Our Town Reno: Recent Episodes
Reynolds Media Lab
With audio postcards from the streets, and inspiring interviews with community activists, we address issues of homelessness, the disappearance of public space, gentrification and the value of helping each other out from our base in Reno, Nevada. We do live reporting, micro storytelling and spoken word. As we face an affordable housing crisis, what happens to our most vulnerable?
“Growing up with a disability was hard. When you’re a kid, all the other kids want to know what’s wrong, why you walk like that, and why you do certain things,” Jenna said.Jenna is a 28-year-old disabled woman living in Reno, Nevada. She’s been navigating her disability her entire life. When Jenna was an infant, she suffered a stroke, which resulted in severe deficiencies on the left side of her body. Jenna’s left hand often takes a hooked position due to the lack of strength in her wrist, and her left foot turns outwards, making it difficult to walk.But Jenna is not alone; more than 1 in 4 adults live with some type of disability in the US, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, or CDC. “I didn’t start walking when everyone else my age did. I would walk on my tippy toes, I wore casts, and I would fall over places. I couldn’t be alone.” she said.Jenna has come a long way since then. In early October Jenna got engaged to her fiancé, Jon. Now the couple lives together in a small townhouse in South Reno, along with Jon’s 6-year-old daughter. Jenna plays an active role in Jon’s daughter’s life, often being the main caretaker of her while Jon is working.Audio minidoc by Sara Ewing-Garcia.
From the front lines of the Tallac Hotshots, battling California’s biggest wildfires like the Dixie and Caldor Fires, to the depths of the ocean helping restore coral reefs in Honduras.Jp has built a life defined by resilience, service, and purpose. 🌊🔥Between fire seasons, he’s taught diving, hunted invasive lionfish, and volunteered with @CleanUptheLake, helping preserve local alpine ecosystems. Now, he’s preparing for his next chapter — studying to take his next step toward municipal firefighting.This is more than a comeback story, it’s a reminder that strength isn’t just surviving the fire, but learning to rise from the ashes. Hosted by his sister Amanda Avilla.
Machinist and small business owner Paul McCutcheon shares his journey from a junior high metal shop in Fontana, California, to running his own precision machining business in Fallon, Nevada. Through decades of hard work, Paul built a career for himself after being told he wouldn't be hired elsewhere. From aerospace manufacturing to entrepreneurship, he reflects on the challenges of starting out with little more than determination, a supportive partner, and a few savings bonds. His story is a testament to the enduring spirit of American manufacturing. Audio reporting by his daughter April McCutcheon.
Kelly August, an experienced dance instructor in Reno, shares how she teaches burlesque not just as a style of dance but as a way to empower people to become confident in their own skin. Burlesque was first used as a rebellious way to dance and challenge society norms; today burlesque dancers use it for a multitude of reasons. Not only does burlesque empower its dancers, but as Sara Ewing reports it’s a statement that allows the dancer to show they are in charge of their destiny,
The Old Washoe Club is one of the most notorious, and reportedly haunted locations we have here in the Northern Nevada Area. A hub for the social elites during the silver rush in Virginia City in the 1800s, the club is full of history, as well as alleged spirits. Come along with one of the club’s tour guides as she shows us inside “The Crypt” of the building and tells us all about its spooky history.Audio reporting by Natalie MacKay.
For 43 years, the Great Reno Italian Festival has transformed the streets of downtown Reno, Nevada into a cultural haven full of handmade raviolis, Italian music, the smells of slow cooking pasta sauce, and a stage with barrels full of grapes for stomping. The festival is one of Reno’s biggest cultural events, and attracts thousands of visitors each year for its authentic Italian food and wine, vendors, and free events. Mark your calendars for next year! Episode hosted by Natalie MacKay. Photo credit by Mackenzie Rankin.
After more than a year in Portland, 22-year-old Filipino-American artist Vivid Helene returned to her hometown stage, performing at RareTea to a crowd of devoted fans, close friends, and supportive family members. Amanda Avilla caught up with her to compare the two cities, and discuss being an artist in the Biggest Little City.
On this episode of the Our Town Reno Podcast, Nicolas Scolaro interview Dalton Debold, a Reno local who has lived in Reno all of his life. His family has owned a bike shop for over 15 years and he has experienced most of the changes of Reno first hand, from the perspective of growing up here, his family having a business, and now as a student, snow enthusiast and aspirant filmmaker.
