero stability”, Castro, the president of RISE, said of the difficulties experienced by those without stable shelter.  “There’s no washing stations, there’s no restrooms...right now everyone’s just in survival mode.”  

“Continuing to sweep the homeless population underneath the bridges and away from the tourist area...It’s failing...It has failed”, he said. 

One potential solution now raised by the volunteers would be to use the city’s vacant hotels and casinos as temporary shelter.  “We have a lot of empty hotels and motel rooms [that can be used for shelter]. I think that those should be offered. I think that people should have a safe, warm door that locks. I think that that's a given always, but I think it's especially true right now”, Cassidy says.

The lack of safe shelter and adequate resources further the risk of the coronavirus spreading through the community as people gather in larger groups wherever supplies are available, Macintosh says.  “I would like to see more meal sites so that we don’t have everyone traveling [together], taking the bus, or grouping up here”, she explains, “In other words, we [could] just spread out a little bit.”

“Somebody’s got [to help people experiencing homelessness], but I think the single greatest thing we’re trying to prove is that really anybody can do it”, Castro says. “It doesn’t take much; if you see a problem, you try to fix it. And if you’re doing it right then people will join you,” Castro said of the RISE initiative, and continuing even during coronavirus.

Walking with People in Your Community as a Fellow Human

“I think [the best way to help is] just keep taking care of each other, and hope that others follow suit”, Cassidy says, “I do this because this is my community. I want it to be the best that it can be. That doesn't mean...charity that means walking with people wherever they are.”

“I don’t think people are naturally selfish. We’re social animals. We do care about each other,” Castro said. To him, caring for the community is part of being human.

“Society wasn’t built because every person on the block was saying ‘it’s me versus you.’ It was built by human beings trying to figure out how we survive. And we figured out that we do this better if we do it together.”

Reporting by Luke Keck for Our Town Reno

Tayler McCurley, Changing the Narrative Around Mental Health, One Story at a Time

A Team Effort

In late January of 2020, McCurley and Brown launched a private group on Facebook called “Silent No More: Breaking the Stigma, One Story at a Time.”

“We created this group because we saw a very big need that wasn't being really addressed,” McCurley said.

The “Silent No More” Facebook group is still in its early stages but is growing fast. Currently, most members are from the Reno, NV and Boise, ID, areas, where McCurley and Brown are from, respectively. However, their reach is quickly expanding as they continue spreading the word about the new support group and their experience with mental health disorders on local radio shows and podcasts.

“It’s absolutely terrifying [at first] because I know that in a lot of places when you talk about mental illness, they shut you down and you're immediately labeled,” McCurley explained. “So obviously going on the radio and being very public about your story and why you're doing what you're doing is scary because people will no doubt see you in a negative light regardless of what you say or what you're doing or why you're doing it.”

Despite these concerns, McCurley believes that going public with her story will help others do the same. Ever since she accepted her anxiety and depression, McCurley started realizing she wasn’t alone.

“I've lived with anxiety since I was in elementary school and depression since I was about 15 years old, so I am up close and personal with having a mental health disorder,” McCurley said. “In high school, I tended to flock to the misfits and I got bullied a lot. So when I found my misfits, it became very clear to me that they struggled with a lot of the same things that I did: depression and anxiety. So I not only live with it myself, but I watched my closest people to this day live with it.”

Early Anxieties, Followed by Depression

Brown, too, was challenged with mental health at a young age. 

“In the last few months I really only realized how soon my anxiety started to manifest as a child,” Brown said. “I was a clingy kid because I didn't like to be alone and I asked too many questions. We write that off [as normal] in children, but it's actually an indication that they are suffering from anxiety from an early age.”

Although her anxiety had shown at an early age, it wasn’t until she was a teenager that Brown’s depression began. She says that is typical, however, as a hormonal imbalance caused by puberty is often what triggers depression for many people. Although Brown didn’t realize it at the time, what made matters worse was the pressure she put on herself. 

“I was always kind of stressed out because I had to be the perfect child,” Brown said. “I had to have the best grades, I had to be good at everything and if I wasn't, that wasn't okay. I just called it stress because admitting to myself that I had anxiety or had depression was admitting that there was something wrong [with me].”

Brown didn’t want to reach out to her parents for help because she didn’t want to disappoint them. So she turned to some of her other close family members, who were able to get her in touch with her school’s counselor. Growing up in rural Idaho, her school’s counselor was one of the few resources available for someone in Brown’s position. Unfortunately, however, Brown’s experience with her did more harm than good. 

Above. the rules of their Facebook group.

Instances of Feeling More Stigmatized

“When you hear the stereotype of a therapist asking, ‘How does that make you feel? Well, why don't you do this?’ That's what I was faced with,” Brown explained. “That automatically stigmatized me even more, which made me shut down. From that point on, I would talk to my friends about what was going on because a lot of them were experiencing similar things. But I wouldn't actively seek help again until I was 19 and in my first semester of college.”

McCurley, too, didn’t have a good experience the first time she sought help. The first time she went to therapy and shared that she felt like something was wrong, the therapist called her a normal teenager. It wasn’t until she reached out to health services at the University of Nevada, Reno, where she was a student that she found real help.

Consequently, Brown believes having mental health resources available to students is one of the things that makes colleges so crucial in addressing mental health at a developing age.

“That's the really great thing about colleges and universities is that they have those free resources that so often people from smaller communities just don't really have access to or don't know how to go about getting access to,” Brown said. “Being able to have that contact close by and in reach is so important.” 

The most critical thing Brown got out of the services provided at her university was validation that her mental health disorder was real.

“The guy that I went to looked at me after we talked and said, ‘You know what? You're doing great because I have never met someone who was so clearly, deeply depressed, but so functional at the same time,” Brown explained. “That just kind of shook me to my core because I felt that validation, that all of those things that had been going through my head, it was real. It wasn't just me making things up, it was a real thing. I was validated.” 

On campus services are available at the University of Nevada, Reno.

