Laundry to the People Fills a Local Gap in Volunteer Help

Helping those Living in Tents Wash their Clothes

While there have been a handful of groups stepping up and providing nutritious food and hygiene kits to the houseless community locally, less attention has been given to other necessities. Seeing this, Laundry to the People stepped in and began helping people living along the Truckee River get their laundry to the laundromat, cleaned, and dried.

“We basically go down to tent city in a big van,” said Ilya Arbatman, one of the founding members “get people who need their laundry done. They load up their laundry in the van, we meet them at the laundromat and we help them do their laundry.” 

A simple action can go a long way if it’s done consistently and with compassion. Run by three community members, Rosie Zuckerman, Alex Muñoz, and Arbatman, the group came together after Blaize Abuntori of the Reno Burrito Project put them in touch. For nine weeks now they have been helping the houseless community wash their clothes. 

Recently, Our Town Reno reporter Richard Bednarski met them at the Mr. Bubbles Launderland on Second Street and Wells Avenue, not too far from the encampment where people are being helped. The sun was shining and people were busy shuffling in and out of the laundromat as the large white van pulled in. Moments later, members of the houseless community walked up and began helping Arbatman and Muñoz unload the van, each person carrying a bag full of dirty laundry.

Ilya Arbatman filling up a cup with laundry detergent. He is from the Bay Area and has been in Reno for about six years. Outside of volunteering for the community, he works as a freelance electronics repairman. 

Help from the Community and the Laundromat Itself

While other groups, like Black Wall Street and Reno Soup for the Soul, continue to help by providing food, hygiene kits, and other needed items, Arbatman, Muñoz, and Zuckerman realized doing laundry to help was also needed.

“Laundry is expensive, and realizing that it was a service we could provide,” explained Zuckerman “if we could get funded that would, I think, help create less waste and also let people hang on to the clothes they like.” Every Friday at noon the group rolls into the encampment and collects laundry from about ten to twelve people. The laundromat, has been fully supportive of Laundry to the People since its inception. They have also recently received a financial donation from community member Jeremy Cole.

“Ideally this would be something where everyone would have access to laundry,” said Arbatman. Being a basic need, he understands that laundry is necessary but providing this resource for the houseless community comes with its challenges. They want to offer this service to anyone who needs it but due to various limitations can only help about a dozen people per week. “For us, one of the barriers is just how many people need it done,” he said. In addition, the laundromat is small and can only facilitate so much laundry. 

“The laundromat has been paying for the drying,” explained Arbatman and this has been a huge boost to how much laundry they can do. A typical week, it costs them about $60 to $80 for washing alone and Muñoz estimates the drying would be an additional $30 or more. Him and the others are grateful for the ladies at the laundromat, Carel, Jody, Alycia, and Andrea for covering the drying costs and being helpful each week.

A community member experiencing houselessness loads his laundry into a machine. 

Sweeps Jeopardizing the Project

“We sort of have to see what happens,” said Zuckerman. “There’s all this talk about sweeping and getting people living outside kettled into this more consolidated zone. So what that means for the people and what that means for their needs and what that means for the homeless population in Reno?”

With the onset of a new Nevada Cares Campus, local authorities have said in meetings that sweeps will ramp up.

The group is concerned that once the Governor’s Bowl shelter opens up next month, it may spur another host of other issues. Notably, the location is too far removed from the needed services of the houseless community. “We’re able to help people living down in tent city,” Zuckerman said “because it’s close to this laundromat, they can walk over here.” While she does not know what the next steps will look like for Laundry for the People, she wants to address these issues and be able to continue providing these services. 

Through conversations with the houseless, the group has learned about how they feel towards the recent and pending sweeps. “I think some people are bummed,” Zuckerman said about the homeless community’s reactions to the threatened sweeps. “I think some people are freaked out because they are really scared about what that’s going to mean for their well-being.” 

There is definitely some apprehension in tent city. “From our conversations here,” explained Muñoz “they feel like they are being gathered.” He explained there are serious concerns about what may happen after the new shelter space opens. Arbatman explained the cohesiveness formed within tent city is a way for them to cope with the struggles they face. Moving them via sweeps only disturbs this sense of place. 

“The problem with the sweeps,” Arbatman said is that a community is already established and “if you just show up, knock everybody’s tent down and force them to go to a new place, it’s kind of counterintuitive.” The process of community building has to begin anew and this simple rattling can have damaging and lasting effects on the community.

Arbatman would love to see people coming down to tent city and providing non-service related outreach as well. “Somebody to go down there and just talk to people,” he said. A genuine conversation with members of the houseless community can change their day for the better. In addition, Zuckerman identified the need for veterinary services. Many people living in tents have companion pets, which drastically improve mental health, and those pets need services as well.

Zuckerman and Muñoz are efficient and diligent about keeping accurate records and notes. Muñoz, who is from Barcelona, Spain, is studying Geography and working towards a Master’s degree at the University of Nevada, Reno. Zuckerman, who is originally from the Bay Area, works for an accountant for a logistics company.  

Being Kind Neighbors

Moving forward the three of them will continue to facilitate laundry services for the houseless community. “Homeless people living there,” said Muñoz “they’re our neighbors too.” He is concerned that the greater community of Reno does not see them as neighbors and knows that when everyone begins to understand that they are our neighbors, it will be easier to lend a hand. 

“I would agree with Alex, you know, you can just do something,” said Zuckerman “it doesn’t take very much to make a big difference.” While there are a lot of things beyond the community's control, she emphasized that a little help can go a long way with the houseless community, “when we can help them, that’s important.”

“The more we think about things in terms of things like investment and growth,” explained Arbatman “I feel like we just lose track of the fact that something isn’t working.” Instead of coming up with a big plan to address the issue of homelessness, Arbatman encouraged people to simply take action and start helping. He feels people can sometimes get bogged down in the weeds, stuck on trying to devise a plan.

“It starts with a very basic kind of compassion and willingness to just get off of the couch and go do something,” Arbatman said. “It can be small, once a week, once a month, whatever.” 

Reporting by Richard Bednarski for Our Town Reno

if you’d like to take part or donate, here’s the contact info: ilya.arbatman@gmail.com

As UNR Vineyard Ends Its Run, Concerns over Plot's Future

A Retirement and the Overuse of a Herbicide Seal A Wineyard’s Fate

Scientists at the Nevada Agricultural Experiment Station on Valley Road have studied the cultivation of wine grapes in the high desert for over 25 years.  According to its About page, the “Federal government established the state Agricultural Experiment Station network through the Hatch Act of 1887. Experiment stations were established to ensure that agricultural research geared to specific geographic regions would be conducted throughout the United States.”

But now that a co-founder and longtime manager of the vineyard, a professor in UNR’s Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Department of the College of Agriculture, Biotechnology and Natural Resources, Grant Cramer is retiring, the vineyard chapter is closing. The two acre plot of wine grapes is being removed for future projects. This decision also comes on the heels of the alleged overapplication of the wrong herbicide in recent years, Dicamba, which severely damaged the vineyard, and spread from one acre into another.

It has also led to questions, including from Our Town Reno, about whether new experiments will move toward organic growing instead, or whether the use of pesticides, herbicides, insecticides and other chemical products will persist. 

“The Ag station director [Chris Pritsos] decided to decommission the vineyard,” said Jill Moe, the interim director and education program coordinator for the Desert Farming Initiative, which is also part of the Station “and it’s going to be transitioned into a cover crop.” A cover crop is grown between other plantings to regenerate the soil and reduce erosion. 

There are concerns about the plot’s future now and whether an opportunity to turn to organic farming is being missed.

An Experiment with Many Phases

The vineyards were planted in several rows with three varieties per row with the idea being to learn about which varieties did well in the harsh northern Nevada climate. The vineyard was managed on and off over the past two decades by researchers, students, and volunteers.

“Volunteers did a lot of the work on it originally,” explained Moe. “It’s been through several phases.”

Recently that included the application of the wrong herbicide in the wrong amounts, according to Cramer. 

“I had verbally instructed [the field manager] on how to use RoundUp,” explained Cramer “and instead he used a different herbicide,” namely Dicamba which has been shown to spread to nearby fields. And, according to Cramer, this is what happened. 

In his interview with Our Town Reno, Cramer said the vineyard suffered almost immediately from the over-application in 2015. The following season, signs of poisoning were noticed in the northern acre, which was not treated with Dicamba. Because of this, he feels the vineyard is no longer in a state worth preserving. 

Moe explained the two acre vineyard was intended for research and that given current circumstances it is too challenging and demanding to continue growing grapes there for production. 

Alynn Delisle, a winemaker at Nevada Sunset Winery, holding up one of the limited bottles of wine made from the UNR grapes from the 2020 growing season, which was the last harvest from this vineyard.

What Comes Next for Wine in Northern Nevada and the UNR Plot?

“Really valuable research did occur from that vineyard,” Moe said. “Grant Cramer published research papers from the results of those trials and taught winemaking classes.” 