In this episode, we go further afield in northern Nevada, as April McCutcheon interviews Ron Evans, a retired teacher and community member to discuss his work with the Fallon Daily Bread. The organization, founded in 2006 at the Epworth United Methodist Church, is focused on providing meals to the unhoused and food insecure in Fallon a town of about 10-thousand people. Evans shares how the need continues to grow amid rising costs and economic challenges and how the organization adapts to still serve the public, while focusing on giving a meal rather than food, and treating everyone like a human being.
Reno native Sage L. has lived in twelve places across the city, including student housing like dorms and apartments. For the Our Town Reno podcast, he speaks about his strategies for finding affordable places to live as a recent UNR graduate and young professional, comparing and contrasting all his experiences, and pointing out the bad and even the worse, while trying to improve his living situation.
Ever wonder what funk band Honey Plant gets up to behind the scenes? Lauren Juillerat and her media team with Biggest Little Bands caught up with the local group, Robin Low (vocals and bass), Noah Jeffery (saxophone), Matthew Nist (drums) and Sam Putney (guitar, synths, vocals) to chat about fun traditions, their practice spot, and how they define their sound.
Reporter and local concertgoer Kade Collins highlights some great local bands, including Charity Kiss, Worm Shot, In the Works? and Pissmixer, shares a few personal anecdotes about the local scene, and gives an assessment of Reno's place in the greater west coast music scene.
Luke Hill is a born-and-raised Renoite, a waiter at a local sushi restaurant, and a musician with the band Kings Row. In his bedroom, under a make-shift tent made from his comforter, he chats with Kade Collins about what it’s been like growing up in Reno and nearby suburbia through many economic shifts, including the current population and gentrifying development boom, how he barely avoids committing arson, his favorite areas of Reno, and Kings Row house concerts.
Our special episode reporters Lexi and and Jadee interview local Bollywood dance intructor Chhavi Bhalla about her experiences teaching Bollywood dancing in south Reno, her passion for this evolving dance scene and future projects to keep it growing.
Lexi Waisanen and Alysha Cancino interview Richie Bednarski about his experiences cycling in Reno as a green commuter and what he thinks could be better. Bednarski also explains the multitude of cycling communities in Reno that he is a part of and why he loves cycling in Reno. The photographer and filmmaker is also working on a project documenting the rich history of cycling and bicycle culture in the 775.
Hosts Derek Raridon and Dominic Gutierrez talk with local northern Nevada artists Hosway Valadaze, Chris Kepley and Doomed Movement about their current projects giving back to the community, their ongoing collaboration with the O’Brien Middle School art program and other trends in the Reno art scene.
In this Our Town Reno episode, reporter Lauren Juillerat interviews a local Reno band, Faded Shawties, on their experience and perspectives on the local music scene. Nico, Eduardo and Daniel share their opinions on lighthearted topics such as their favorite foods to eat before a show, to more serious topics concerning the recent cancel culture in the Reno scene, as well as their mission as a band to be welcoming and more inclusive to communities around the Biggest Little City.
In this Our Town Reno episode, our music reporter Lauren Juillerat hosts Reno photographer and videographer Jake Erwin on his experience in the local music scene. Jake only started pursuing photography and videography in 2021 and rapidly learned new skills that helped him gain new opportunities in northern Nevada. Success this early on in a photographer’s career is rare. Jake shares his advice on how to be successful in this creative field as well as his back story. Listen in for an inspiring tale, essential tips and tricks, and guidance when it comes to thriving in photography and making music videos.
A resident of Curti Ranch, now in Ward 6, since 2005, a mom who battled to get one of her son’s to overcome childhood leukemia, and a professional in marketing for decades, Brandi Anderson wants south Reno to no longer be overlooked in terms of parks and recreation, public safety, and solutions-based infrastructure. Listen to her interview as she begins her campaign for a seat on Reno's City Council.
Before his mother passed away at the end of 2022, Michaelangelo Aranda remembers she used to call him “Mayor Michael.”His father, who is currently struggling with health challenges, set the bar even higher. “When I had shared with him that I'm running for city council,” Aranda says, he told him he hopes to stay alive to see him as president. “I don't know if I will career that far,” Aranda told Our Town Reno during a recent podcast interview. For now he’s one of many candidates for our city’s new Ward 6, with a campaign website extolling “Reno Born Reno Ready.” Listen to Aranda make his case for his campaign by listening to this episode which is part of our political series on 2024 northern Nevada candidates.