The Importance of Getting a Diagnosis

When McCurley was diagnosed with dysthymia and a general anxiety disorder by her therapist at UNR, she too felt validated.

“As soon as there was a name for it, it got less scary because it was real,” McCurley said. “It wasn't a figment of my imagination, it wasn't my brain just trying to trick me.”

For Brown, too, validation was the first step to changing the narrative surrounding mental health.

“You empower yourself and the people around you to recognize that they aren't the only ones who feel the way that they do and that it's okay to not be okay and to share that when you're not,” Brown said. “Right now, there are labels because that's the way society has been for way too long. But eventually over time you'll notice things that change and it may not be overnight, but the revolution that happens by empowering people to tell their story and recognizing that mental health is just as hard to cope with as a physical ailment is really important.”

Much of the stigma surrounding mental health, McCurley attributed to fear that stems from a lack of understanding about it.

“[Mental health] has only been really talked about in the last five, maybe 10 years,” McCurley said. “When people don't understand something, they tend to fear it. And when you're afraid of [something], the easier course of action is to pretend like it doesn't exist. So I genuinely believe that the stigma is rooted in fear and a lack of understanding and education.”

To Brown (above), Facebook is an appropriate place to organize a group like this because of its broad reach. “It's a platform that's readily available for everyone,” Brown said. “And growing up in a rural community, [a Facebook group] would have been something that I would have had access to even though my community didn't have those resources.”

Writing Your Own Story

“By writing down your story rather than just telling it to someone gives your story permanence,” Brown said. “It empowers you more by knowing your story is out there for people to read and it doesn't matter how long it takes, it will be seen.”

In just the short time since the Facebook group was launched, McCurley has seen the benefits of story-telling in addressing mental health.

“It's been a blessing to watch some of my closest friends just open up to complete strangers,” McCurley said. “As soon as you start telling your story, it's not as scary anymore and you start accepting certain parts and then you can start working through those parts. That's been one of the outcomes so far in our community.”

Story-telling on the page has built an atmosphere of camaraderie in the group, something that can make a big difference in the life of someone living with a mental health disorder. 

“[Story-telling] makes the very lonely nature of having a mental health disorder a little less lonely,” McCurley said. “It broadens the world just a little bit.”

Although they see the world as currently developing more resources for mental health, McCurley and Brown recognize that their Facebook group can benefit members on a more personal level.

“There are plenty of wonderful organizations out there and groups that are in place almost like ours, but it's a matter of finding them,” Brown said. “But by taking this into our own hands and by empowering people to take their mental health and control it themselves and have a say in what they do, I think that is going to help make a huge difference.”

Expanding Access in Reno

For McCurley, who lives in Reno, there are plenty of mental health resources available to those in the city, but the problem is they’re realistically not accessible to the general public.

“There are plenty of therapists here in Reno, but even I can't afford to go as regularly as I probably should,” McCurley said. “So it's not necessarily asking ‘Is there enough?’ It's, ‘Can people get to it?’ I think affordability is one of the bigger problems.”

Affordability plays a significant role in accessing mental health services, many of which are barely covered by most insurance plans. 

“The average health care insurance plan that you would have, if you can even afford and have access to it, would still only cover one therapy session every six months,” Brown explained. “And that's just not enough when one in five people will be diagnosed with a mental health disorder in their lifetime [according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness]. ”

Affordability can also be a huge factor for those living with mental health disorders as well as homelessness. When it comes to the relationship between mental health and homelessness, Brown sees a correlation between the two, particularly as she’s seen Boise undergo an affordable housing crisis not unlike that of Reno’s.

“Think about even if you don't have a chronic mental health issue, if you undergo something where suddenly you're unemployed and you can't afford to pay your bills and you can't pay your house payment,” Brown said. “So the bank repossesses [your home] and you find yourself on the street, you're going to have some anxiety and maybe even some PTSD. So there would definitely be some depression issues to work through because, ‘What do you have left?’ So whether those issues were a catalyst for why they ended up in their situation or whether it ended up being a result of the situation, I would absolutely say there is a strong correlation between those populations and mental health.”

Developing Coping Mechanisms

However, McCurley and Brown see there are a lot of misconceptions about mental health disorders that need to be addressed.

“I would like people to know that we are capable, reliable, and we are not dangerous or do it for attention,” McCurley said. “I want people to know that it's only controllable to a point. Once you learn how to have healthy coping mechanisms, you can somewhat control the way that you're behaving. But the way that you feel is not something that you can control, especially when it comes to depression, anxiety, PTSD, all of those things. They can happen without permission in our brains.”

Both McCurley and Brown say they have reached the point where they have developed their own coping mechanisms when they experience an episode of their mental health disorder.

“I've been fortunate enough to have taken most of my power back and so I feel more stable now than I ever did before,” Brown said. “But that was after going through so many, just really dark periods of my life where I just felt like I didn't control anything. My coping mechanisms at this point are just centering myself and spending time with the people I love and who loved me.”

For McCurley, being able to verbalize her mental health disorders has enabled her to take control of her narrative. She equates her depression to that of a roller coaster, with good weeks and bad weeks. But during her bad weeks, McCurley places a special emphasis on self-care.

“On the bad weeks I am a little quieter, I stay at home, and I try not to overextend myself,” McCurley explained. “I make sure that I take a shower because that is one of the biggest things is personal hygiene is the first to go because you stop caring about stuff. So when I'm having bad weeks I make sure to keep up with showering and brushing my teeth.”

When it comes to people approaching someone enduring an episode of anxiety or depression, it’s important to empathize with the individual, as an episode of anxiety or depression can make it difficult for the individual to see past the moment.

“I would rather hear, ‘I'm so sorry this is what you're going through and that sucks,’ instead of ‘Oh, well it will be okay tomorrow,’” McCurley said. “Logically I know it'll be fine tomorrow but at that moment [it feels like] the walls are closing in.” 

