An Arduous Bus Ride to Nevada
Alanna Farrar and her partner traveled by bus to Nevada to get married, but their plans turned south after getting left behind at multiple stops and then getting hit by a car upon arriving in Reno. Farrar is from Galena, Kansas, a city that borders Missouri.
“I have two boys. I lost my job, my house, my car. My kids had to go live with their dad,” she said of her difficult predicament. “So that's how I became homeless. We don't really want to go back there, but we would rather be somewhere else than here and hopefully warmer.”
Farrar and her boyfriend got to Reno in October by Greyhound bus. But it wasn’t an easy journey.
“Maybe because we're homeless,” Farrar said.
Farrar said at one stop which they thought would be a 30-minute break, the bus left after ten minutes, and their belongings were on board. She says they never got their stuff back. After getting another bus ticket and getting back on route to Reno, the two were kicked off the bus again on their way to the Biggest Little City.
“We had a couple of beers before our trip. Can't drink on the bus or trip but it's [nerve wracking] when you first get on there with all them people, just like some people don't like airplanes. So, we had a couple of beers with our lunch, go get on the bus and they kicked us off. We're not drinking on the bus. We had to sleep outside and get a bus ride the next day,” Farrar said.
"We decided to move away from my home, start our own new life,” Farrar said and picked Reno where her boyfriend used to live six years ago. But they found out it isn’t as affordable as they hoped. “The rent is a lot more expensive now than when he was here so we've not been able to get into a place.”
Marriage Plans Put on Hold
Farrar said the couple also wanted to get married in Reno but health issues have become the priority. After living in Reno for a little over a month, on November 12, Farrar says she was hit by an SUV on the intersection of 2nd street and Keystone.
This put Farrar in the hospital for over two weeks. She was even there during her birthday which was on November 18. She said her leg is broken and she had to receive facial surgery twice. She said she lost her glasses and phone after getting hit and is in the process of replacing those items. She’s using a wheelchair to get around, which makes the couple’s daily activities difficult.
The couple still intends on getting married but they don’t want to stay in Reno much longer. "I just don't like the big city, and especially now. My hometown has one stoplight,” Farrar said. Photo by Scott King