Heather Goulding, running for District 27 of the Nevada State Assembly, rides bikes whenever and wherever she can, including on her commutes, and with big tires, she handles all weather and steep inclines.Goulding, currently a senior project manager in utility energy efficiency programs, is bringing that can do spirit to her campaign to become a representative for a district encompassing portions of the North Valleys including Panther Valley and Sun Valley.Listen to her reasons for running in our latest in a series of political episodes ahead of 2024 voting.
With two fourth place finishes in previous citywide mayoral elections, William Mantle, a raw data person who likes to ask questions, is now running for Ward 6, the new ward in South Reno with about 40,000 residents, high home prices, wild horses and plenty of new multi-unit apartment complexes. Listen to his interview as part of an Our Town Reno podcast 2024 local election series.
Erica Roth, a civil rights attorney now running for Nevada Assembly seat District 24, traces back her willingness to serve in elected office to help she gave as a public defender to a now incarcerated man. Listen to her make her case as part of our series of episodes looking ahead to 2024 elections.
Sparks-based Nevada Forward Party chair Cesar Marquez explains how he went from Tesla employee to operative for the Andrew Yang led Forward Party in the Silver State, as well as strategies for the 2024 election, including a final push for ranked choice voting and open primaries to pass.
It’s the end of an era here, the end of our weeklies, we’ve consistently produced over the past two years for podcast platforms and for KWNK.We’ve interviewed people struggling on the streets and volunteers who do good to help them out, as well as movers and shakers, artists and illuminaries of our community, radical thinkers, doers and promoters. As we’ve gone independent, we no longer have the reporter bandwidth to be able to produce one episode every week.Going forward we will have occasional episodes. We are thinking of new types of interviews such as reporter’s notebooks with prominent journalists in the community, looking into cold cases or having audio mini documentaries as we once did at our beginnings. Thank you for being faithful listeners and keep us in your subscription as pretty soon a new episode here and there will pop up, not as a regular feature anymore but as an occasional bonus, to inform, to enlighten, to give sounds of our Reno, Our Town Reno, the biggest little streets, still rad, still getting better, growing, but in need of tlc, of vintage, of keeping public spaces public and of helping each other out.We will continue our regular postings on the BiggestLittleStreets Instagram which we are proud to say for a hyperlocal initiative has over 17k followers, on the Our Town Reno Facebook which has over 11k followers, on our Twitter/X, TikTok where one video got over 600 thousand views, on the Our Town Reno threads and Reddit where we need more followers to continue.We also have a weekly Our Town Reno Substack which you can get by email every week.If you’d like to contribute to this hyperlocal reporting endeavor you can subscribe via our Facebook for three dollars a month, via our Substack for whatever amount you choose with your credit card, and if you have Venmo via the ourtownreno account.
This is an archive episode of people of living on the streets in Reno, Nevada, with serious health challenges and how they cope as best they can. Marcus is nearly blind and has other complications due to albinism.Tex has been given a timeline to die from cancer. Ian suffers from mental health challenges.
While the yearly point in time count in late January establishes data for the locally unhoused, many avoid the process, preferring to live in the shadows, along the river or in their car and just try to survive, rather than going to a shelter or being counted as an unhoused person. That’s why at Our Town Reno we find official numbers released by officials and repeated by media as unreliable. We will first hear from Paul from an archive interview with Michelle Baker and then from Kyle, who tries to protect himself and others living on the streets.
Clayton Posey interviews members of four promising up and coming Reno bands, Worm Shot, Aftrprty, Wyatt Ziegler and Frank Futility.
“Opening a door for someone and smiling could literally save their life,” local chaplain and single dad Chaz Blackburn, 34, says. Blackburn knows what he’s talking about, as in addition to being the Spiritual Care and Director of Volunteer Services at the Circle of Life Hospice, he helps with many other worthy organizations in town including in the teen suicide realm, with organizations such as Forever 14 and The Solace Tree among many. He’s also lost too many close people to suicide. Blackburn describes his current work as being that of an “emotional spiritual paramedic,” to support those in crisis and provide grief support. “A chaplain is a bridge to resources like a social worker and those different resources that a social worker would provide,” he explained during a recent podcast interview, in between taking calls and preparing community events. “We're a bridge to other people's faith. So no matter your faith or walk, we're not there to judge you or evangelize or push our beliefs. We're there to serve you wherever you're at… I’m here to support and love everybody and be that presence through those difficult times.”