Cramer also started a YouTube video series as a way to preserve what he has learned and archive the lessons and knowledge the vineyard has yielded. 

“I think it added a lot,” explained Alynn Delisle, the co-owner of Nevada Sunset Winery “because it got people, especially in Reno, involved and it showed you can grow grapes in Nevada.” 

There are current restrictions, however, in addition to climate challenges. Nevada wineries are required by law to have a minimum of 25% Nevada-grown grapes in their wine after selling a thousand cases from their winery.

“This is what I would like to see happen: a state-of-the-art commercial demonstration vineyard,” said Moe of her hopes for the future, so the experiment can live on elsewhere. “Go with the varieties we know do well in this climate and really take it to the next step,” said Moe. 

“We have a real interest in serving our stakeholders,” explained Chris Pritsos, the Director of the UNR Experimental Agriculture Station.  “What we need is stakeholders to step up, like they do in all the other states, and help us do this work.” 

What also remains to be seen is what will replace the vineyards in the long run, and if it will be chemical-based planting, or if that opportunity has already been missed due to current work on the soil. 

Reporting by Richard Bednarski for Our Town Reno

Another Motel Goes Down, A Photo Timeline and Essay

Downtown Reno provides an overabundance of photographic opportunity. From the varied people and activities to the unique architecture of its motels and churches. But now we have one less motel and one more empty lot. 

The Town House Motor Lodge has suffered the same fate of at least nine other motels in recent years, including the Lido Inn, the Stardust Lodge, and the Mardi Gras Motor Lodge, among others, bought up by Jacobs Entertainment and then bulldozed leaving piles of fenced off dirt. This empty lot syndrome has displaced hundreds of people who relied on motels as their first or last resort from homelessness. 

This photo series highlights a sixpweek process of dismantling the Townhouse Motor Lodge. I began when I noticed the windows boarded up and continued until nearly all resemblance of the hotel was gone. Throughout each week, I would stop by and spend an hour walking around photographing the slow process of removing this motel.

This photographic process included interaction with the police, almost resulting in an arrest, an experience many street photographers can relate to.

Now that the Townhouse Motor Lodge has been bulldozed down, what is the fate is for other motels recently bought out by Jacobs Entertainment?

The destroyed motels all featured various architecture, adding to the uniqueness of the Biggest Little City, now destroyed.

Like a scar on the landscape these “gentrification war zones” only serve as a reminder to the growing houseless population in the community. 

Photos and Writing by Richard Bednarski shared with Our Town Reno

Downtown Ambassadors Force Houseless Individuals to Move

At approximately 9:20 a.m., on Sunday, March 21st, two Reno Ambassadors, in their trademark blue jackets, asked a group of a half a dozen houseless individuals to leave their spot where they were lounging under an archway near the Truckee River.

The two ambassadors stayed to supervise the move. When asked about why the group wasn’t permitted to stay, one ambassador made a phone call, sharing that the group was on private property. The ambassador then stated they clear this area nearly every Sunday.

They noted to me a nearby tent city, behind the Aces stadium, where houseless individuals are allowed to stay, for now at least. The other ambassador did not wear a mask while waiting for the group to clean up. 

According to the business improvement district’s Downtown Reno Partnership website, the four main tasks of the ambassadors are cleaning, safety, social outreach, and hospitality. The overall About page states one of the main missions of the “private-sector led and managed” nonprofit is to “enhance property values, sales, and occupancy.” It also says it aims to “stabilize downtown streets”, including “improving public safety, reducing homelessness, enhancing cleanliness, and advocating quality public spaces.”

The City of Reno has recently paid for artists to paint over electrical boxes. Behind the Reno is Rad slogan, Downtown Ambassadors wait for a group of houseless individuals to move.

While members of the moved group also declined to go on the record, three of them allowed me to walk with them as they carried their belongings to the Believe plaza.

Backpacks and shopping carts were used to carry sleeping bags, water jugs, empty cans, and miscellaneous packs of cigarettes. While I couldn’t live up to the request of a cigarette, I could play one of them a song from my phone. We listened to “U Know What’s Up” by Donell Jones featuring Left Eye as we waited to cross South Center Street. Three cars drove by without stopping to allow us to use the crosswalk.

By 9:55 a.m., all but one person had moved with their belongings over to the plaza. The relocated group went to socialize with other people.

As we parted ways after a near half-hour chat, the group bumped fists and elbows with me. After we said our goodbyes, a man with a speaker played “When Somebody Loves You Back” by Teddy Pendergrass. A few individuals danced around to the song. 

It was a nice, sunny morning, but where would the group sleep next I wondered, with temperatures still predicted to go below freezing throughout this week’s early hours.

Reporting by Rachel Jackson for Our Town Reno

Why I Take Black and White Street Photos in Reno

I learned photography though the traditional black and white analog process. This method has developed a lifelong pursuit of black and white photography in my work. From landscapes to street photography, I strive to capture the essence of a moment. When color is eliminated from an image, the brain must view and engage with the photograph for a longer time to make sense of the image.

When creating images, I have trained my eye to focus on light. I observe how it bounces off of windows and falls into a shadow; or how shadows move throughout the day; or how the quality of light changes with the seasons.

This awareness is similar to the knowledge of mixing two colors of paint for a specific color.

After all, photography is painting with light and to not be aware of light in its most basic and zonal sense, is to neglect the goal of photography.

Photos and Text by Richard Bednarski for Our Town Reno

Rain Fernandez, Spreading Fierce Compassion in Northern Nevada

A Journey to Help Others

Behind a relatively new social media account visible on Instagram called Support Washoe is Rain Cares, LLC. Behind the business is Rain Fernandez, a Philippines born and raised immigrant focused on making the greater Reno-Sparks area a better place for everyone. 

Her schooling has ranged from the Emilio Aguinaldo College in Manila, to Long Beach City College, to the University of Southern California and now UNLV as a remote student.

“Give people the benefit of the doubt,” said Fernandez “that’s all I can do,” she said of her approach to helping others in the community here in northern Nevada, through a myriad of ways, including multiple web endeavors including the SparksJoy.biz page to promote businesses in Sparks. Police sweeps have led her to take a closer look at housing first solutions, and pushing local governments at addressing the surging population of neighbors without housing. 

Her resume, goals, accomplishments and aspirations in whiteboard style.

Housing First and Keeping it Local

Fernandez has worked with the non-profit Mental Health America Los Angeles, an organization that prioritizes housing first for people, and then addressing their other needs. She said when people are not worrying about where to sleep at night, they can focus on other struggles, like dealing with addiction, mental health, and unemployment far easier than when contending with the added elements of being houseless. Fernandez fully supports local governments adopting a #housingfirst strategy focused on putting people before policy and red tape.

“I want to leave a legacy of kindness,” she said about her self-funded work. Working as a Senior Budget Analyst for Truckee Meadows Community College for six years, Fernandez says she realized her life was not going in a fulfilling direction. She began practicing mutual aid in the form of purchasing gift cards to local restaurants and giving them to people experiencing food insecurity. 

This is the idea behind one of her latest initiatives, Support Washoe, which builds support for locally-owned businesses through social media features. Fernandez wants to shine a light and raise awareness for these small businesses throughout the entire region. Like the Korean restaurant we met at, Fernandez visits food trucks, small retailers, and once it was a tire shop in Sun Valley and unabashedly promotes them on her social media channels. She does this every day hoping to “bring money back into the area.” 

Her work is selfless and amplifying. Beyond small businesses, Fernandez also highlights other community members and organizations working to improve the community, tackling issues such as houselessness, and food insecurity. “I like aiding, so I was going to do this anyway,” she said. “I want to focus on the positive.” 

A screengrab of a recent story Fernandez posted on the Support Washoe Instagram Account. She explained her tiny car can hold up to 25 pre-made food boxes. She considers herself a resource navigator and spends a lot of time picking up boxes of food and bringing them to people without vehicles. Often these people, she explained, with no ability to get to food bank distribution locations, would not be able to feed their kids.

Finding Strollers to Gift and Surviving COVID-19

One of her newest projects is collecting strollers that have served their purpose from mom’s groups, and giving them to people without housing to help with their belongings. This simple repurposing of strollers keeps them out of the landfill and extends their usable life. 

As an accountant, Fernandez has a keen eye for numbers and balancing budgets. She is also focused on information management and relies on this heavily to manage the many irons she has in the fire. After struggling with COVID-19 in December, she began to concentrate on what she calls, “fierce compassion”. Her underlying process is to give people the benefit of the doubt and help wherever and whenever and however she can.

After recovering from COVID-19 herself, she realized she was given a second chance. “I’m not going to waste any time,” she explained. This drive has led to the growth of Support Washoe, her self-funding Rain Cares, LLC. and directly supporting businesses. At the end of the day, Fernandez views her resource navigation as a way to help “when you can’t advocate for yourself.”

