Improper Procedures?
As about 200 people were being moved from train tracks in downtown Reno last week, while shelter were full with waiting lists, Art Gillespie was there to warn them and try to help them.
“They have no place to go and no one's told them whether they can come back or not. The notification process is supposed to be written notice, within 24 hours of a cleanup. The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals has ruled that they have to be cited first for public camping and then given two weeks notice and then their stuff stored for 30 days…. none of which has been done,” he said referring to a 2018 ruling.
Art said this City of Reno notice was not distributed widely.
Advocating for a Safe Camping Space
“We need to find someplace these people can set up camp and be safe and not be on the street, not be between a railroad tracks someplace where they have some infrastructure, bathrooms, showers, someplace to just be off the street and safe,” Art said of a solution others have advocated for.
Previously, he had been coming to the railroad tracks to distribute gloves, hand warmers and different ideas to help, as he was helped before. “These are people, you know, the homeless, these people all have stories,” he said. “They need to be treated with the respect that you would treat any other human being.”
Some tried the best they could to get as much of their belongings with them as they were forced to move from a sleeping and living spot many have been in since November.
Too many restrictions with current shelter options?
”What's happening today is just a symptom,” Art said looking over as people were being displaced from their camping spots. “They need to find someplace. It's not just Reno. There are homeless camps nationwide. We need affordable housing available and resources to get people off the streets into affordable housing. A lot of these people, it’s just one missed car payment, one missed rent payment and you're out here with the rest of them. There are a lot of mentally ill people out here that are not medicated, that shouldn't be, that can't get their medication. They need to be offered resources. Most of them will take them if they're offered, but the strings that come with the offers usually are not worth it. “
Art talked about too many restrictions for many of the programs on offer locally. “Some of them won't go to the mission because they have animals or there are couples that are, who've been together for years and they want to separate them if they go inside,” he said.