Reno is home to some extremely creative individuals and among those is the precocious Jack Barrington. A 20-year-old audio engineer and music producer who has been learning about sound for the last seven years. Host Lauren Juillerat interviews him more on how he acquired the skills he has today and how he utilizes them to elevate music in the Biggest Little City.
Reporter Heather Saxe interviews the founder of the Love and Mine Foundation Sarah Peterson. The Love and Mine Foundation is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to provide easier access to resources for victim-survivors of power based violence in the college aged demographic in the Reno community.
After another night of sleeping on the street, Susan strolls into the downtown public library in Reno. She has only a few bags, and one of them is full of colorful crochets she’s been working on. Susan has pretty hair— she dyed it red recently. Despite missing her teeth, she has a bright smile. Andrew Zuker and Ray Grosser find out more about her life in this Share Your Story episode from the Downtown Reno library.
Reporter Mia Wood sits down with Melissa Ung, the dedicated event coordinator for the Great Reno Balloon Race, to delve into the inner workings of this nonprofit organization and gain insights into the year-round planning efforts that make this spectacular event take flight every year in early September.
Reno is home to some of the most creative and inspiring musical individuals. From singers to musicians to audio engineers, all three components come together to form unique bands. Local venues showcase many talented acts ranging from all girl bands, to all boy bands, to a mix of both. Reporter Lauren Juillerat goes behind the scenes as she interviews a few up and coming Reno bands on their experiences in the scene: Worm Shot, Evangeline and Doolittle Ladybug.
Gaia Osborne looks back on her tenure with Our Town Reno, which included lots of reporting on non profits, and other documentary projects, such as delving into northern Nevada's ghost towns, as she finishes up a master's degree at the Reynolds School of Journalism, at the University of Nevada, Reno.
Our ace bilingual multicultural reporter Nancy Vazquez looks back on favorite stories for Our Town Reno while analyzing change in the Biggest Little City through a journalistic and social media lens.
Drugs, alcoholism and gambling are all addictions which run rampant across society. For the unhoused populations, these addictions can be especially crippling and difficult to surmount. In this archive episode we will hear from an unhoused neighbor who goes by the Greek who says he wants more out of life than being a drunk.We will also hear from Malik Muhammad who recently got caught with drugs and in the process also lost his car.
This is an archive episode listening to people surviving on our streets. We’ll hear from Angela who came by foot from California and then was repeatedly robbed in Reno. Daniel says he was arrested for sitting. Bryan was evicted and he’s becoming blind.
"Unfortunately, I had a fallout with a significant other who chose to go elsewhere, and she gave her heart to someone else. I wasn't doing well with the breakup. And, I started looking at the bottom of a bottle and turned around and she abandoned an apartment that we were both sharing for 13 years..." Listen to Alex share his story with Aimee Arellano of how he ended up on the streets of Reno.
“Miss” Mary, 69, says she was kicked out of the Cares Campus shelter in Reno, and that she currently has no ID or birth certificate. She sleeps by railroad tracks and she struggles with alcohol but says she’s quit other drugs. She is trying to find a roommate, as she gets Social Security money, but not enough to cover housing expenses herself. The reporter for this episode is Aimee Arellano.
When COVID hit, many of us did a reset of our goals and priorities. Tyler Aguilar, 22, a Reed High School graduate, set his sights on becoming a traveling drone photographer and videographer. Several years later, he’s put the building blocks in place, getting his FAA certification, starting to get paid for his photos and videos, getting to become an expert at drone photography and setting his sights on more aerial videography.
The Reno Housing Authority is about to celebrate 80 years of existence, trying as best it can to provide affordable, safe and accessible housing to members of our community.
Our Town Reno recently went to RHA offices to interview new executive director Hilary Lopez about this new historical anniversary amid contemporary challenges.
“We basically fix their credit and if you have any collections, late payments or inquiries on your credit, we can help. There's a lot of identity theft going on right now in Reno,” says Angie Salcido, who offers services in both English and Spanish to customers who can get a free introductory visit at her offices on Kietzke Lane in south Reno. “The more you look at credit, the more you get different scenarios that you can help out with. And I love helping people and educating people.”
The credit repair services industry is growing rapidly in the US and here in Reno, and for good reason.
“If you have bad credit, you can't get an apartment, you can't get credit cards, you can’t get auto loans, or anything like that,” Salcido, who has been at this for over ten years now, explained. Listen in as Angie Salcido gives many more tips on this episode about fixing your credit.