Reporting by Richard Bednarski for Our Town Reno

Reno Soup for the Soul "Keeps Going" and Pivots to Salads, Sandwiches and Much More

The Pandemic Leads to a Growing Initiative

Amidst a surge in the pandemic last fall, and feeling heartbreak for those facing increasingly tough times, Amie Duncan had an idea. Born and raised in Reno, she wanted to reach out and help neighbors without housing, while also bringing together the community. She began collecting homemade soups and packaging these soul meals in individual portions, and spent Sunday mornings passing them out with her family.

“We decided as a family to start putting soups together, putting them in warm containers, and delivering them to the homeless,” Duncan said in the parking lot of the Diamond’s Casino on a recent Sunday morning. She continued this every weekend through the winter. The community stepped up, came together, and with overwhelming support the organization has bloomed, grown and expanded. 

In addition to cultivating community support, two local restaurants, Sup and Grateful Gardens have both been donating nearly ten gallons of soup each month. And now it has surged beyond soup. Duncan now offers clothing, hygiene kits, reusable masks, water bottles, sandwiches, books, produce, cookies, and snacks. Reno Soup for the Soul has become a commissary for our neighbors in need. As a working mom, Duncan dedicates nearly all of her free time to Reno Soup for the Soul.  The Instagram for the initiative recently said it would keep going, while transitioning to more weather appropriate food after the end of March. To make the model work better, the group has also gone to a twice a month distribution.

“We couldn’t do it without the community,” Duncan said, feeling overwhelmed both at the need and the response of others now helping.  The following is a photo series by Our Town Reno reporter and photographer Richard Bednarski.

“Everytime we come out there,” she said “there’s more and more people and I don’t know if that’s going to be changing anytime soon.” Volunteers help her set up at several locations every other Sunday. This week she began at tent city, under the Wells Avenue overpass. 

Before heading out to pass out food and supplies, Duncan gathers her team of volunteers for a roundtable discussion and welcomes new volunteers. She is vigilant about being part of the bigger picture with the community and understands it is important to work with others that are doing the same thing - trying to find long-term solutions. “Not just short term fixes and making dents,” she explained, “but actual sustainable changes that can really help make a difference in the community.”

Each week, Duncan said there are at least twenty people helping run the show. About half of them are making soups, sandwiches, and baked goods and delivering them to her house. The others help her set up and pass out their offerings to the homeless twice a month. This past Sunday, volunteers passed out 180 servings of soup, over 400 sandwiches, 40 chicken wraps, over 100 muffins, 50 pairs of gloves, 40 pairs of socks, 26 beanies, 48 fleece blankets, 175 face masks, 24 reusable water bottles, and 80 hygiene kits. 

Duncan and the volunteers are efficient. Within minutes of pulling into an encampment, tables were set up with boxes of soups, sandwiches, fruit, and hygiene kits ready to go. As a line formed, a volunteer passed out bags and masks and talked with each individual person. By the end of the line, people left with necessities making their struggle a little more bearable. 

Though she had to switch from weekly to every other week to remain sustainable, Duncan is proud that she has been persistent. “We’re still doing this consistently,” she explained “we’re making a difference, I really credit Blaize [Abuntori, the founder] from the Reno Burrito Project for inspiring me to do so, even when it’s not perfect, we keep going.”

While the group set up in a second location on Record Street, Duncan was approached by a Reno Ambassador. He informed her that the owner of Record Street Brewing Company did not want them set up and serving the homeless food in front of the building. With no other suitable location nearby, this came as a shock to volunteers who see this form of gentrification potentially impacting their efforts. The owner did not respond to our requests for input.

Duncan has set up a gofundme account to raise money for supplies. In addition, she has created an Amazon wishlist. These online accounts help the community provide resources in a time when the pandemic has limited social interactions. People can purchase items and have them delivered directly to Duncan’s house. The money raised allows her to purchase items to fill in any cracks.

A man experiencing houselessness and sleeping at the downtown shelter waits patiently next to his bike as volunteers set up tables and food. 

With plenty of food left over after the second location, Duncan and the volunteers next went to the Volunteers of America homeless shelter on east Fourth street. Once set up they served another fifty plus people with food, blankets, hygiene kits, and books. 

Moving forward, Duncan is brainstorming how to transition to warm weather and move the organization forward. “Also talking to others in the community about what the needs are,” she said “trying to see what’s going on so we can fill the needs where it’s needed.” 

Duncan credits the volunteers as being the catalyst that keeps her going. Though they are essential to the operation, the work Duncan does is vital. Just watching her orchestrate the operation is telling. She remains in the background and it is clear this project is not about her or personal gain. It is all about helping those most in need.

Reporting by Richard Benarski for Our Town Reno

An EMT Dealing with Reno's Drug Abuse, Mental Health, COVID-19 and Downtown Ambassadors

For Michael Guymon, being an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) is a career filled with tragedy, bitter realizations, and beautiful moments of brotherhood.

Guymon has been an EMT for about three years and six months full time on the streets of Reno.

As an EMT, Guymon, a UNR graduate, says he has seen sides of Reno he wished did not exist. “It's (Reno) dirtier than I thought it was going to be. Drugs are a lot more rampant here than I first anticipated, and the amount of meth in Reno is pretty absurd.” Meth, he says, remains a serious issue in certain communities.

“So opiates are kind of a more expensive drug, same with like all your like hallucinogenics and cocaine,” Guymon said.  “Meth is massive. Super cheap meth is easily obtainable, and you're high lasts for way longer. Fortunately, I don't see too much overdose in terms of heroin and the homeless population. I have encountered meth with people who have hotel rooms or live in some very low-priority housing kind of thing. That's where you start to see meth use.”

Mental health is also an issue he believe has not received enough sustained attention. “A big issue is with drugs and with just the inability for us to actually take care of mental health patients on the street, and they don't get help there. So they just continue to try dosing themselves with random drugs or use like meth or something like that. They're very easily taken advantage of by other people on the street. It's really sad because there's very little that we can do for mental health. And there's very little the ER can do for mental health. We only have, like, I would say probably like four or five major mental health facilities and Reno. And if you don't have insurance, it's kinda difficult to get into those.” 

Dealing with downtown ambassadors he says is also a work in progress.

“We know they try to do their best, but there's like a false sense of urgency with a lot of the calls, and realistically, driving lights and sirens is super dangerous for us. It's where the majority of healthcare fatalities in the field have happened. It's just, it's dangerous, and it's dangerous to other people. I wish the ambassadors would be able to get like a little bit of medical knowledge because they can sort of figure these little things out and be like, ‘Hey, there's urgent care down the street. You should go walk over to that urgent care,’  instead of requesting an ambulance with lights and sirens or something, cause realistically, almost all the Ambassador calls I've been on required a lights and sirens response. It could have been something we could have driven to fairly slowly because the patient's not critical. Right. The matter of a five to ten-minute difference wouldn't have made any difference at all in the patients overall care.”

The pandemic, he says, has also brought a new form of stress to many EMTs, especially when trying to help lower income communities. “So we do decently well with like obviously the upper and middle classes because you know, that tends to be where more of the education is focused around. A lot of the people tend to be a little bit more agreeable about it. When we start getting into like the lower classes, it's not necessarily that they don't want to be compliant with COVID restrictions. It's that they have a hard time with it. I mean, masks there's no, as far as I know, readily distributed masks system where people can get masks.”

Shelters he feels haven’t respected guidelines. “I mean, we talked about social distancing. You go into like the shelters, and they try their best, but it's just a whole bunch of burlap sacks on like the floor. And you have like three feet between you and the next person sleeping next to you. And then you have  a hundred different people in one different room.” 

EMTs invariably will have a brutal call or lose a life, although they did everything they could. The environment created by the connection between Guymon and colleagues reminds him to keep fighting. “It's kind of like a brotherhood between the people and like really the best relief for some of the stuff that you see is talking to your fellow coworkers and stuff, because they've also seen it and they've been there, and you know, they offer you like little things that can help you out,” he said at the conclusion of our interview.

Reporting by Gracie Gordon for Our Town Reno

Kelly, a COVID-19 Economic Casualty along the Truckee River

The [police sweeps] they suck. I mean, we're cleaning up our medicine and we're trying to make it livable out here. I mean my tent is the big one over there and you know, I think it's ridiculous. I think it's ridiculous when the cops come out here and pull all of us out of here. We're not doing anything wrong, you know, we're trying to live just like they do, every day. We're trying to get back on our feet and it's hard.

I've got my sister's dog. She's homeless too, but she's in the hospital right now.

I haven't heard anything like that [about the new Nevada Cares campus]. Well, I've heard a little bit, but just a tiny, tiny bit. But why can't they just leave us alone until then? Why can't we just stay here until that becomes available for us? I mean, that would make it a lot easier just in the last two weeks, we've had 15 other people move over here [near Fisherman’s Park].

The Wells bridge area, they got a lot of fighting and burning people's stuff and that's why we came way out here because it's a lot safer, or you don't fight out here. You know, like the other day we caught a guy beating a girl in a car and we stopped him, pulled her out of the car and she took off, went that way and he went that way and he called the police, you know, and I don't know if they ever showed up for it.