Moving forward in the long-term, McCurley and Brown hope to expand the reach of their group. Their goals for the future include establishing a non-profit to educate and open lines of communication for people experiencing mental health disorders. 

But in the meantime, they’re just looking to get the conversation going one story at a time.

“If there's someone that you love who is struggling, you can find us and we can help you,” Brown said. “We have both had experiences where we've lost people close to us because they just felt like they couldn't [go on] anymore and that is the most heartbreaking and devastating thing. We want you to know that you are loved and that you are welcome here and that you are wanted. You're validated and it's okay to not be okay.”

Reporting by Scott King for Our Town Reno

Reno Ambassadors On the Frontlines During Coronavirus

Questions About What Ambassadors Do

Many Reno residents say they’re uncertain of what exactly downtown ambassadors do and how they treat those without shelter. The ambassadors are hired through a company called Streetplus, which contracts them to the private, non-profit Downtown Reno Partnership. The partnership is a business improvement district bounded “roughly by Interstate 80/9th Street to the north; Wells Avenue to the east; the Truckee River, California, and Moran Streets to the south; and Keystone Avenue to the west,” according to the City of Reno.

If you’ve ever wondered what an ambassador’s duties are, reporter Lucia Starbuck shadowed Ambassador Kristuffer Richmond for one day. What started out as an ordinary day, checking in on businesses in downtown Reno still open despite coronavirus, ended up in a mad scramble to help a man lying on the streets get urgent care.

Richmond has been an ambassador since the end of 2019 and like many other ambassadors was homeless himself.

From Prison to Becoming One of Our Ambassadors

Richmond, 46, was born in Northern California but has lived in Reno since 1985. In Sept. 2019, Richmond got out of prison after spending five years incarcerated for the fraudulent use of a debit card. He said he’s had dozens of convictions in his life. Since then, though. Richmond, who is now also pursuing a social work degree at TMCC, says he’s turned his life around.

"There's plenty of security guards in these casinos that have recognized me from my past and now they see me now. I've talked to quite a few of them and they're really accepting," Richmond said, "I used to go to sleep in the casino bathrooms a lot. I used to [do] whatever it took to survive.”

Richmond now checks in with casino staff as part of his duties. On our walk, he chatted mostly with corner store owners. I also saw the more mundane tasks; cleaning up trash like mini alcohol bottles, discarded clothes, empty cigarette packs, and filing graffiti removal requests to Reno Direct. 

Richmond stops to talk to a worker at Jashan Market. This corner store is located on N Virginia St. in downtown Reno next to Mcdonald’s has remained open. The ambassadors monitor about 120 blocks, engulfing just about all of downtown Reno. They are hired by the Downtown Reno Partnership, a business improvement district, through Streetplus, which manage ambassadors across the U.S.

Complications with Coronavirus

One call on Richmond’s walkie-talkie stung more than the others. A request was made for an ambassador to tell a houseless man lying down in front of the Little Nugget Diner to move. Richmond said this is the most difficult part of his job. The partial closure of the Record St. Shelter’s campus means houseless individuals are no longer allowed to hang out in the common outside areas during the day.

"Due to the Coronavirus, the part where people used to get to just sit there and kind of relax, they closed it down. One of my challenges with this job is telling people that I know don't have anywhere to go, that they have to like go somewhere. It's pretty hard," Richmond said.

The conversation between Richmond and the man lasted less than a minute. Richmond quickly told him that he had to leave. The man simply said, “Okay,” and then Richmond walked away. Business owners and managers are usually the ones who call to remove people from their property.

Richmond said he and a lot of the other ambassadors have been homeless themselves, so they can empathize. During our walk, for the most part I watched Richmond check in on people and make sure they were alive.

"I try to give them as many ideas for resources as possible. I try to tell them that if I can change, anybody can because to be completely honest, over 20 years, I have 40 convictions. I've squandered away my family's lives. My parents are both deceased now. It's never too late for somebody until it is. If you have a breath in your body, you can change," Richmond said.

Richmond said it’s a mixed bag. Some days people are happy to see ambassadors, he says, and other times, not so much. Here he checks in on two houseless individuals he knows by name. He congratulates them both on being almost a week sober.

A Roundabout Circuit for A Man In Urgent Need

After a seemingly normal day, Richmond and I started heading back to Record St. to part ways. We were in the shade of a long patio along the Truckee River when we saw a person lying on the ground. They were completely covered up by a stained, brown sleeping bag. The walk up to the person was slow. It was a horrifying feeling not knowing if this person was alive or not.

After calling to the person, a man who I’ll refer to as D stirred and woke up. D had a hospital bracelet on and said he has severe brain damage. He told us if he doesn’t receive care that he would take his life. 

"Anytime that somebody feels hopeless, I tend to understand them a little better than probably the average person because I know what hopelessness looks like and I know what it feels like. I know that it's really hard to see the other side when you're in that," Richmond said.

Richmond called two other ambassadors and the three spent over an hour assessing the best course of action for D. Richmond carried out what’s called a ‘Safe Walk,’ and linked arms with D, who could barely stand. He then walked him about a half mile to the Well Care Foundation Community Triage Center, which helps to stabilize people in crisis situations related to substance use.

Richmond was told that D couldn’t be helped unless he was detoxing from alcohol or drugs. Well Care Foundation Community Triage Center’s security guard then drove the three of us to West Hills Hospital. On the drive, I couldn’t stop thinking that if D was by himself, getting told no from Well Care Foundation Community Triage Center would’ve been the first and last barrier for him to get treatment. 

Despite limited resources, Richmond said he tries his best to help at least one person a day.

Trying to Help as Best He Can

Richmond didn’t have luck finding D a safe place to sleep and mental health care at West Hills Hospital either. D couldn’t be admitted until he was screened for Coronavirus. So we all climbed back in the white van and ended up at the Emergency Room at Renown Regional Medical Center. D was taken into a room which didn’t allow visitors. We were left without an answer of where D would end up sleeping that night.