This episode was recorded inside Darcy Patterson’s home where she keeps photos, souvenirs and mementoes related to her daughter Kirsten, who died of a drug overdose alone in her car in Idlewild Park in 2017 while she was in high school in Reno.
This death spurred Patterson to be an advocate for opioid awareness. She now leads Wake up Nevada which has been distributing Narcan and Fentanyl test strips to the community.
Ben Iness, a local community coordinator with the Nevada Housing Justice Alliance which works for tenants recaps Nevada's recent frustrating legislative session and speaks to fights ahead, including why housing should be a universal right.
Conor McQuivey discusses the reasons and methodology behind his interview podcast focusing on Reno's movers and shakers, as well as his other activities in the Biggest Little City as a DJ Trivia host and toastmaster.
The Eddy House recently indicated it provided 1,390 bed nights in June 2023, which was 50% higher than bed nights provided in June last year. As the need grows in the community, with more local youth experiencing homelessness, the Eddy House has been expanding its services to help them. Jillian Keller, the Chief Operating Officer, recently gave us a tour of the front section of their location on Willow Street and detailed current expansion projects as well as challenges.
Since quitting his nine to five job, Nick Josten has been thriving in the local Reno film and theater scene in addition to his voicing work. He even found time to write a novel. In this episode, he discusses being a working artist living in a pricier Reno, and how the local film and theater scenes are evolving.
Neil Cavanagh is the co owner with his wife of Reno Roots Kava and Tea Bar ,a cozy place across from UNR with surf on the big screen and games on the tables. Only problem is the Washoe County Health district so far is not letting them sell what they were set up for, and that’s kava as a tea. As a compromise they have kava supplements and lots more to offer but not kava as a tea. Health district officials say they can’t make the call yet on whether kava tea is safe enough for local residents. In terms of food safety regulations, a line is crossed when a supplement is directly added to food and beverages and so far kava isn’t on the Food and Drug Administration’s Generally Recommended as Safe list. Since it’s in this grey area, local and state governments can make the call, but so far in Washoe County it’s been a red light on kava tea.
So where does the Reno Roots Kava and Tea bar go from here? Find out in this episode of the Our Town Reno podcast.
Celeste Talbott-Rivera, the owner of the new Ethaerial Studio on Virginia Street at the top of Midtown, a new local spot for pole fitness and exercise, discusses what it’s like to be a young business owner, Reno and Midtown change and the value of pole dancing.
Tyler Colton, the owner of the Emerson, a craft and cocktail destination in Midtown, discusses being an entrepreneur and bar owner, surviving the pandemic, the community of local business owners, medians in Midtown, drag brunch and bingo, expansion plans and more.
Our guests this week are Evelyn Klatt and Matt Clark from the Reno Philharmonic. Evelyn will sell you on the value of classical music and they will both explain how the Reno Philharmonic is also much more than just that with two big shows right around the corner, to close their season 54 and open their season 55. They’ll also give us some of the fascinating history which started the Reno Philharmonic and how it helps with music education in our school district.
People we encounter on the streets often have complicated family histories.
One family relationship can send them into a downward spiral. In this episode we’ll look into fathers or more precisely their absence.
From our archive interviews we will hear from Jody who says she is a millionaire’s daughter now fending for herself on the streets.
We’ll also hear from JD who says he is from a broken family and that he’s never recovered from his father’s death.
As the Food Bank of Northern Nevada commemorates 40 years, its tag line this year is "Imagine Ending Hunger." Jocelyn Lantrip, its Director of Marketing and Communications, outlines ways to help and volunteers as well as current challenges for our community.
Comedian Sara Rooker steps into our studio to discuss the Reno comedy scene, tips for audiences, organizing big shows such as an upcoming June 10th Don't Tell Comedy secret show doubleheader, and why she has such a big heart for our community.
Jeff Bogue recently moved back with his parents, but is trying to fix up his van to live in it again, for more independence. He believes it should be allowed to sleep in your vehicle amid this affordable housing crisis. “The cops shouldn't always go after the homeless that are not causing problems and just because they’re sleeping,” Bogue said. “[Sleeping] should not be a crime, in my opinion. For somebody who's extremely tired and doesn’t have a place to go, they should have a little compassion.” Should there be safe parking spots in Reno and across the United States? Our archive episode also gives a platform to Erik, a recent widow who was acting as a watchdog for his houseless friends at Barbara Bennett Park. He told us he had been traveling for most of his life and that he moved half a year ago from California to Reno, where he’s lived before. He was sleeping in his car, a 2001 Honda Accord.