I do like Our Place, [the new shelter for women], and the [voucher program], they do put people up in hotels. They put me up in a hotel for two weeks and then I lost my bed because I was taking care of somebody else's dog.

I mean, [with the sweeps] it's just, yeah, it's hard trying to move all of our stuff. I have two bikes, no trailer, you know, you usually use trailers to move and shopping carts.

Just don’t treat us not like we are infected with diseases or something, you know, that's what they do. I usually try to introduce myself with somebody walking down the trail. So I was like, yeah, I'm Kelly. You know, this is where I stay right now. It shouldn't be like this forever. You know, it’s not going to be like this forever, but we're just like, we're just like everybody else, you know, and I wish they would just kind of leave us alone for it until that, until that place gets done that way we could just stop worrying every day we go to bed, we think we're going to be woke up at five in the morning.

I've seen friends lose their tents and have to sleep on the ground with no blankets because the cops came over and threw their [stuff] all away. [Instead we need] port-a-potties and showers and a lifetime supply of toilet paper, places to wash our hands because of course I'm not putting my head in that river… I mean, everybody's gotta be clean. I mean, my ex, my ex-husband, I go to his house and shower, but all I can is do that every other week. You know, usually I just wash up in a bucket or something, but yeah, that's mainly, you know, what we would, I would, I would think they [should help us with].

As told to Richard Bednarski for Our Town Reno

Hands of Hope Food Bank Scrambles for a New Location

Resilience to Keep a Family’s Legacy of Providing for Others

The Hands of Hope food bank has been in the community for ten years and now faces an uncertain future, following a family’s upheaval and financial difficulties. The initiative though has already shown plenty of resilience, much like the people it helps. It began as Operation Feedback in 2010 by Paul Kadesky. In 2016 Frank Seve’s parents assumed ownership but just recently, due to what he says was his parents deportation to Samoa, he has taken on ownership. 

Seve, 29, explained they were “taken by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) after purchasing plane tickets,” when they tried to return to Samoa for a family emergency in November. As the situation unfolded, Seve and his parents, according to his account we couldn’t independently verify, were advised they could appeal the deportation. He says his parents chose to return but that this may have been a mistake as Seve and his parents have since been told by lawyers his parents will now be unable to return to the United States for at least ten years. The doors of Hands of Hope though have stayed open, until now, with a pressing need to find a new location.

“Tuesdays we open to our veterans,” said Seve, amongst the hum of refrigerators “and every Saturday to our community.” The food bank is currently located on 2360 Valley Road, just behind the Salvation Army thrift store, but Seve has been given notice he needs to leave in March.

With donations, Seve has put in place a innovative model that also brings in revenue. Anyone who needs food simply pays $10 and is then able to fill up a shopping cart of everything from frozen meats and meals to fresh produce, canned goods, and even hygiene products or kids books. 

“They will leave with about two hundred dollars worth of food,” explained Seve as volunteers worked to stock shelves with donated food items.

Seve puts a premium on healthy foods, but is now scrambling to find a new location.

Starting an Emergency Food Service

Seve moved to Reno fifteen years ago when he says his father began working in the Biggest Little City as a pastor. Wanting to do more for the community, Seve’s parents began a food bank out of their church.

“I’m more of a physical worker, doing the work,” explained Seve about the challenges of now operating the non profit. “I notice when I am doing the work, we’re not getting much [food].” He struggles in balancing the business and labor side of the organization. He has maintained a previously created network of grocery stores who all pitch in and donate food to the organization. This allows Seve to go around town to stores like WinCo, Sak’N Save, SaveMart, and Costco to collect ready made boxes of donated food. Then twice weekly he has a handful of volunteers helping him organize and sort all of the donations. 

His group of volunteers are all working to try to find a viable solution to keep the organization alive in a new location.

“The owner before volunteered here,” said Seve “and I guess the new owners now don’t want to deal with what’s going on.” He is looking at the big picture and has begun thinking about a backup plan. Though he does not have access to a location as large and organized as this new location he is keeping his eyes open for a solution. 

Seve says he has accumulated enough food that he is considering starting an emergency food service. In addition to the two days they are open, Seve wants to start putting together boxes of food that anyone from the community can come and grab without having to pay the ten dollars. He envisions this has the potential to help get people and families through an emergency situation where they might not be able to make ends meet.  

“Our doors are alway open, even if they feel like they don’t have the funds to come,” Seve said, wanting the community to know that he will find a way to get them food. “Don’t worry about anything just ‘cause you see a sign that says ten dollars,” he said. 

Seve never thought he would be running a non-profit food bank. He never thought he would get such satisfaction and fulfillment from working without getting paid, either. “If it wasn’t for my mom and dad,” Seve said “I probably would not have the heart that I do right now for the community.”

Our Town Reno Reporting and Photography by Richard Bednarski

New Cares Campus Faces Delays, Pre Launch Challenges and Data Confusion

The multipart Nevada Cares Campus is set to open mid April now, after overzealous excavation and winter storms slowed down its hoped for opening earlier in April, according to Reno’s acting assistant manager Arlo Stockham.

Getting the message out has also been a challenge as to what exactly is being planned for the new CARES money funded location at the site of the old Governor’s Bowl, behind I80 and East 7th Street.

Reno city councilwoman Neoma Jardon, who chaired the meeting, said a promotional video with data points done with SOSU. TV should be out by mid March, with a bigger media push happening in mid April.

One component of the campus will be a “sanctioned safe camp area,” which Jardon called a pilot program never tried before in northern Nevada, adding many constituents are currently writing her emails about homeless in the area. This camp will be accessible to those with pets, living in couples, and with more possessions than just a backpack, but how low the barrier will be to entry remains to be seen.

Washoe County Commission chair Bob Lucey pointed to businesses along 4th Street complaining of increased trespassing, and also general confusion as to when the campus would open, and to where it’s located.

The first presentation of the meeting was made by David Huete, with Haven for Hope out of San Antonio, Texas. That mission runs an innovative multi-layered campus approach, including a low barrier courtyard, which provides three meals a day, daytime resting options as well as overnight beds. The organization, which also has a “spiritual journey” facet, says 500 people move from their courtyard setup to what they call their “transformational campus” on a yearly basis on a path to permanent housing.

Huete stressed the importance of their ID recovery program. “You can’t restart your life,” unless you have some sort of ID, he said. Huete also noted what he called “heavy life skills training” was not popular, and that they’ve refocused more on classes on getting access to rapid rehousing and obtaining jobs, saying it was important “to engage with dignity,” and not to “baby” those being helped.

He also said it’s important not to give up on people you are trying to help, say if they don’t show up for a while, or if they don’t answer their phone. You have to “lean heavily” into housing money and recognize “the struggle,” he advised.

Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson called it a “cool campus,” but Huete emphasized its large downtown land area, covering over twenty acres in the heart of San Antonio, as a key to its success. Some houseless advocates in Reno fear the Governor’s Bowl is too removed from downtown areas and other existing services. They also fear the Volunteers of America run Record Street shelter will soon be shut down, as a way to keep funding the new campus going forward.

J.D. Klippenstein, who wears several hats in the local ring of trying to help the unhoused, from his role as executive director of the recently renamed Faith in Action Nevada (formerly ACTIONN), to also coordinating the Northern Nevada Continuum of Care, said COVID-19 has taught us helping those without stable shelter needs to be better integrated within overall emergency operations.

His presentation led to Sparks Mayor Lawson wondering why previous presentations had indicated there were over 300 beds available in the area to none currently available. No clear direct answer was ever really offered to that question, as the next presentation by Dana Searcy with Built for Zero, pointed to over 700 empty beds . The word beds in this instance is what’s available through vouchers or different shelters and organizations for those seeking to not sleep outside or in precarious situations.

Not clear to us is if members of the Continuum of Care or Built for Zero are getting local money for their presentations and applying for grant money. Built for Zero has been working to compile clearer data of what organizations are working “in the space” and what’s available now. The organization stresses low barrier, and having programs better fit actual needs, but also angered local houseless advocates by apparently supporting the recent sweep of several encampments.

Jardon praised “the data we’ve been longing for,” but also pointed to the square peg, round hole problem of available beds with different barriers for these not always reflecting the actual needs.

“We have the beds,” Searcy said. Notably absent from the conversation was any voice from someone actually unsheltered.

A protest letter seeking to replace police with social workers and mental health professionals for outreach in encampments was mentioned, and Jardon said it would be discussed during the April Zoom of what is a first Monday of the month meeting. It was mentioned members of the Washoe County’s Sheriff office and Reno and Sparks police departments will all be present for the next discussion.

Commissioner Hill also brought up discussing a possible Right to Rest Act for Nevada, which was also included in the protest letter. Simply stated, it would provide the unhoused the right to use public space without discrimination based on their housing status

Our Town Reno reporting on March 1, 2021

Michael Carson, Helping Build a Local Network for Social and Environmental Progress

From Facebook Lives to Community Events

On site of a recent sweep of a Sparks encampment, Michael Carson was up early, arriving before police, broadcasting on his live Facebook feed, and rallying other advocates to help those being uprooted. He’s also helped organize river cleanups through social media.