"I would like to be able to go into West Hills or any one of these hospitals and say, 'This guy is sick. He needs help,’” Richmond said. “This guy, he has a hard time holding his urine, holding his feces, holding all his stuff. But what happens is, they end up staying on the streets and struggling. It's crazy to me. There has to be a way to put it all together and help him.”

Richmond said his goal in the meantime is to find D again, and give him a blanket if he’s still sleeping outside.

Reporting by Lucia Starbuck for Our Town Reno

Tristan and Brianna, Deciding to Stay Along the River

Falling on Hard Times in Reno

Brianna and Tristan are living in a tent along the Truckee River, where they’re trying to survive this crazy up and down winter and early spring with their dog Hachi.

Their at a glance biographies seem to indicate they shouldn’t be here. Brianna is 26 years old, from Reno and has a certified nursing assistant degree. Tristan is 29 years old, was a United States Marine and is originally from Maui, Hawaii. He moved to Reno about a year ago to take care of his mom, which is around the time he met Brianna. The couple became houseless after Tristan’s mom passed away.

“We weren't able to afford the rent on our own. We ended up losing the place and then just ended up down in the dirt,” Brianna said.

At that time, the two were working but lost their jobs shortly after. Tristan had a terrible fall along the river and said he wasn’t able to receive care because he doesn’t have insurance. 

“He fell on one of the rocks and had a seizure. I had to stay here and take care of him. We were both supposed to be on shift and they fired us because we didn't show up. But it was because we didn't have a phone. If somebody has a seizure, that you love, you can't leave them, there's no way,” Brianna said.

Since being houseless, Brianna and Tristan have been staying in different parks including Rancho San Rafael Regional Park and Dick Taylor Memorial Park. Currently, they are staying near Idlewild Park. They always make sure to hide as best they can, and have several spots, depending on the season and where cleanups and police sweeps are taking place.

“When we first found it, it was actually perfect because it was during the summertime, it was out of the way and no one could see us. Then, with the wintertime, everyone's been able to see our tent now. It's kind of scary right now,” Brianna said.

“There's the love there because we have a family, there's three of us and we love each other. You have to strive on, even if you're trudging, you have to keep soldiering on. If you don't, then maybe you're not worth it, in my opinion, you have to keep going. Otherwise, what's the point of life?” Tristan asked.

Walking Everywhere and Harrassed

The couple said they walk everywhere, which ends up being about six hours a day and 20 miles in total. They said it can be incredibly hard on their feet. They often carry backpacks to avoid their stuff getting thrown away or stolen.

“Normally, we have blankets and stuff and that usually helps us a lot. But people steal them. Especially in the middle of this kind of weather, it's really hard to live out here with no blankets. We're freezing. Even for my dog, his bowl of water freezes every night,” Tristan said of the low overnight temperatures which have lasted a long time this year.

The couple said when they return to the stuff that they didn’t carry, it is often times rummaged through or thrown in the river. While they’re at their tent, which is nearby a walking path, Tristan said joggers, walkers, runners, bikers and students from Reno High School harass them. 

“It's miserable to be out here, you know, we're good people. We don't deserve stuff like this. We're hard workers and society basically threw us away,” Tristan said.

The couple said people have gone as far throwing rocks and sticks at them. Tristan said people in Reno are incredibly mean to houseless individuals.

“People up here will call us names and they'll shrug us off if we're asking even for a dollar so we can get our meal for the day. It's pretty harsh. We've really noticed the hatred in this world after this experience,” Tristan said.

The couple said people have also treated them badly because they have a dog. Two-year-old Hachi, is a fluffy and friendly Akita Husky mix, and is named after Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009) directed by Lasse Hallström. Hachi was a stray before he came into the couple’s lives. 

“We've gotten a lot of comments like, 'You're homeless, you shouldn't have a dog, you can't take care of that dog,' We treat him better than what we do ourselves. He eats most of our food. But he's super well-mannered, he's really soft, he's well-groomed everyday, he's well fed,” Brianna said.

A Stray Dog Into Their Life and Dreams of Returning to Hawaii

Hachi wandered into the couple’s lives when he was a puppy. Tristan and Brianna were barbecuing at Idlewild Park when the skinny and collarless Hachi approached them. Tristan said he threw Hachi a steak and the three have been inseparable since. 

“He loves us very much and we love him so much that we feed him first. Every morning we take him on his walk and then we go do what we have to do for ourselves. You know, dog comes first,” Tristan said.

Brianna and Tristan said they’ve only stayed in an organized shelter for one night, at the now closed downtown Reno overflow, but they were forced to sleep in separate beds and said Hachi was sent to an animal shelter. They said they’d rather sleep together, even if it’s outside, whatever is going on. 

“We've stuck by, we haven't left each other. In this type of situation...you either stay or you leave. It shows you what you're really made of. I think it's kind of strengthened us. We fight and we bicker, we have our disputes here and there. But in the end, it makes us stronger,” Brianna said.

“We do love each other, but also we love our dog. We love the fact that we're still breathing and on top of that, we're best friends. You can't leave somebody like that, you know, that'd be terrible,” Tristan said. 

Brianna and Tristan like to play catch to relax. To make money, Tristan sells artwork and hot sauces in mason jars. The couple is trying to save enough money to go back to Tristan’s home in Hawaii and start a family.

Reporting by Lucia Starbuck for Our Town Reno

An Emptied Out Reno, a Coronavirus Photo Series

Downtown feels strangely quiet.  This area, usually filled with casino goers or residents from nearby apartment complexes, is suddenly empty with nothing but signs announcing shop closures on the windows lining the street. 

Tabu’s of Reno Barber Lounge is unlit and locked after the order to close all non-essential businesses. In a hope to keep business alive after the lockdown, the business owner leaves his phone number on the front door of his shop in hopes that he can continue talking with clients during the quarantine.

