From Start Ups in Boston to Wanting to Establish Co-Housing in Reno
Gordon Gossage says he was once in the start up realm which made him three million dollars, but that he has left that life to help people. His LinkedIn lists recent work experiences in Boston with companies such as Siren Solutions and Willibehappy.
“[I] discovered that there was more to life than money and came back and then wanted to combine my business skills with my spiritual pursuits,” he said.
Now based in Reno, he wants to help create conditions for better housing, art and places for people to uplift each other. He founded Regenesis Reno earlier this year as part of that mission.
One of the projects he is working on is with The Generator to turn land under the Wells Avenue bridge into a sculpture park, along with 200 units of housing, to be jointly called Regenesis Commons. The area is currently used as a sleeping place by dozens of people without shelter as it’s mostly hidden from public view. There are occasional police sweeps, but usually people come back to the area with their tents.
“One of the things that we're looking at is to have what's called a co-housing component,” Gossage said. “We are looking at tiny houses in some cases built from shipping containers. That makes things less expensive. The way co-housing works, it really needs to be distinguished from communal housing. With communal housing, everybody owns everything. With co-housing you own your own unit, with your own kitchen and bath, but then you'll co-own common buildings that can include a big, beautiful, commercial-style kitchen where you can have friends over or eat there together. For the real foodies and chefs, you can cook there. You can co-own workspaces.”
Gossage said that people who formerly lived on the streets, people working in the tech industry and people working minimum wage jobs can co-exist in this space, to assist and support one another.
According to the website, “Regenerative describes processes that restore, renew or revitalize their own sources of energy and materials. Regenerative design uses whole systems thinking to create resilient and equitable systems that integrate the needs of society with the integrity of nature.”
Helping People Stay Off the Streets
Gossage says his background in market research can help make Regenesis Reno successful. His plans are very detailed to help those on the streets who want to get off the streets.
He says he wants to create “permanent support housing,” which includes placing people into transitional homes for four to six months, then getting individuals into a place where they sign a 12-month lease that has a variety of resources on site, including for behavioral health and substance abuse addictions.
His own experience can help, he says.
“I first started doing drugs when I was 15 and I've been clean and sober for 32 years and it's hard to get off it and if you're living on the street, it's even harder,” Gossage said. “So with housing, first what you want to do is take folks who are living under the Wells Avenue bridge or tenting along the river and get them into some kind of housing. In the case of Regenesis Commons, they're going to be working next to people who were never homeless and working at Tesla but they now are in a community where people work and help each other.”
Gossage holds his necklace with the Burning Man camping ground on it, which is what attracted him to nearby Reno in the first place.
Other Projects from YIMBY to Safe Haven to Tree of Life
Regenesis Reno is also involved in Northern Nevada YIMBY movement, Yes In My Backyard, as a counter-protest to NIMBY, Not In My Backyard, which is rooted in opposition to having something that’s considered undesirable in one’s own neighborhood.
Gossage would also like to see more gifting taking place in Reno, which is the act of offering services for free and receiving joy from that, similar to what people do at Burning Man.
Other tabs on his website point to wanting to duplicate the Safe Haven model in Reno, which is the name of an organization first established in Chicago, to “serve over 5,000 people a year with dozens of related supportive housing and affordable housing facilities located throughout the Chicagoland area and several social enterprises including staffing, catering and landscaping.” The tag line on Chicago’s Safe Haven endeavor is “Aspire. Transform. Sustain.”
His website also says it wants to eventually move a 110-foot tall art piece called Tree of Life to Reno, which is scheduled to be showcased at Burning Man in 2020.