Carson wants to leave the earth a better place to future generations. He believes the environment, racial justice, poverty and houselessness are all issues on the same boat. He has challenged himself to try and help connect community members working towards improving all of these issues into a cohesive network and web of social change. 

“By weaving all of these organizations, I’m hoping to create a really strong foundation and legacy for the next generation to build off of,” he said in a recent conversation with Our Town Reno along the Truckee river. Carson has been gaining momentum in the community as a catalyst for change.

Carson was approached by Beverly and Autumn Harry, two local Indigenous activists working to protect the environment. They wanted to begin a community clean up along the Truckee River. “They liked what I was doing and wanted to incorporate that into a river cleanup project,” Carson said. He went out scouted for areas that had a lot of trash near the low water level. These areas were targeted first to clean up before the river starts rising from snowmelt and spring runoff.

“It started out with, hey let’s go connect with these communities and bring them some food,” explained Carson “to us building relationships with them.” This outreach happened over a few weeks and resulted with the people camping along the river in helping with the clean up.

To date there have been two cleanups with almost 150 volunteers and nearly 30 tons of garbage collected. Carson talked about how much of the trash in and around the river was a result of a previous encampment sweep conducted by the city of Sparks. “They gave them 30 minutes to pack up all their belongings then bulldozed whatever was left,” he explained “into large piles and left them.” 

From George Floyd to the Mutual Aid Network Movement

After George Floyd’s murder last year, Carson says he began a self-audit into his inherent and implicit biases. By identifying his power and privilege, he says he realized he can work to offset this imbalance. 

Mutual aid is defined as a voluntary and reciprocal trading of resources and services benefiting both parties involved. On his Facebook, Carson recently wrote: “Mutual Aid is the radical act of caring for each other while working to change the world.”

Carson looked toward three educators, Caress Fitch, Terra Anderson and Christina Cleveland for more on what mutual aid looks like. They all suggested he reach out to organizations who are helping people with less privilege and resources and offer his time, energy and abilities. 

“Finding organizations who are already on the frontlines working with the people who have less of that power, less of that privilege and less resources,” he explained “and showing up and saying ‘How can I help?’ while simultaneously using whatever platform I have to share with these organizations.” 

Carson also converted his garage and porch into a community food pantry. Over the past year, he has learned not just how his own implicitly was part of the problem, but how he could refocus his privilege and help our neighbors in need. He said his personal audit has resulted in “striving to uncenter myself and really put the focus on the organizations that are already doing this work.”

A recent post on Carson’s Facebook page.

“If they’re starving and they’re cold, they can’t even get out of their tent to go find that help.”

Carson sees the struggle unfolding here in Reno as more of a problem orbiting trauma. With rent and home prices reaching unaffordable levels, and income levels stagnant, more and more people are forced out onto the streets. This is a form of trauma, that can lead to drug use and mental health deterioration.

“It’s hard to say what exactly the problem is, but what I am faced with and what I see as a root [problem] more than anything is people not being able to get the resources they need to heal their trauma,” he said. Because food insecurity is also a major factor working against people without housing, Carson now focuses his efforts on helping people stay nourished and stay warm.

Carson echoed many community members in that the police going into homeless camps and evicting them is not solving underlying factors. These evictions often happen early in the morning, when temperatures are below freezing and with little involvement from community advocates and volunteers. “If they are worried about it being clean, there are volunteers in the community that are willing to show up and help clean,” he said.

“Sweeping the camps and having people leave behind truckloads of belongings and then relocate to a camp that they think is more safe,” explained Carson “seems to be really problematic.” Carson has followed up with people who were recently forced out of Gateway park and learned that they were not eligible for what little space was available in the shelters nor wanted to relocate to another camp under the Wells Avenue overpass. He said people who are working on sobriety fear that camp would threaten their efforts at getting sober. 

Carson believes the people farthest away from the problem are not addressing the issue, “the city, the police are showing up at these camps saying ‘hey we have a solution, pack up your stuff and leave,’ and that’s not working.”

What needs to be happening, Carson explained, is a collective decision making process with the people in these camps. Through this active involvement of people experiencing houselessness, community advocates, and the city, Carson feels a clear solution will arise.

“Radical transparency from the city and the police will help us as a community find solutions a lot quicker,” he said. “What I want everyone to do is to examine their power, their privilege, and their resources, and then find people who have less then them and go help those people.”

Reporting by Richard Bednarski for Our Town Reno

Jeremy, Looking to Regain Health and Energy to Move After Third Heart Attack

Since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold of the United States almost one year ago, Jeremy and his wife have periodically been without shelter. This is their second time camping by the river and it's an experience that Jeremy says is difficult, particularly due to the health complications he’s been suffering lately.

“At the beginning of this year, we were out here and then all summer long we were indoors and we came back out here again because money ran out,” Jeremy said. “We've been out here about two months, at least this time around, and I had my third heart attack three weeks ago, so it's rough. But other than that, I'm all right.”

Jeremy speaks positively about his experience with the healthcare system, particularly considering how much he’s needed them recently.

“Right now, I'm really pleasantly pleased with the healthcare system,” Jeremy said. “I've never had these kinds of benefits, being on Medicaid. They're taking great care of me right now as far as that goes. My [prescriptions] are pretty expensive, but they want me to get better. They don't want me to die and I don't want to die, either. Not right now, not too soon.”

Due to his health-related challenges, he has been unable to work. So earlier this year his wife was still working to get them by, but that all changed when COVID-19 shut down the country.

“My wife was working, she was doing everything she could to keep us afloat and everything started going downhill as soon as a COVID hit,” Jeremy said.

Despite the seriousness of the pandemic and how it could affect Jeremy’s already declining health, he recognizes that there’s only so much he can do to protect himself while cases continue to surge in Washoe County.

“Now [COVID] is really rolling in and getting us and if [COVID] gets us, it gets us,” Jeremy said. “But I'm hoping we don't get it. I'm hoping the majority of us are smart enough that even if we're [living] out here, we can make it through.”

Although Jeremy wore a mask when he spoke with Our Town Reno, he admits he’s not as cautious as he should be. “I'm not changing much of anything but if I get [COVID] I'm going to die for sure,” Jeremy said. “I'm already a recovering drug addict as it is and I can admit that. I smoke a lot of pot and have done a lot of speed in my time and that's one of the biggest contributors to my [declining] health.” 

His biggest disappointment as it relates to COVID, however, is how it’s changed how people interact with each other. “So many people have changed [because of COVID],” Jeremy said. “I mean, you guys are about some of the friendliest people that I've talked to in awhile that just came up to me and wanted to talk to me. You try to talk to anybody else and they think you're the plague. All of a sudden we have a pandemic on our hands and everybody's just staying away from you because you're a bug.”

Aside from COVID, Jeremy is concerned about what happens in camps along the river, including the worst that can happen.

“This place is scary as f***, dude, it's all bad down here,” Jeremy said. “At the beginning of last year, my buddy Mike actually got shot and killed right up here. He was sitting on the toilet and a dude put five rounds in his chest over something stupid.”

Jeremy wasn’t along the river when his friend was killed, as that same night he and his wife were in the process of moving their camp from their spot on the river over to Fisherman’s Park. 

“The night we moved away from here is when Mike got shot and it was very, very real,” Jeremy said. “You could hear the gunshots clear as day. I was only gone 15 minutes, I took one load down to Fisherman's Park and came back and everybody over here was all crying and I'm like, ‘What the hell is going on?’”

Jeremy was told that his friend Mike had been killed, and he and his wife went on to move three times over the next couple of months. But now that they’re back to camping by the river, that reality has stayed with Jeremy. 

“Every night we hear fights over here, every day,” Jeremy said. “There ain't nobody running nothing around here but their mouths. The first day we were out here we were seeing people sword-fighting with machetes, really it’s stupid.” 

Although this is his second bout with homelessness, Jeremy says his wife has handled the transition better than he has. 

“My wife, she ain't never seen none of [this], never in her life has she been homeless,” Jeremy said. “This has been her first time and she's taken it better than I am, really. I mean, she's got her head on a lot clearer than I do in a lot of instances. She's my rock.”

Some of the most difficult things he’s seen since being homeless, Jeremy says, are the fires that occasionally break out. 

“I've seen some crazy shit down here, you’ll see ten fires down here, dude,” Jeremy said. “You never think a tent would go up [in flames] but when they go up, it’s pretty bad and it's the scariest shit. I mean, you're just not going to get out.”

Consequently, between his heart problems and the challenges of day-to-day life without shelter, Jeremy and his wife plan to move to Phoenix as soon as they’re financially able to. 

“I'm trying to get out of here and I'm trying to go to Phoenix when I can, because that's where the rest of my family is and it might be better for my health,” Jeremy said. “I’m 45 and I shouldn't be having these issues at 45. I’m a grandfather to twelve grandkids and I don't look like I should be a grandfather, it kind of sucks. I'm no kind of role model with my grandkids.”

