Lack of staff at the Cares Campus, repeated calls to 911 from the compound and flooded tents during the recent “atmospheric river” at the safe camp were some of the issues the Community Homelessness Advisory Board heard about this morning under new Washoe County leadership, after several months of the meeting being skipped over.
“I think it would be generous to say there’s half of the staff that’s currently needed,” John DeCarmine said of the Cares Campus. The executive director of the Grace compound in Florida has repeatedly been brought on as an outside consultant, praised by both advocates and local leaders. DeCarmine said they were so short staffed at the compound they were simply “putting out fires.” He called for better pay, training and leadership sessions.
Neoma Jardon, a Reno councilwoman, and formerly the chair of the board, called his latest analysis “candid information.” She asked about recently allocated $400,000 to attract or retain staff, but at that point of the meeting no one from operator Volunteers of America was present, to which Jardon said “that’s a problem.”
Regional Director Pat Cashell showed up later to also address a lack of blankets at the compound, saying these were being sent from Sacramento and also blamed “theft” and people inside the compound being given multiple blankets. “The shelter is so big that I’m not accustomed to,” he said of logistical challenges, also calling for community donations. Washoe County Commissioner Bob Lucey used the excuse of the compound still “being brand new” and warned of not getting “bogged down” in current problems. Devon Reese bemoaned that “governments are very slow.”
But DeCarmine warned: “At some point the way some of the services are provided now can become the way services are provided from here on out.” The compound has been open over six months with millions and millions of dollars already spent. Advocates have warned of potential problems since its opening, ranging from unhealthy food being served, to a lack of safety more recently.
Dana Searcy, the Special Projects Manager for the Washoe County Manager's Office, said the county is “working to address staffing.” Our Town Reno has been promised a renewed tour of the compound, but it hasn’t happened yet. We also asked to document the day in the life of staff but have not been given an opportunity to do so.
Searcy said the lack of staffing prevents employees from “collecting data and de-escalation,” regretting there have been increased calls to 911 and REMSA from within the compound.
When the head of Karma Box, the safe camp operator, Grant Denton took the podium, he said he had slept in one of the tents during the recent bad weather and that coolers and bikes blocking the flow of water into the safe camp space caused flooding and blankets inside tents to get wet. He said people sleeping at the tents were given new blankets, beanies and socks as well as new tarps. He also said the tents had bad zippers.
Searcy said 50 new $13,725 8ftx8ftx8ft Modpod heated and cooled structures will be arriving by late November, as well as two of these to be experimented with at the main part of the campus. She said Burner tents and even ice fishing tents had been considered.
The meeting concluded with Reese, Jardon and Sparks Mayor Ed Lawson calling for better coordination between volunteer groups and compound operators. That type of system, including having healthy community meals right by the former emergency shelter, which prevailed for years at Record street, were abandoned several years ago due to security issues.
Advocates are also seeking for the old Record Street location to be used to shelter women, with Our Place, run by RISE, often at capacity, and many women not feeling safe at the Cares Campus. Lily Baran called the lack of bad weather preparation a “public health crisis.” Jake Maynard said advocates “are not taken seriously,” and have warned of all the problems now happening. Ilya Arbatman said advocates sometimes felt like they were “screaming into the air.” Several advocates also called for a better process for people at the Cares Campus to address their grievances and for a lived experience committee to sit with CHAB.
Monica DuPea, the founder and director of the Nevada Youth Empowerment Project, pointed to current trends at the at-risk youth non profit the Eddy House and asked whether “it was really operating as an emergency youth shelter? What is the intake criteria? What is the ban and suspension policy? Who is served and who is not served?” Other advocates have also expressed concerns the Eddy House has turned into a “workforce program” rather than an emergency shelter for at-risk youth. Our Town Reno emailed the Eddy House for comment but did not hear back.