Royce, a bar and burger joint in the heart of downtown, was ordered to close by the state on March 17th. On a Friday evening like when this photo was taken, the patio is usually full of friends and couples eating and drinking together. Now, the bar and patio sit empty, the only sound coming from the wind whipping the Chicago Cubs flag that flies on the corner of the building.

Midtown Reno, full of locally owned businesses, has ground to a halt. The cars that drive down the street don’t stop at businesses as they normally would. Instead, the drivers are en-route to their homes, waiting for the COVID-19 crisis to be over, not knowing when it will end.

The University of Nevada, Reno, sits empty. All non-essential personnel and students have been sent away from the university and campus has been closed to the general public. The campus has also closed its in-person food bank for students with need for food, school supplies, and hygiene items, but the university has created an online request system where students can have items delivered to their location within three miles of campus.

The streets of downtown Reno are quiet. With all non-essential businesses ordered to close by Governor Steve Sisolak and recommendations by city leadership and the CDC, the usually packed downtown freeway exit finds itself empty even on a weekday during normal commuting hours.

The Eldorado, along with all other casinos in the downtown area, suspended all operations on March 17th in the wake of the COVID-19 outbreak. The Eldorado and its partnered casinos are one of the largest employers across all of Washoe County, leaving thousands unemployed for the duration of the crisis.

Where will this current crisis lead us to as a community? It’s a question many are wondering as they also await for the shutdown to be lifted, and try to avoid catching coronavirus themselves.

Reporting and Photography by Luke Keck for Our Town Reno

Allyson Lynch, Worried but Satisfied about Her Move to the Reno Events Center

Initial Fears of Getting Coronavirus

Alllyson Lynch said she had been staying at the women’s shelter on Record street, when she was told everyone needed to go to the Reno Events Center instead. She remembers this past Saturday as chaotic.

“So we were getting up in the morning and then you hear everybody, okay, pack all your stuff, then you just only pack your bedding, take a small bag with you. So it was just really like up in the air, kind of crazy… So if you have a lot of stuff you're not going to get in there. You might lose some stuff,” she said of the warnings only one bag would be allowed at the entrance to the new sleeping spot, while any additional possessions needed to stay at the shelter for now.

She said mixing all the men and women, and having a long, packed line on the first night, with all the yelling and shouting of rules, and ambulances repeatedly coming by, made her afraid of contracting coronavirus.

“I was scared to death because, you know, my idea was if we put a lot of people that are on the street in one place during the time that they're out and about, they could have contracted the virus and then you load them into one, you know, area that just kinda doesn't seem that safe to me,” she said.

She was relieved people were getting checked for their temperature before entering.

“I'm assuming a fever is a sign of the virus itself, so they wouldn't allow you to go into the center without, you know, having a decent temperature. But once you get in there, it's smooth. “

Many people living on the streets we have interviewed in recent days said they weren’t too informed about coronavirus, how you catch it, what to do if you feel sick, and why cities like Reno are shutting down businesses .

“It's a dead city except for the homeless population. We're all out and about,” Allysson said of Reno’s shutdown.

A Good Experience Once Inside

Once inside the Reno Events Center, at about eight p.m., Allyson said it’s been quiet, with people quickly going to sleep, men on one side, and women on another side.

”So you're tired and you just kind of go to sleep and there’s not a lot of snoring, surprisingly not,” she said.

The day area of the shelter is now closed to those sleeping at the Events Center, meaning their scramble for finding bathrooms, showers, and water to drink has complicated.

Allyson has bounced around in her life from her native Arizona to Sacramento and now Reno. She says she recently got a day labor job but still can’t afford rent, so needs to rely on Reno’s shelter services. Being homeless has been tough for her, she says, as she’s been robbed multiple times, losing everything including her ID. She’s also had problems with authority figures at the women’s shelter and at a detox center.

City Explains Partial Move

In an interview with Our Town Reno reporter Scott King, Public Information Officer Jon Humbert said Reno decided to make the move to the Reno Events Center to ensure more spacing between those sleeping at night. The COIT company which has a city cleanup contract concerning encampments was called in to move the mattresses.

Humbert said some people were still at the shelter. “The folks who are still remaining there are doing social distancing,” he said. “Those are folks who have [had] some medical issues in the past, they have therapy animals or if they're veterans, so that they didn't have too much disruption but can still have the social distancing.” It’s not clear where families and children are staying, as Allyson said she had not seen them at the Reno Events Center.

Pets aren’t accepted either, as it’s still generally the same rules as on Record street, and the same people being sheltered, just with more distancing now. Humbert confirmed temperatures were being checked, and that no one with a fever is allowed into the Reno Events Center, while people not already staying at the shelter are also turned away.

“We've just got to weather this storm as the community and kind of do what we can with the resources that we have,” he said, adding changes could well be made to this new process. “I think one of the challenges in the community is … making sure that people know this is not an expansion of services we offer. This is for existing clients. And as much as we want to give everyone a place to stay, every single evening, it's tough. And you know, we've gotta have our duty to the existing clients that, that we've promised services to and make sure that they're taken care of. So, I think that's one of those challenges when people come to the door, don't have a place and are not in the system, that they think that they're going to get something that they've been told by friends or other people that's available that we just simply don't have the resources for right now.”

Reporting, Photos and Video by Lucia Starbuck with additional interview by Scott King

Push for Safe Camps Persists in Reno Even with Coronavirus

A Zoom Meeting to Keep a Long Standing Goal Moving

As coronavirus has created more uncertainty but also new opportunities, activists and advocates for those without shelter are pushing ahead with their goal to establish safe campgrounds in the Reno area.

A petition for a safe camp spearheaded by the group RISE (The Reno Initiative for Shelter and Equality) recently topped 1,000 signatures.

A March 21st meeting initially planned at the Foundation for Recovery in Sparks instead took place via the Zoom video conferencing service.

Representatives from the Foundation for Recovery, QOL-Reno, the Eddy House, Regenesis Reno, One Truckee River, concerned citizens and an English professor voiced their concerns. 

