Losing Stable Shelter
“No matter how bad it gets, you don't give up, you don't commit suicide, you don't get in your car and cry,” Duey told us today. “You take stock in it, you call a friend, you have a minute with yourself, you count to 10, you don't have a drink. There's a lot of things that Reno has taught me on this experience. To trust my own instincts and to trust what my mom and dad gave me: that is to love myself very much and put myself first, always. Then I can share that with others,” Duey said.
Today, the yearly Point-in-Time count occurred at the Record Street shelter at 4 am. At 7 am, the shelter was still bustling with people. Leanne Duey, 59, has lived in Reno since 2017 and says this is the fourth time she’s been houseless.
"Technically the campus here now is my home for a time, a short while. The Catholic services here have been so, so, so lovely and fabulous and I just like to give love wherever they're offering to help us," Duey said.
The Point in Time offers statistics on overall homeless populations, but methods employed are criticized by some for not being accurate. Example here: https://www.schoolhouseconnection.org/the-pitfalls-of-huds-point-in-time-count/
Becoming Houseless Again in December after a Terrible Day
On Dec. 8, Duey says she got evicted, lost her job and got in a huge fight with her husband all in one day. Later in that same day, she got in her Hyundai, named Olivia, and got in a car accident. She said she made a left turn and the steering wheel locked, which resulted in someone hitting her head on. She said her car is now in the junk yard. Since the accident, Duey has been houseless but she said it isn’t an unfamiliar feeling.
“I was raised dirt poor on a farm in Tacoma by my parents and they were older. You have to want it, you have to want to get out of here and if you want it, that's cool,” Duey said.
Duey said she loves Reno and hopes to live here a lot longer. She said she’s met a lot of amazing women in the shelter, but that some have extremely horrific stories.
“It's very dangerous. When you're out on the streets like this, you have to give a presence of confidence and you have to look people in the eye. You have to be kind, but you have to keep your back. You can't show any money here. You can't tell anybody what you have. If you're cool, then they're cool. The ones that aren't cool, you stay far away from them. I just pray a lot when I'm walking around. I believe that the Lord is always helping me since my accident and I believe that I'm here for a reason and I don't think the Lord is going to let anything happen to me. I was dropped into an unkind world and my personality is some kind of a funny light, I guess you would say. So that's what keeps me going and keeps me safe here,” Duey said.
In the past, Duey has done work such as guest service, food and beverage, bartending and banqueting. She says she used to be the banquet captain at the Grand Sierra Resort and Casino and she’s also worked at the Atlantis Casino Resort Spa, Peppermill Reno and Silver Legacy Resort Casino. She hopes to get back on her feet and return to this kind of work.
“You have to stay away from the bad things like drugs and alcohol and you just got to want it,” Duey said. Duey says she recently passed her one year anniversary of being sober. In the future she hopes to start her own business and meet television talk show host Dr. Phil.