When asked how soon he plans to move, Jeremy said it’s difficult to make plans beyond the day-to-day when you’re without shelter like him. 

“I'm on the day-to-day plan,” Jeremy said. “I'm not even on the one-year, five-year or 10-year plan at this point. All we're worried about right now is if we can get the money and get out of here. As soon as the timing is right, we're out.”

Despite everything that this year has thrown Jeremy’s way, he hopes that everyone can pull through this year, together.

“Don't give up, keep trying and you’ll eventually get out of that hole,” Jeremy said. “I'm going to get me and my girl out of this hole one way or another. That's all I can do and she's been the one doing it all, really. I got to give her the credit, not me. She's been my rock. But don't give up is all that I can say. This is all a part of life and we’re all in this thing together dude, that’s all it is.”

Reporting by Scott King for Our Town Reno

Mel and Matt, About to be "Swept" in Sparks, Nevada

As the winter wears on and the cold remains, Matt, who has been living in a tent along the river at Gateway Park right by Greg Street has to move again. He has camped here for a few months and is no stranger to police sweeps, having experienced them in the past, he says. Due to rising living costs, he simply could not afford the cost of living anymore and has been homeless for a couple of years. 

“We used to be able to afford a place, but it’s doubled in a few years,” he explained as a Sparks Police truck drove by on the river path this morning. Him and Mel, his partner, were sitting on a park bench trying to think of their next move. Matt is not sure where they will end up but he wants to start the process ahead of the sweep now being talked about for tomorrow. 

Matt is also frustrated at the posted signs and presence of the police. The sign posted on February 15th reads that all property will be considered abandoned as of 8 o’clock tomorrow morning.

“A couple months ago they said they were going to try and help us out,” Matt said as he placed tobacco into a rolling paper. He said there has been some help in the form of Nevada Health assisting people in the area with health insurance. But he said it has not been enough to help in any long term manner.

Posted on Monday the 15th, a new sign from the City of Sparks gave residents of Gateway Park 48 hours to clear out their belongings and move somewhere else.

On scene helping the folks get organized and ready to move was Kurt, who said he was with the Karma Box Project. “There are about 15 to 20 tents and about thirty people,” he explained, “and we have until tomorrow to move these people out of here.” However, he explained there were some issues. He does not like to see the unhoused get pushed around nor have their stuff be taken. 

“Wells Street is being used as kind of a staging area,” he said referring to under the overpass along the river. He said officials are directing people first to a shelter then to the Wells Avenue overpass where they will not be harassed. He thinks the new Nevada Cares super shelter at the old Governor’s Bowl location should be ready within a few weeks, but it seems lots of work remains to get that operational.

Kurt said he believes these police actions are an opportunity for people experiencing homelessness to reconnect with family and receive goods they might not have otherwise received living in camps. Advocates for the unhoused say it can be counter-productive to uproot tent communities, only setting them back in their hopes of regaining stable, legal shelter.

“I’ve had too much stuff happen to her,” said Matt of his girlfriend, Mel, who is disabled. He chooses to avoid the shelter because he says the ones he has access to don’t allow couples and it would separate him from Mel. They have been together for over 15 years and when they were apart, things didn't go well for Mel. “I’ve gotta be around her,” he explained as he rolled his cigarette. 

He cites safety issues during previous shelter experiences, but welcomes ideas for a possible legal safe camp, at Governor’s Bowl, or elsewhere.

The Gateway Park camp on the day before it might be swept and possessions taken out.

While talking with them, there were several Reno Police and Sparks Police present putting Matt on edge. He was uncomfortable and not sure why they were there but said he plans to get as much of their belongings together and be out by the morning. 

“Some of us are here because it’s just unfortunate,” he said “we just ended up where we couldn’t afford the rent.”

He wants the community to know it is not easy living in a tent and not all of them are bad people.

Reporting and Photography by Richard Bednarski

Eddy House Outreach Team Meets Local At-Risk Youth Where They Are, a Photo Series

It’s a windy day near Wells Avenue at a main homeless encampment along the river. Austin Solheim, the Director of Outreach Engagement for the Eddy House, and his coworker Eric are checking in on a few youths and young adults the’ve been helping out.

“Our goal today is to go in and check on a few clients we have established relationships with,” said Solheim. He has built an outreach team of four people, including himself. In total there are 20 transitional youths he regularly looks for. In this particular area, he has established relationships with six clients. The Eddy House mission focuses on homeless and at-risk youth, ages 18 to 24 and works with them to develop life and job skills. What follows is a picture series by Our Town Reno photographer and reporter Richard Bednarski.

Matt has been homeless for about a year and has lived along the river for about six months. He says he lost his job working in a warehouse when the company was bought out by FedEx. Soon after that, he says he lost his residence. This was the second time he lost his job and housing. “Me and my husband are trying to get off the street ‘cause, well, let’s face it, this sucks,” explained Matt, a client of the Eddy House Outreach team. “Trying to find an affordable place is damn nigh impossible,” he said with frustration. The Eddy House Outreach team is helping him replace his identification at the moment. Matt wants the community to “give us a chance. There are a lot of us out here, like me and my husband who are trying to get off the streets. Trying their best, ‘cause it’s not easy.” 

The Eddy House has been in their new location for about a year. They have 20 residents who live here as they get their lives on track for more independence. Their network of housing, built through partnering with other community organizations, is able to house about 80 youth in need in emergency situations. The two level building on Willow Street, just west of the Renown Regional Medical Center, has this clothing room where youth can find clothes to replace dirty and ragged ones. There is also a set of nicer business clothes available for interviews. 

The first floor of the new location is a large common area surrounded by offices, bathrooms, and a small kitchen. On staff are three case workers to help individuals get identification documents and find stable work as well as housing. The Eddy House also has a marriage and family counselor on staff to help with any issues that might arise.

“We were able to go 24 hours,” explained Solheim of expanding to overnight capabilities since January last year. The bottom floor of the Eddy House features two large rooms where individuals can sleep. This room features the overflow and emergency sleeping area. Behind the glass windows are actual bunks, with storage, for the longer term residents in transition. 

Located right next to the entrance is this job board where youth can come in and find available jobs. And if they do not have clothes for the interview, the clothing room downstairs has a section devoted to business and professional attire. 

The outreach team is a group of four employees who go out about two or three times a week. Solheim wants to increase outreach to include two outings every day. Currently, they divide their time up to reach out to youth across the area, with some clients in Carson City. Once they meet with a client, the outreach team works towards getting them to the Eddy House where they can sleep, shower, eat and be in a safe location. Solheim hopes to expand the program to include all of northern Nevada and parts of northern California. He is also working to establish a transportation network to help clients get to the Eddy House.

Healthy nutrition is often neglected when people live without stable shelter. People will take handouts they receive and purchase the cheapest food available. The Eddy House has a volunteer supported meal program where the community can sign up and provide meals for around 40 people during the week. They never waste the food, making sure it all gets eaten through leftover nights and taking it over to other homeless in the area.

As snow recently melted, Solheim and Eric approached a tent to check in on a client. They learned from another person that the young woman they are looking for recently moved into a hotel. Solheim said homeless youth sometimes will pool resources and rent a room for a week to get out of the elements, shower, and create a sense of normalcy, if only for a week. 

The outreach team has a vehicle that allows them to get further out into the community. This vehicle also allows them to get out to homes of youth who may be on the verge of homelessness.

As a woman works on her bike chain, Solheim learns about her story. He believes it is important to have a conversation with people to learn more about their individual circumstances. “Just be open to new ideas,” Solheim said. “Be open to what we learn and try something new. There’s not one solution for every person. There’s a billion solutions out there and one of those solutions is going to fit every person,” Solheim said, always remaining hopeful. He says the goal is to find individual solutions for each person rather than a standardized approach. 

Solheim has been using the first few months of the Outreach program’s existence to build a map of clients, collect data, and establish a working plan for the summer. Currently, he and his team check in on clients about every two or three weeks. The primary goal is to find out what barriers are holding people back and how he can help them get into the Eddy House and on a path towards a job and stable housing. “We don’t want to be a cookie cutter program,” said Solheim.

Reporting and Photography by Richard Bednarski for Our Town Reno

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New Protest Movement for Unhoused Begins in Reno

Waiting for the Next Step after Motel Voucher Program Seemingly Gets New Lifeline

“Currently, we are hanging out to see what happens and gauge the next step,” Erika Minaberry, an advocate for the houseless and a member of RISE said of the new protest movement on Tuesday afternoon.

Red and black flyers shared on social media earlier called it an “Occupy City Plaza” movement, demanding an end to police sweeps and asking for the establishment of a “sanctioned, autonomous safe camp.” The flyer also said it was to “provide a protective barrier around more than 50 women who have been evicted from temporary housing in motels.”

The Washoe County funded program was set up a few months ago through reimbursements to RISE. It’s to help some of the women on the waiting list at the new shelter for women, Our Place. That campus between Glendale and 21st Street run by the non-profit is already full. Yesterday an anonymous source told Our Town Reno RISE had run into cash flow problems to keep the program going, and were funding it themselves in emergency at least for last night.