“Everyone needs a safe place to re-stabilize and recover from the symptoms causing homelessness,” one participant said on the chat sidebar. “Sobriety and working a program of recovery including mental health treatment are the elements which are going to allow permanent change … in the lives of the unsheltered population. There needs to be services in addition to somewhere to sleep. I believe the community can come together to provide mental health, physical health, and substance use treatment.”

Hazmat crews recently moved mattresses to the Reno Events Center which is the new overnight shelter in Reno during the coronavirus, replacing the Record street campus and the overflow facilities to provide more spacing.

Designated Places Where You Would Be Protected and Not Evicted From

According to the petition, a safe camp is a “legally recognized land area for use by people experiencing homelessness.”

RISE wants local leaders in Reno, Sparks, and Washoe County to provide land where unsheltered residents can live without fear of criminalization, harassment, or eviction and where they could also benefit from the protection of our local law enforcement agencies and help of local services. Ideally, advocates say, there should be several locations throughout the area that are dedicated safe camps.

People would be able to live and sleep there, without fear of displacements. For some, city cleaning efforts should be done with camp residents and not against them. Some would also want the camps to be self-governing as much as possible. On these sites, there could also be bathrooms, trash cans and hand washing stations.

St. Vincent’s is passing out to-go boxes, creating long lines without much social distancing at lunch time. The Reno Initiative for Shelter and Equality (RISE) has been pressuring the City of Reno for houseless individuals to receive hotel vouchers so they can self-quarantine in separate rooms.

Disagreement on ‘Rules’ of Safe Camp

Participants in the Zoom meeting said they wanted to see different mental and physical health care provided, as well as substance use treatment at future safe camps. They also talked back and forth on what the rules of the sites should be, though there wasn’t a clear consensus. 

“I think it's about trusting that we are all trying to make things better for our community members who don't have stable housing,” one participant said. “The methods are debatable, but the consistency of our purpose is not. Separating signal from static is so important. It is also about having compassion--caring + wisdom--that is also a kind of trust for those we are working to help.”

Some pointed to what is now a membership based community, Dignity Village, as a possible model to learn from.

Learning from Dignity Village in Portland

Dignity Village started as a safe camp for houseless individuals in Portland, Oregon, in 2000. It is now a tiny home village on land owned by the city of Portland. It provides shelter and community to 60 people who pay $50 per month for utilities. Someone at the meeting suggested that Reno’s safe camp should look to Dignity Village’s five rules, listed below.

1. No violence to yourself or others.

2. No theft

3. No alcohol, illegal drugs, or drug paraphernalia on-site or within a 1-block radius

4. No constant disruptive behavior

5. Everyone must contribute to the operation and maintenance of the Village. Everyone must do a minimum of 10 hours “sweat” equity a week.

An official from the Eddy House said the youth who now sleep in their 24-hour facility are given rules and structure as well.

“For awareness, Eddy House currently asks their overnight clients to clean, eat and leave in the morning by 9am. They can stay if they work grave shifts and/or have an appointment with one of our MFTs (therapists). We then open a few hours later. This has to do with helping staff prepare and to make sure the clients don’t get complacent,” the official said.

Other questions were discussed as well. How large should the safe camp be? One idea that was brought up was that there should be multiple, 50 person camps across Reno.

Each camp could be differently catered, like a camp for people who are sober and other ones that are less strict so the camps can meet the needs for people who are in different stages of recovery. Officials from One Truckee River also wanted to know if a safe camp in Reno would decrease people living along the river. 

The most disputed rule was if the safe camps should let folks be there during the day or if it should follow what the shelter on Record St. does, and order most people to leave in the morning, only to be able to return at night.

There were no elected officials from the city of Reno or Washoe County taking part in the meeting, even though some have expressed interest in the idea.

RISE was scheduled to present a proposal for a safe camp initiative at the Community Homeless Advisory Board on April 6th but coronavirus now leaves that meeting uncertain, unless it is still held via video conferencing.

Reporting by Lucia Starbuck for Our Town Reno

The Green Girls: A Family from Las Vegas Gets a New Start in the Biggest Little City

From Vegas, Directly to the Downtown Family Shelter

On a cold February night, Jonaisha Green and her three daughters stepped off a bus in downtown Reno, after a 24 hour road trip from Las Vegas that included two transfers, but very little sleep.

Sleep would have to continue to wait however, as the journey was not quite over. Temperatures were well below freezing, and with the entirety of their possessions packed into a few suitcases, Jonaisha and her three girls started walking toward the Volunteers of America Family Shelter on Record Street. They had been given the address to the shelter by their social worker in Las Vegas. They were told the VOA would help them get on their feet while they looked for a permanent place to live.

Their welcome to the Biggest Little City however, was about as frigid as the Sierra climate. Upon arrival at the family shelter, the Green family was told there was zero vacancy, and that they may need to spend almost two months on a waitlist before they could be admitted into a room. Outside with her 14 month old in her arms and her 10 and 8 year olds standing by her side, Jonaisha tried to plead over the phone with the shelter administration upstairs. She tried to explain how her social worker had told her that she would be taken care of in Reno. She was told that housing and job opportunities were plentiful in Northern Nevada.

“I don’t know why Vegas would tell you to come out here. They misled you. We can’t help you.” These are the responses Jonaisha recalls hearing, when she first arrived at the downtown shelter, as part of her ordeal to find a better life for her three girls.

A Simple Car Problem Led to Housing Problems

The VOA informed her that Child Protective Services had been called and were on their way. For a single mother, especially one who was taken from her parents by CPS as a baby herself, the three letter abbreviation was catastrophe. “Hell gon’ freeze over, before you take my kids,” Jonaisha explained in a stern tone. 

It may seem difficult to initially understand the reasoning behind the advice Jonaisha received from her Las Vegas social worker. Why would someone tell her she would be better off leaving her hometown? Reno has seen a huge in the cost of housing recently, while it ranks as one of the most expensive rent markets in the state. According to the National Low Income Housing Coalition, Nevada would need roughly 75,000 homes to meet the needs of its extremely low income residents. In the 2018 Nevada Housing Profile, the state posted the largest housing shortage for extremely low income residents in the country. 

