While Washoe County recently opened a resource center on the Nevada Cares Campus compound, with capacity for extra emergency shelter, construction is starting on the next phase of this multi-phased post pandemic project to help the locally unhoused, which will consist of on site supportive housing, an outdoor area and a training center.
There are already 150 people reported to be on a list for those in line to get into the compound’s supportive housing, based on needs and a community scoresheet which the county keeps for those poorly sheltered residents it comes into contact with.
These assessments are registered within the HMIS Homeless Management Information System the county keeps, and include questions such as if someone has been the victim of sexual violence or if they are a veteran.
Pricing remains unclear for this step of the process, with county officials indicating vouchers will be available and that some clients may have to spend some of their disability or other fixed income towards gaining entry into one of these future units. At this point it seems, tenants will sign a lease, but not have any timeframe on how long they can stay.
Construction is expected to end in early 2025, with tenants moving in soon after.
We asked Washoe County Media and Communications Manager Bethany Drysdale questions about the exact number of units, whether pets would be allowed, whether couples would be allowed to stay together, what the training center and outdoor areas will consist of, how much this is costing the County, how much each unit will cost to tenants, how they will be selected, if there will be any barriers to entry, what the security will look like and whether it will be separate from the rest of the compound, but got very of these details answered.
Via email, Drysdale wrote back, “most of your questions will be answered as the project progresses. They just broke ground on the structure… the application process, the rules on animals, etc., are still to come.”
Drysdale did indicate this part of the overall project was funded by a State of Nevada $21.9 million Home Means Nevada grant.
At an event in November, Nevada Housing Division Administrator Steve Aichroth was quoted as saying the new construction would consist of 50 units of supportive housing, but Drysdale did not confirm the number.
While Reno has gotten positive national attention on helping the unhoused via a recent Wall Street Journal article, that article bases current trends on comparing statistics from year to year point in time counts.
Through our own reporting, we have found the HUD required count to be inaccurate, with many unhoused staying away from events when people are counted or telling us they purposefully hide during the count, preferring to limit contact with anyone working on that day, which will next come around January 25th, 2024.