The Reno City Council voted on Dec. 11 to take the first step toward approving, throughout Reno, a ban prohibiting sitting or lying down on sidewalks or in doorways; camping overnight within 350 feet of the Truckee River; and camping in parks.
The ban, which is currently in effect in downtown Reno, would not penalize people using a given property for its intended use. A second reading on the ban is scheduled for the City Council’s Jan. 8 meeting. If it is passed then, the ban would become law.
Mayor Hillary Schieve said the ordinance would act as an incentive for unhoused people to accept social services.
Cynthia Esparza, Reno’s chief equity and community relations officer, told the council that city officials had 2,658 interactions with homeless people between July and December, but 64% of the offers of service were declined.
Services that the city provides include shelter assistance, identification replacement, family reunification, substance abuse and mental health treatment, food assistance, employment-seeking assistance, and rental and deposit assistance.
To learn why people decline services, the RN&R spoke with Lily Baran, co-board president of Reno Initiative for Shelter and Equality and an activist who provides aid via a garden and food pantry that are not connected with any nonprofit or government organization. Baran said that one reason people decline is because the services being offered sometimes aren’t the ones people actually need.
“If one of the services offered were immediate, permanent … housing, we would see an increase in acceptance of services,” Baran said. “If the service is to go to a crowded room where you can’t lay down overnight, it is reasonable to see someone declining. Individuals want to lay down and sleep. The Cares Campus is not enough. They would rather stay in their tent or build a fire.”
Baran said that when children are involved, many individuals, especially those of color, resist services because they fear their children could be taken away by Child Protective Services. This is usually no longer the case, she said, but the fear remains.
Baran said that if a family has a housing voucher, and there is a gap before that housing is available, they might decline to wait in a shelter and instead opt to sleep outside or on someone’s couch.
“Brown and Black people don’t trust social workers, but unfortunately, when they refuse, that puts them much further away from them getting their housing and wraparound services, because the city needs to know that they are unhoused,” said Baran.
Another reason people may decline, she said, is the types of questions that are asked. “If asked, ‘Do you have a safe place to stay?’ many people won’t want to admit that their child is unsafe,” Baran said. “… They also don’t want to tell an official if they have been physically or sexually abused when that question is directed at them without any trust-building.”
Other questions that give people pause may include those about employment status, nearby family members who could help, Social Security numbers, or how long they have been unhoused, she said.
This is a great article.
So what is happening with the muli million dollar Cares Campus?
I would like to see an audit of how many unhoused residents are actually staying there, and how much money is being wasted in a facility that no one wants to use.
There is also another reason. Rents are too high. Some people making $12 an hour which is $21,000 a year. When you have to pay $1590 + electric = 1670 a month rent on an apartment. When you make around than $1800 a month take home pay. This is a lot with barely any money left for food or anything. People like me can get Medicaid. We make too much money to get food support. I have too many health problems to work more than one job. If I get sick or are forced to take days off, I lose money. I gave a friend who needs help sometimes making rent because she doesn’t get enough hours. She gets told nothing is available. No one can help not text cross, not Catholic charities. She is also disabled from birth with Cerebral Pulsy. She cannot get insurance anywhere because the rules make it so she is penalized anytime she applies. Jobs do not give benefits anymore. Out of pocket for any kind of medical premium is over $300 a month. She pays even more than I do for a one bedroom. She works from home too. We are all one step away, one check away from losing our “homes”. Not enough credit, not a good credit score, not able to put anything down, no available housing. Every month I am afraid that I may not be able to keep my apartment. Food is non-existent. I cannot go to the food shelves or pantries because I work 8-5 and no one can sign up after 2 pm. I have no vehicle so I have to be careful of where my job is. Too far away, I have to worry about how to get there. Will there be a bus strike? Cabs are too expensive and if you don’t have any money to spare life hurts. The last time I felt this impoverished I was in college. Ramen noodles, peanut butter, bread and not much else. I still eat these cause it is all I can afford. You take away the hope, that is all people have. And now there is nothing….
I would like to give a little insight as to why the homeless , would rather be on the street versus Entering the SCARES CAMPUS .
This would be from my own personal experience with the campus.
My lady friend and myself have been homeless since October of 2017… What has kept us from finding housing is the cost of “affordable housing”… We are both in our 60’s and have been on a fixed income even before losing our apartment of 15+ years… We were evicted and had no place to go that was affordable with our fixed income… We had to give up two of our three cats, which we had for more than 10 years, leaving us with the youngest. Who is better than 12+ years old… With the deposit and rent for her alone costing $200 more than 3/4 of our income is gone… Then you have the power company and their deposits taking whatever funds we have left… I’ve done the section 8 deal with the housing authority three times and each time I’ve been told the same thing, they do not take and process applications for section 8 housing and there isn’t a waiting list for housing… As for the shelter and temporary housing the people in charge of both are cold, rude, and unsimpathetic people that just are there to collect a pay check… And, I’m sorry, but if the city government truly cared about all this homelessness they would have had a plan ready before they approved of all the growth in our area which created the inflation spike that put this people on the streets to begin with.
a disabled couple on SSD who get over a 1k a month don’t qualify for medicaid. They can divorce for the State to pay for for Premium B not Medicaid in a benefit. Snap you get the basic same as last year of $23. This is the grey area I want people to be aware of as you age or God forbid become disabled at a young age.. Within a decade SS will cut the amount by 20 percent.. At the rate the suits move you better plan ahead or have been and hope that you will have somewhere to go..
have to edit. I meant to type 1k each not combined.