But there’s also the lure of a hot job market, which was motivation enough for Jonaisha to pack up and leave behind her friends and family in Las Vegas for a new start in the Biggest Little City.

Jonaisha was born and raised in Clark County. She became pregnant at 19 with her oldest daughter Nalayah, and spent her first few years of motherhood battling financial struggles, constantly under the threat of having her power turned off. Up until a few months ago, she had a decent job as a caretaker, and a two bedroom apartment for her and her daughters. She paid $565 a month and accepted support from her sister and the father of her girls. 

However, a simple car problem would eventually disassemble this relative structure and stability. Jonaisha made a mistake and forgot to change the oil in her car. She went on for a few months, worrying about more pressing day to day issues, until one day the car finally gave out on the freeway. Without a car, Jonaisha had no way to get to work. She quickly lost her job, and was unable to make the coming month’s rent. She and her girls moved into her sister’s place to avoid having an eviction notice on her record. Her daughters adored their aunt, and the family managed to get by under one crowded roof . But a family of four needed their own place to live, and an exhausted mom needed a new start. She was told she could find maybe find one in Reno.

The Green family was not separated on that first night in Reno. The CPS worker decided the three girls were not in any danger; They simply needed a place to sleep. They were put up in a Motel 6, where they fell asleep almost immediately. After over 24 hours of uncertainty and moments of panic, they were warm, they were safe, and most importantly, they were together. 

Nicole Altamirano, the Family Counseling Clinical Director at the Children’s Cabinet, specializes in marriage and family therapy, and provides these services for free to families and youths aged up to 24 years old.

Advice from the Children’s Cabinet and Early Struggles in Reno

Housing is one of the most essential basic needs to function as a human being. Without it, people resort to fight or flight responses that assist them in surviving the current moment.

“If you have a somewhat normal daily life, your emotional norms are different. When you’re living with the threat of homelessness, or you are homeless, you have a constant level of anxiety and stress. You react to things differently. Parents are not what they could be if they are dealing with these high stress situations. They need that basic need (food and shelter) before they can be effective parents,” said Nicole Altamirano, a marriage-family therapist at the Children’s Cabinet.

While living in that Motel 6, 10-year-old Nalayah and eight-year-old Nakyla were out of school for a couple of weeks as they accompanied their mother in her search for employment and housing. 

Jonaisha quickly found a housekeeping job at the Harrah’s Reno Hotel and Casino. The pay was $10 an hour, not nearly enough to support three daughters or afford a home to rent in Reno, but Jonaisha wasn’t picky. She knew she needed income fast. Somehow, she was moved up the list and was admitted to the VOA family shelter several weeks after her arrival.

Altamirano also stressed the importance of community and family assistance, the latter of which Jonaisha left in Las Vegas. Her life was hectic upon arrival, even after she started working. Her 14-month-old at the time Na’liah has a breathing condition, and her eldest daughter Nalayah got blisters on her arms from laundry detergent, requiring a trip to the emergency room.

A room at the family shelter is not an adequate substitute for a stable and consistent home, but it would have to do, as Jonaisha and her daughters found their way in a new town.

Difficulties of Holding Down a Job while in the Shelter with Your Kids

The VOA’s strict ‘no unsupervised children’ policy also made it difficult. Jonaisha had mandatory shifts at Harrah’s on the weekends, making it difficult and costly for her to find care for the girls at that time.

“I can’t lose my job. I’ve got so much depending on it. I can’t let my kids down. By any means, I got to keep this job for my kids,” she said at the time of our interview.

On one occasion, Jonaisha scraped together what little money she had for a motel room, where she could keep her girls while she was away at work. 

“I told them to not open the door for anyone. I’m at work the whole day just so nervous. I’m calling every hour just to check in.”

It was an experience she hopes to never have to repeat, but currently one of her only options to make it to work on weekends.

Nakyla (left, age 8) and Nalayah (right, age 10) pose for a picture after school. Nakyla can be found sporting flashy sunglasses and lip gloss, while Nalayah is usually seen with a basketball in her hands.

Hope isn’t a Cliche, it’s a Necessity 

It’s a natural instinct as a parent to protect children emotionally from harsh realities. When a family becomes homeless, the priority becomes survival. 

“I’ll be as honest with them as possible.” Jonaisha said. “I don’t try and be hard on them but I let em’ know. I tell them, ‘life is not a game. Do you see the things we’re going through in life? People will treat you any kind of way. As long as you can do something for them, you’ll be fine.’”

Focus and hope are major factors in emotionally surviving the trauma of homelessness, and overcoming challenges toward a better future. 

“Family time together outside of the shelter is important. Even if it’s going for a walk by the river, or playing a game at the library,” Altamirano said on tips for families being in a shelter. “There’s not a lot they can do, but there are a few little things they can do that make a big difference. They have to know that they are going to get through it,” she said.

Although Jonaisha has never met Altamirano, she unknowingly practices the therapist’s suggestions. She spends time listening to her daughters, and hearing how their days went.

“People here (at the shelter) tell me ‘well this is life’. I’m like, no it ain’t. There’s more. I don’t have to sit here with my head down. I can keep going.”

After our interview, we were told Jonaisha had found an apartment in Reno with government assistance. As Harrah’s is about to be shut down, though, the future of people working there is now uncertain.

Reporting by Jordan Gearey shared with Our Town Reno

Emily, Staying Outside Despite Coronavirus Fears

A Cat and Mouse Game

Emily says she was part of a group previously living along the railroad tracks whose encampment was uprooted, only to reconstitute close by. She said there was no room left in the women’s shelter when she she tried and feels the process for the overflow is too much of a hassle.

When we visited people in tents were concerned about sleeping logistics and possible police sweeps, not the pandemic sweeping the world.

