Homeless in a New State
Discovering himself has been the silver lining in what has otherwise been a challenging transition between cities for Chris who was homeless in Portland, and is now in the same predicament since moving to Reno.
“It sucks [being homeless in Reno],” he said. “I don’t know the town and it seems like they don’t have a whole lot of help for the homeless people down here like they do back home.”
Chris was homeless back in Oregon, as well, which is the state he calls home, despite now trying to survive in Nevada.
“[How homeless were treated in Oregon] depended on what part of the city you are in,” he said. “If you go to Eugene, they’re the number one small-city in the US for homeless people with over 5,000 people that are homeless [there]. I think you’re treated up there with more respect, courtesy, and are more likely to get help and not shut down like you are down here.”
The city of Reno, according to Chris, just doesn’t seem to know what they’re doing when it comes to helping the homeless population. He explained a recent experience he had when trying to get a phone. “They say ‘I don’t know, go try this place,’” Chris said. “Then you go there and they just give you the run-around.”
More Support Wanted and Dreams Deferred
Chris thinks the city of Reno could do more to support the homeless. Particularly, he would like to see the city support the shelter so it can serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner for everybody on the streets. With more support for the homeless population, Chris thinks the situation would be better for everybody.
Volunteer-run community meals were recently relocated away from the downtown shelter, and during the coronavirus outbreak, St. Vincent’s Catholic Charities instituted a lunch pickup system.
“[The city] should just have more resources,” Chris said. “People should be able to take showers. They should have more bus passes to get [the homeless] around and then you’ll have less problems and less people on the streets.”
Ultimately, however, Chris isn’t optimistic that the city will reach out to help them more. “You know how governments are,” Chris said. “They don’t care.”
Yet, when we met him, Chris was still hopeful, lured by what he saw as a growing economy, which is now experiencing one of its busts, due to coronavirus.
“I’m just trying to find a job, get a place, and get off the streets,” Chris said. “I’ll do any job, [but my background] is mostly cooking and baking. One of these days, I’ll even have my own restaurant.” With restaurants slowly reopening, and only now starting to rehire staff, sadly, it might be a long road now for Chris and others who are currently living on the streets in the Biggest Little City.