“RISE does not have the resources to pay for motel rooms up-front,” Bethany Drysdale, the Media and Communications Manager for Washoe County, emailed us this morning. “However, Washoe County is working directly with lodging providers in the region to ensure that no one is deprived of shelter. We mirror the federal commitment to keep people housed, and will utilize FEMA reimbursement for motel vouchers.” Our anonymous source confirmed this was the case.

Drysdale also pointed us to the January 21, 2021 White House memo entitled “Memorandum to Extend Federal Support to Governors’ Use of the National Guard to Respond to COVID-19 and to Increase Reimbursement and Other Assistance Provided to States.”

A sign in table was set up and new donations were sought out. Photo by Richard Bednarski for Our Town Reno.

A Community Steps Up amid Winter and Shelter Uncertainties

The new movement comes as RISE long an advocacy movement has now also moved into coordinating part of the region’s shelter services with Our Place. It also closely follows a donation drive which led others being extended motel vouchers during a recent string of snow storms. Ground has been broken on a new super shelter at the old Governor’s Bowl location to be called the Cares Campus, but even though a media day for that is being planned for next month, there seems to be a lot of work left to do there.

Plans include a possible area for safe camping. Many people we interview without shelter repeatedly complain local shelters are for the most part too high barrier, with too many rules, too early forced wake ups, and too many restrictions on couples, presence of pets and amount of possessions one can have.

Safe camps and safe parking spaces have long been advocated to decriminalize those without stable shelter when they feel unsafe in regular shelters, unwanted there, or when the shelters are full.

Reporting by Richard Bednarski for Our Town Reno

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UNR's Marczynski Student Emergency Fund Assists Growing Group of Students in Need

“I’ve never seen so many students in need”

“The last five years have been pretty intense when it comes to financial stress to students,” explained Sandra Rodriguez, the director at the Center for Student Engagement. Back in 2009, amidst one of the worst economic recessions, the Associated Students of the University of Nevada (ASUN) began noticing students dropping out of school and they wanted to find a solution. 

The president of the student body government created a fund to help students overcome periods of financial and/or emotional duress. Money was placed into a special account dedicated to assisting students who were struggling to make ends meet.

The former Associate Vice President of Student Life, Gerald Marczynski oversaw the fund, giving it its name. Along with his wife, Cynthia Marcyznski, the Director of the Counseling Center, the duo “were amazing about helping out students in need,” said Rodriguez. They helped students through trials of food insecurity, mental health troubles, and financial insecurity. Flash forward ten years and both Marczynskis retired in the summer of 2019. This was when the ASUN decided to make a greater effort to expand the fund and it formally became the Marczynski Student Emergency Fund.  

“As the cost of higher education goes up, I’ve never seen so many students in need,” Rodriguez said. She has over 30 years of experience working with students in higher education. She emphasized the needs are legitimate; things like housing, food, glasses, and prescriptions are all being requested. These are the tools helping students succeed in their academic endeavors. Since last year, the fund has grown immensely and she says has been a lifeline for many students in need. 

Results from the past three Civic Engagement Surveys at UNR show food insecurity by ethnicity; people of color are most affected over the past four years. Graphic shared by Center for Student Engagement with permission to use in this article.

A Quarter of Students Face Food Insecurity

“As of this last week, we’ve already had 90 applications for that account,” said Rodriguez, referring to the first week of the Spring semester. The pandemic has placed a seemingly boundless amount of stress on students. Every two years the university conducts a Civic Engagement Survey and last year, nearly 4000 students responded. The past three surveys, 2016, 2018, and 2020 have shown that nearly a quarter of students face food insecurity. 

Furthermore, students of color are more likely to be food insecure and face financial duress, compared to white students. As of the fall 2020 survey, 30% of students were uncertain that they could pay for tuition and fees for the current semester. Because of this the ASUN has also boosted both its Pack Provisions food pantry program and the Marczynski Student Emergency Fund. They have also begun targeting groups more likely to face financial and food insecurities. 

As the reach of the pandemic widens, the emergency fund is being put to the test. Rodriguez explained that any university student experiencing an emergency can apply for this fund. It begins with a quick survey found here. Once students fill out the short form they will be contacted within 24 to 48 hours for an expansive face-to-face, COVID safe interview by a member of the Dean of Students Office. 

“They work with the student to try and not only bridge the gap but then to connect them to resources that will help them get through the entire semester and get them back on track,” said Rodriguez. The assistant dean will look over the student’s work and seek to clearly understand the underlying problem for the student. 

There is a level of intense intervention that goes into play along with the funding. Counselors will look at all resources available to the student for ways to boost their success. Is there financial aid available? Are there campus jobs? 

“How successful is a student going to be if they can’t have the books they need to go to class,” questioned Rodrigeuz. The Dean of Students knows these emergencies can be the hair on the camel’s back for students. It becomes a choice of paying for tuition or eating. “That’s the value of the intrusive discussion between the Assistant Dean and the student in need,” said Rodriguez. Usually the need for financial assistance is immediate and because of this the turnaround time for receiving aid is oftentimes less than three days, rarely a full business week. In addition, during the application process, the Dean of Students will reach out to the involved parties to let them know of pending assistance.

Funding the Fund

The initial annual allotment of funds comes from the student government body and is around $43,000. As of December 2020, the ASUN was able to place another $57,000 in the fund. Money that would have gone towards various programming in a non-pandemic world, was redirected into relief funds, including the Marczynski Student Emergency Fund. Alumni Relations and Institutional Advancement also help run a fundraiser campaign every year to increase the fund’s value. 

“It is just amazing how generous the community has been,” said Rodriguez “in particular we’ve also had businesses who have found out about this campaign.” This campaign is currently underway and can be found here. At the time of our interview, the fundraiser had brought in almost $22,000. Rodriguez went on to explain that many donations have been between one and two thousand dollars. She explained there was no way ASUN could have kept up with the increased need the pandemic created. 

“You never know when we’re gonna find ourselves in need,” said Rodriguez. “I just really want the community to know of the existence of this fund and the fact that it’s named after two people who devoted 40 years in higher education to helping students in need, the fund exists, it is in place here to get the students through a rough patch.”

Reporting by Richard Bednarski for Our Town Reno

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A New Type of Toilet from Portland on the Truckee River

From Portland to Reno, Conceived to Withstand Abuse

The Reno Restroom project began with the idea to provide restrooms to anyone utilizing the Truckee River path, including people without stable shelter who often gather in areas along the water.

“There’s a lot of people, all involved,” said John Enloe, the project manager from Truckee Meadows Water Authority (TMWA), of the process of getting just one of these Portland conceived bathrooms operational.

Enloe explained Renown Regional Medical Center provided a lot of in-kind contributions as well as financial aid. Other funding organizations include the collaborative organization called One Truckee River, the Washoe County Health District, and the City of Reno. Enloe said there is a long term goal to install 18 more of these types of restrooms on the path between Lake Tahoe and Pyramid Lake, even though it could be a while before a second one is installed.  

The Portland Loo was initiated in that city over ten years ago. According to its own website, the Portland Loo “has proven to be a durable and inexpensive solution to keep your city clean and crime-free.”

It’s not without its detractors though. According to the Portland Loo Wikipedia age, one police officer called it "(former Portland city commissioner) Randy Leonard’s crack house right there" and "a favorite nighttime destination for drug dealers and prostitutes, who conduct their business behind its closed door." This is a similar refrain to what some people say happens in Reno’s motels.

Enloe said another organization, the Truckee River Fund, which has money from water service rate payers, provided One Truckee River, a grant of almost $125,000 to begin the project here. Each restroom will cost a couple hundred thousand dollars and be connected to the existing water and sewer systems here in the Truckee Meadows. “A bathroom on steroids, if you will.” said Enloe.  

The restroom is open to the public during mostly daytime hours and available year round via a key code that unlocks the door. Smoking and vaping are not allowed inside, and it reopens after ten minutes of use.

“Designed to discourage less than savory acts”

Designed to be nearly indestructible and graffiti proof, these “Portland Loos” are constructed from special coated-stainless steel which also makes them easy to clean with a hose. The open wall panels allow anyone to see how many occupants are inside, helping to reduce crime and loitering. However, the slats are below knee level and above shoulder height and angled in a way that provides privacy. 

The toilets operate with low voltage, in fact low enough to be powered by solar panels. “It’s not a place people can hang out in,” explained Enloe. “It’s designed to discourage less than savory acts.” The plumbing is all wrapped with a heating element to prevent freezing in the cold winter months. At night, a small light illuminates the outside but switches to an interior light when occupied. 

Enloe said those without stable shelter have become some of the main users of the restroom, even though on a recent cold day, no one showed up to use it over a twenty minute period. “We are getting a tremendous response,” he said. “The response from the community that’s using them has been very positive.”

