The multipart Nevada Cares Campus is set to open mid April now, after overzealous excavation and winter storms slowed down its hoped for opening earlier in April, according to Reno’s acting assistant manager Arlo Stockham.
Getting the message out has also been a challenge as to what exactly is being planned for the new CARES money funded location at the site of the old Governor’s Bowl, behind I80 and East 7th Street.
Reno city councilwoman Neoma Jardon, who chaired the meeting, said a promotional video with data points done with SOSU. TV should be out by mid March, with a bigger media push happening in mid April.
One component of the campus will be a “sanctioned safe camp area,” which Jardon called a pilot program never tried before in northern Nevada, adding many constituents are currently writing her emails about homeless in the area. This camp will be accessible to those with pets, living in couples, and with more possessions than just a backpack, but how low the barrier will be to entry remains to be seen.
Washoe County Commission chair Bob Lucey pointed to businesses along 4th Street complaining of increased trespassing, and also general confusion as to when the campus would open, and to where it’s located.
The first presentation of the meeting was made by David Huete, with Haven for Hope out of San Antonio, Texas. That mission runs an innovative multi-layered campus approach, including a low barrier courtyard, which provides three meals a day, daytime resting options as well as overnight beds. The organization, which also has a “spiritual journey” facet, says 500 people move from their courtyard setup to what they call their “transformational campus” on a yearly basis on a path to permanent housing.
Huete stressed the importance of their ID recovery program. “You can’t restart your life,” unless you have some sort of ID, he said. Huete also noted what he called “heavy life skills training” was not popular, and that they’ve refocused more on classes on getting access to rapid rehousing and obtaining jobs, saying it was important “to engage with dignity,” and not to “baby” those being helped.
He also said it’s important not to give up on people you are trying to help, say if they don’t show up for a while, or if they don’t answer their phone. You have to “lean heavily” into housing money and recognize “the struggle,” he advised.
Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson called it a “cool campus,” but Huete emphasized its large downtown land area, covering over twenty acres in the heart of San Antonio, as a key to its success. Some houseless advocates in Reno fear the Governor’s Bowl is too removed from downtown areas and other existing services. They also fear the Volunteers of America run Record Street shelter will soon be shut down, as a way to keep funding the new campus going forward.
J.D. Klippenstein, who wears several hats in the local ring of trying to help the unhoused, from his role as executive director of the recently renamed Faith in Action Nevada (formerly ACTIONN), to also coordinating the Northern Nevada Continuum of Care, said COVID-19 has taught us helping those without stable shelter needs to be better integrated within overall emergency operations.
His presentation led to Sparks Mayor Lawson wondering why previous presentations had indicated there were over 300 beds available in the area to none currently available. No clear direct answer was ever really offered to that question, as the next presentation by Dana Searcy with Built for Zero, pointed to over 700 empty beds . The word beds in this instance is what’s available through vouchers or different shelters and organizations for those seeking to not sleep outside or in precarious situations.
Not clear to us is if members of the Continuum of Care or Built for Zero are getting local money for their presentations and applying for grant money. Built for Zero has been working to compile clearer data of what organizations are working “in the space” and what’s available now. The organization stresses low barrier, and having programs better fit actual needs, but also angered local houseless advocates by apparently supporting the recent sweep of several encampments.
Jardon praised “the data we’ve been longing for,” but also pointed to the square peg, round hole problem of available beds with different barriers for these not always reflecting the actual needs.
“We have the beds,” Searcy said. Notably absent from the conversation was any voice from someone actually unsheltered.
A protest letter seeking to replace police with social workers and mental health professionals for outreach in encampments was mentioned, and Jardon said it would be discussed during the April Zoom of what is a first Monday of the month meeting. It was mentioned members of the Washoe County’s Sheriff office and Reno and Sparks police departments will all be present for the next discussion.
Commissioner Hill also brought up discussing a possible Right to Rest Act for Nevada, which was also included in the protest letter. Simply stated, it would provide the unhoused the right to use public space without discrimination based on their housing status