It’s a windy day near Wells Avenue at a main homeless encampment along the river. Austin Solheim, the Director of Outreach Engagement for the Eddy House, and his coworker Eric are checking in on a few youths and young adults the’ve been helping out.
“Our goal today is to go in and check on a few clients we have established relationships with,” said Solheim. He has built an outreach team of four people, including himself. In total there are 20 transitional youths he regularly looks for. In this particular area, he has established relationships with six clients. The Eddy House mission focuses on homeless and at-risk youth, ages 18 to 24 and works with them to develop life and job skills. What follows is a picture series by Our Town Reno photographer and reporter Richard Bednarski.
Matt has been homeless for about a year and has lived along the river for about six months. He says he lost his job working in a warehouse when the company was bought out by FedEx. Soon after that, he says he lost his residence. This was the second time he lost his job and housing. “Me and my husband are trying to get off the street ‘cause, well, let’s face it, this sucks,” explained Matt, a client of the Eddy House Outreach team. “Trying to find an affordable place is damn nigh impossible,” he said with frustration. The Eddy House Outreach team is helping him replace his identification at the moment. Matt wants the community to “give us a chance. There are a lot of us out here, like me and my husband who are trying to get off the streets. Trying their best, ‘cause it’s not easy.”
The Eddy House has been in their new location for about a year. They have 20 residents who live here as they get their lives on track for more independence. Their network of housing, built through partnering with other community organizations, is able to house about 80 youth in need in emergency situations. The two level building on Willow Street, just west of the Renown Regional Medical Center, has this clothing room where youth can find clothes to replace dirty and ragged ones. There is also a set of nicer business clothes available for interviews.
The first floor of the new location is a large common area surrounded by offices, bathrooms, and a small kitchen. On staff are three case workers to help individuals get identification documents and find stable work as well as housing. The Eddy House also has a marriage and family counselor on staff to help with any issues that might arise.
“We were able to go 24 hours,” explained Solheim of expanding to overnight capabilities since January last year. The bottom floor of the Eddy House features two large rooms where individuals can sleep. This room features the overflow and emergency sleeping area. Behind the glass windows are actual bunks, with storage, for the longer term residents in transition.
Located right next to the entrance is this job board where youth can come in and find available jobs. And if they do not have clothes for the interview, the clothing room downstairs has a section devoted to business and professional attire.
The outreach team is a group of four employees who go out about two or three times a week. Solheim wants to increase outreach to include two outings every day. Currently, they divide their time up to reach out to youth across the area, with some clients in Carson City. Once they meet with a client, the outreach team works towards getting them to the Eddy House where they can sleep, shower, eat and be in a safe location. Solheim hopes to expand the program to include all of northern Nevada and parts of northern California. He is also working to establish a transportation network to help clients get to the Eddy House.
Healthy nutrition is often neglected when people live without stable shelter. People will take handouts they receive and purchase the cheapest food available. The Eddy House has a volunteer supported meal program where the community can sign up and provide meals for around 40 people during the week. They never waste the food, making sure it all gets eaten through leftover nights and taking it over to other homeless in the area.
As snow recently melted, Solheim and Eric approached a tent to check in on a client. They learned from another person that the young woman they are looking for recently moved into a hotel. Solheim said homeless youth sometimes will pool resources and rent a room for a week to get out of the elements, shower, and create a sense of normalcy, if only for a week.
The outreach team has a vehicle that allows them to get further out into the community. This vehicle also allows them to get out to homes of youth who may be on the verge of homelessness.
As a woman works on her bike chain, Solheim learns about her story. He believes it is important to have a conversation with people to learn more about their individual circumstances. “Just be open to new ideas,” Solheim said. “Be open to what we learn and try something new. There’s not one solution for every person. There’s a billion solutions out there and one of those solutions is going to fit every person,” Solheim said, always remaining hopeful. He says the goal is to find individual solutions for each person rather than a standardized approach.
Solheim has been using the first few months of the Outreach program’s existence to build a map of clients, collect data, and establish a working plan for the summer. Currently, he and his team check in on clients about every two or three weeks. The primary goal is to find out what barriers are holding people back and how he can help them get into the Eddy House and on a path towards a job and stable housing. “We don’t want to be a cookie cutter program,” said Solheim.