The restroom includes hand sanitizer, a sharps disposal, and a baby changing station. The open air design helps keep the facility’s odors down and ensures easy cleaning.

Trying to Keep the River Cleaner

“I think everybody is optimistic,” said Enloe about the community’s response to the restroom. “I’ve been on that bike path and been wondering, when’s the next restroom.” Enloe hopes the addition of these public restrooms will ultimately keep the river cleaner and safer for the community, leading ultimately to more use from the public. Anything that goes in the river, TMWA has to take out, Enloe said. Everything from soda to human waste, TMWA has to treat and remove in order to keep the quality of the water drinkable, something nearly half a million people benefit from.  

“Right now there are two more in the work,” noted Enloe. “We’re just finalizing the locations.” Potential locations include one closer to downtown and one near the end of Reno and the beginning of Sparks. These two restrooms, which will further serve the homeless community could be up and running within the next year if all goes according to plans. Enloe though anticipates the ongoing pandemic could cause delays. However, he says the funding has been secured and the final stage of design and selecting location is underway. 

Located on the outside is an easy to use handwashing station ensuring proper sanitization. This also decreases the amount of time people spend inside.

A Needed Amenity

“We really just want to prove it out and see that they’re used and that they’re practical,” said Enloe. He hopes the community will treat them well while utilizing them because that means less human waste will go into the river. “I think it’s a needed amenity,” Enloe said, “I think it’s better for everybody and better for the community.”

Other communities recently taking on Portland Loos as well include Athens, Georgia, Sacramento and Astoria, Oregon.

The blue light inside the typical Portland Loo is supposed to make it difficult for intravenous drug users to find a vein for injection, but alleged vandalism, drug use and drug deals inside bathrooms were one reason Chico abandoned a project for 24-hour downtown bathrooms. Reno’s first free Portland Loo is open just 12 hours.

Our Town Reno Reporting by Richard Bednarski

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Donors, RISE, Mutual Aid Group and Washoe County Step up with Motel Vouchers

Mary Gilbert and Wendy Wiglesworth have set up a sign up table at Deer Park so people in need can get newly available vouchers to sleep at motels until at least the end of the month, amid raging snow storms and freezing nights.

A Pressing Need, and Help Arrives

“So yesterday we received, a really huge donation from a semi anonymous donor, right and his goal was to match up to $20,000 in donations that were made through Facebook. As of this morning, we exceeded over $21,000 just from Facebook donations, as well as $10,000 from the private donor, which is included in the $21,000. Math is not my strong suit. People are my strong suit,” explained Mary Gilbert, who is part of the Reno Initiative for Shelter and Equality group known as RISE.

The donor has been identified on the Reno / Sparks Mutual Aid group as Patrick Sean Carter. He lists himself on Facebook as a “Poker Donk Extraordinaire. Derivatives price strategist” with a picture of himself leading a dog sled. We tried to friend him for an interview but did not hear back from him immediately.

RISE also operates the recently established Our Place shelter, on the corner of 21st St. and Glendale Ave., which currently has 102 beds for women. More than 50 women on the wait list for Our Place have already been given vouchers to stay at motels until the end of the month with money provided through a Washoe County program.

“Yesterday, our team started getting a little bit scared and stressed and worried that people were going to die in these elements,” Gilbert said of all the thousands of other people in our area sleeping in tents, cars, and along railroad tracks, alleyways, the Truckee River, and other hidden spots. “[Then] we received a call from one of the members of our team who let us know that she spoke with someone who wanted to donate $20,000 to get people into motel rooms and keep them out of these really gnarly, scary, unsafe elements. So as of last night, we in a rush got eight hotel rooms and we housed 12 adults and eight dogs. And as of today, we're hoping to at least triple or quadruple that.”

RISE has set up a table with forms for anyone who wants to get enrolled in the new program. Volunteers can gather there to help as well or spread the word that the informal intake center is at Deer Park. Recent figures have pointed to over 7,000 people in northern Nevada without stable shelter. Many avoid shelters saying there are too many rules and requirements, and that staff are not friendly. The new Our Place shelter for women is totally full.

“Basically at this point they just need to come down, bring their stuff,” Gilbert said of those who want to get a voucher. “We're hoping that some of the volunteers will be able to assist them with rides. We'll be doing like a quick intake process to make sure that they will be safe there. We'll also be providing them with local resources that might benefit them a little bit more than a temporary stay in a motel.”

Forms are ready for people to fill out if they want to get a free no questions asked motel room today through tomorrow at Deer Park in Sparks between F and 18th Street. “They are good for anyone. We are trying to get everybody as safe as possible and out of these elements as soon as possible,” Gilbert said of the vouchers. No ID is needed, and pets are welcome into certain rooms.

A Moment and Hope for Lasting Change

An Econo Lodge and a few Motel 6s have agreed to accept the vouchers, as well as other locally owned motels.

“We are currently trying to find additional places that are willing to house folks,” Gilbert said. “So far, we have reached out to the casinos in downtown Reno and they are not willing to house our unsheltered neighbors on a large scale.”

Wendy Wiglesworth who lived on the river herself has been doing outreach along the river, since late last night, to let people know of the emergency motel opportunity. Gilbert is hopeful this will start a new trend of caring and generosity for the unhoused in Reno.

“Honestly my hope is that this is just the beginning, that this is the catalyst that causes the community to start putting more money towards these things. My hope is that this starts like a chain reaction of folks wanting to donate more and more so that eventually we can get to a point where we can purchase our own place and, and be able to house folks on a regular basis instead of it only being for emergencies.”

Gilbert hopes with new money on hand they will be able to get over 20 rooms for a month. “Our hope is that with creative solutions that we can house more than 22 folks, for a much longer amount of time, we're creative, we're resilient, just like our unsheltered neighbors. This doesn't stop after the cold goes away. Community mutual aid has been something that we've been seeing a lot more of since the pandemic started. Regardless of the person they deserve shelter, more food and safety, and it's not just a city problem. It's not just a County problem. The reality is that we can't do anything without our community. It’s important to meet people where they're at never tell people that they should or shouldn't do something. It's walking with our neighbors and yeah, making sure that they're safe and feel welcome and make sure that they can trust us.”

Our Town Reno Reporting by Richie Bednarski on January 28, 2021

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Aric Coward, Housed By a Friendly Neighbor after being Pepper Sprayed at Shelter

Paula McDonough Offers A Free Room and Assistance

“I'm just confused why our government does that to people that can't do for themselves anymore,” Aric Coward said as he reflected on his overall situation, hoping he could get more than the $800 disability Social Security check he receives monthly. A problem getting that money for a few months led to a tailspin of going to the shelter, and then being pepper sprayed in the face when he says he didn’t get out of bed fast enough, moving slowly after three strokes.

We caught up with him sitting in the downtown Reno book-lined apartment living room of Paula McDonough, who has graciously offered him a free room for a while after hearing what happened to him.

“I was on a mat, I got pepper sprayed, I couldn’t see anything,” Coward remembers.

He says since then no one from the shelter or city has reached out to him to see how he’s doing. Advocates for the unhoused paid him a hotel room then a motel room and then McDonough offered free lodging at her place at the Arlington Towers on Arlington Ave..

“Houselessness has been an issue I've been involved with for at least 40 to 45 years,” McDonough, a former auditor in the casino industry, who has volunteered at shelters, told us during our visit. “It's nothing new to me.”

McDonough has long done whatever she could do to help the local community without stable shelter. To her, it was the least that could be done. McDonough said Coward is more than welcome to stay until he turns 65 in October and will be eligible to receive more Social Security and Medicare. She is currently working with local organizations to find him affordable housing and helped him get on several waiting lists, including for the Washoe Mills apartments, which have low-income rental assistance programs. 

Coward’s favorite pastime, he says, is walking along the Truckee river path, which he can now see from his room.

Seeking Legal Recourse

“He did say that his vision seems to be a little off, since he got pepper sprayed,” said McDonough, sitting in front of an unfinished puzzle. Coward is unhappy about the whole incident and wants to seek legal retribution. However, he was recently told by Washoe Legal Services he would not have a case unless there were expenses accrued as a result of being pepper sprayed. They suggested he seek justice through a personal injury attorney.

McDonough says she is working with her optometrist to see if they can check Coward for any damage to his vision that may have occurred from the pepper spray attack.

“I’m hoping that everybody can survive the year with everything that’s going on,” he said hinting at a bit of optimism. “Things like this should not go on. The city should not have any kind of dealings with these people that, you know, allow things like this to happen,” Coward said. “My main concern is I don't want this to happen to anybody else.”

Before driving Freightliners, Coward says he worked as lead custodian for the Cal Neva Casino. He really enjoyed the work but after a while came to realize it was not for him. He drove trucks for some time until he could not work anymore. He says he suffered one of his three strokes while driving, fortunately not hurting anyone. With a now mostly useless left arm and poor mobility, he has since struggled, but is grateful for all the help he is now receiving from compassionate neighbors and advocates for the unhoused.

Reporting by Richard Bednarski for Our Town Reno in January 2021

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