“There's only 14 beds left in [the] overflow [shelter] and those are police beds, which means that every night somebody different is in there. So you're not guaranteed a bed. And when you are guaranteed a bed and when you do have a bed, they dangle it in front of your face. They're like, ‘Hey, if you don't do this, you're going to lose this.’ It's not cool. So I'd rather sleep outside me and my dog and, and deal with it like this.”

She says she doesn’t understand why they keep doing sweeps and forced displacements, rather than just doing cleanups and letting people camp where they are out of the way.

“This is my home, this is all I have, this is everything that I own here. It is not fair that we constantly have to move and then they make us move from this place to this place. So they didn't want us here first. So we move over here so they don't want us over here. So we moved back over here. It's just a cat and mouse game and it's ridiculous,” she said.

She says because of the affordable housing crisis even friends with jobs can’t afford shelter, even those working at Tesla.

Those living on the streets with their pets aren’t allowed to bring them into most shelters, so they prefer to stay on the streets, despite all the dangers, including the current pandemic.

Every Story is Unique

She says most people living on the streets are put into one giant category, but she says that’s not fair.

“They talk to us like we're pieces of shit like, yeah, okay, you are, you're not better than me,” she said of those who look down on those without stable shelter. “You live somewhere better than I do. Obviously, but that doesn't make you a better person. It's not fair. And they don't ever take it into consideration like, hey, we're people too. Like some of them, like I get it, they were assholes and they're not even down on their luck. They just choose to be homeless. Like there are those people and I get that and they make messes and they don't clean up after themselves. And I get that. But we're not all like that.”

She says, herself, she had to escape an abusive relationship, and bad friendships, but that many others just lump her into a general stereotype.

“They put us all in the same category,” she said. “Like somebody could have a drug charge for having a little roach on them (remains of a joint) and then somebody could have another drug charge or having 20 million pounds of meth but they put them in the same category. Those are two completely different things. Yeah, we're in the same category, but we're not the same people. And it's not fair. And it doesn't matter though, nobody's gonna listen, nobody ever listens. We're all the same,” she said.

Survival is not easy, but coronavirus is really the last of her preoccupations as she just continues in her attempt to survive, day by day, hour by hour, minute by minute. She recently said she had to trade a flashlight to get a stick of butter.

“You got to figure out how to get your tent. You got to figure out how to get food and figure out how to take care of your dog, water bottles, everything that you need or anything that you want. Figure out how to do it yourself and then you can tell me that it's easy if you can sleep out here without any money, not one penny in your pocket. How are you going to do it? Do you guys know?”

Reporting by Gracie Gordon with Photos by Lucia Starbuck for Our Town Reno

Robert, Concerned About Coronavirus, But Content With Just His Cat

Trying to Stay Out of Other People’s Way With Peanuts

“I got a lot of problems with my back from when I fell 35 feet and hit concrete,” Robert said. “I’ve also got asthma and a ventilator.”

Despite being homeless, Robert says he can go to Hopes or Record street to find help if he feels he’s in trouble.

Before he called Reno home, Robert lived in various places in California, Oregon, and Washington. 

“But I’ve been here maybe 40 years in Reno,” Robert said. “I've been here since 1979.”

Robert just celebrated his 60 birthday on January 31st and was content to just celebrate with his cat Peanuts. 

“I got a lot of love in my life,” Robert said. “I’ve had her for 14 years and she was a little handful, I always had to keep an eye on her because that's a bad ass cat.” 

He says he used to have to keep Peanuts on a leash, as she wasn’t afraid of other animals on the street and would even get into scuffles with dogs. But now Peanuts just stays with Robert at his camp, having recently become blind. 

Finding Help in Different Places

One organization that has recently helped Robert is the New Life Christian Center, where he says he just became a member in January. They helped Robert get a new ID.

“My pastor Angelo down there, he's a good pastor,” Robert said. “I go to the Sunday morning [services] and everything, they’re good people.”

Now that Robert has an ID, he plans on getting disability payments, finding a place to live and getting off the street. 

In the meantime, he proudly shows off a heart wrapped around a letter L made of red tinsel left over from Christmas. It's pinned up on the chain-link fence next to his camp. He says it serves as a daily reminder to stick to his mantra of “Love the Lord.”

“Wherever you lay your head is where you lay your head,” Robert said. “And God loves you, just like he loves me.” 

If he gets his own place, Robert says he plans to continue pretty much keeping to himself.

“My long-term goals are getting a place and just being a hermit,” Robert said. “I don't hang around people that much. I go to church where I hang around people but that’s about as many as I’ll get.” 

With all the recent upheaval and change right now, Robert had a simple message to share with the world.

“You should all have a nice time in your own life,” Robert said. “Don’t bother people or look down on people.”

Reporting by Scott King for Our Town Reno

Cruz Rodriguez, Staying Upbeat and Looking for Love on the Streets

Hoping for a Nicer Shelter and Finding Love on the Streets

Cruz Rodriguez became homeless in 2015 after she says she mismanaged money after her husband passed away.

But she says she was able to find love again. Rodriguez moved to Reno 15 years ago from Gilroy, California.

She says that Reno is beautiful. She has been staying at the Record St. shelter. She said that she has a comfortable bed and has made close friends there but that the shelter could be better.

“A bigger place, nicer helpers, sometimes they throw us out in the snow or in the rain,” she said. “I can handle it because I can get a raincoat but some people are barefoot and it’s really sad.”

Rodriguez said that she can handle most things thrown her way because she is strong.

Before Rodriguez moved to Reno she was a seamstress specializing in dresses. She said she retired but started again because she needed money. Rodriguez gets food at the shelter compound, which is where she also met her current boyfriend.

“I met him when I was in line for food. So we’re in line, and he’s standing there, and he just wanted to kiss me I just knew it. I waited for this man all my life,” Rodriguez said.

Rodriguez said one day they were just together and that’s how it started.

Reporting and Photography by Lucia Starbuck for Our Town Reno