Stephen George, a graduate student at the University of Nevada, Reno, David Lynch afficionado and filmmaker, talks to reporter Ariel Smith about the eccentricities of the local film scene, difficulties of promotion, and how he finds inspiration. Learn about the inner workings of a film set, the director’s creative process and more on this week's episode.
Our reporter Vanessa Ribeiro speaks to coordinators and participants of a recent event at the Holland Project, bringing together the best in Reno's non profit and mutual aid communities.
Love and maintaining relationships always has challenges. What about if you are living on the streets? We’ll hear from a couple Renee and Steven staying in love despite being unhoused. We’ll also hear from Melissa whose husband had recently gotten out of jail, putting a strain on their life, and how to take care of their kids, sending them into separate shelters. Still they were staying together trying to figure it out.
Elaine Sargent – also known by her penname, E.M. Starr – is the author of Rhinestone Confidential, a memoir she wrote of her memories and experiences working behind the scenes in the showroom at Harrah’s, Reno. Within the pages, Elaine recounts the golden days when Reno was a casino town full of late-night shows. She shares the juiciest moments and mishaps from backstage at Sammy’s Showroom, Harrah’s then-hot venue for cabarets and headliners where Elaine worked a wardrobe job. Our Town Reno reporter Gaia Osborne sat down with Elaine to talk about her time at Harrah’s and experience authoring a book.
Reporter Ariel Smith interviews Lisa Martin the manager of The Melting Pot World Emporium in Reno, which brings burner culture year round to the Biggest Little City and much more. They discuss the importance of fair trade, sustainable fashion, and navigating selling smoking accessories after the legalization of marijuana in the state.
Peter Menchetti is back on the podcast to explain how he's celebrating 30 years of Sticker Guy with a special edition of Debauch-A-Reno.
On this episode, we have a bead maker, a man who gets by selling his blood, and a day laborer, all trying to survive with odd jobs amid rising prices in Reno. When we interviewed her, Paula said she was a starving artist who lived in a motel. She was often seen along Truckee river near Sierra Street, selling necklaces and bracelets. We'll also listen to Josh. He was sleeping outside city limits to avoid trouble, struggling with alcohol, and trying to get work by Fisherman’s Park where day laborers are often picked up. Finally, we’ll listen to Steve. He’s afraid of shelters where he says he gets sick. He does temp work and sells his blood to get by.
Reporter Jacob Kostuchowski talks to several community members from a Stop Cop City teach-in which recently took place at the Holland Project. Hear about what cop city might become and the possible implications it could have in Reno and other localities across the United States.
Kingkini Sengupta, a graduate student at the University of Nevada, Reno, has completed her reporting work for Our Town Reno. Before her departure, she took the time to speak with Reynolds School of Journalism colleague and fellow Our Town Reno reporter Gaia Osborne to share what her experience has been like reporting for our street collective.
We recently had an episode on old men on the streets of Reno, Nevada avoiding the Nevada Cares campus and trying to survive despite the cold winter we’ve gone through. We wanted to do an episode about unhoused women, why are they living on the streets, do they stay safe , what are their hopes , what is their message to the community. All of the women you’ll hear on this episode were along the Truckee River. First from our archive audio we will hear Jaime a mother of six from Winnemucca who was separated from her children and faced daily sexual assault, self medicating with drugs, and mistrustful of the world around her. In Part Two of our episode we hear from Baby Bleu who at the time of our interview was going for resources during the day at the Eddy House but sleeping outside. She started as a sex worker as teenager while going to Hug High at its former location near Sutro. She had recently got kicked out of an apartment. In Part Three of our episode, we go to Barbara Bennett Park with former Our Town Reno reporter Lucia Starbuck who met Annette there. At the time of the interview she was spending her days there with her ailing dog and staying wit a group to feel safer. In our final part to this podcast with archive audio of women living on the streets we’ll lend an ear to Joan, in her 70s, and a former Reno Gazette Journal employee. At the time of the interview she was on a waiting list for assisted senior housing, and felt harassed by police and other unhoused who tried to give her drugs.
Cameron Rose was recently unhoused, and being arrested for sleeping outside. Just a few years later, he's now a student at UNR running for ASUN student body president. The reporter for this episode is Gaia Osborne.
Kenneth Scherr, a UNR grad in psychology starting a business in Reno, is also an author whose new book Behaving as US has as its subtitle The Art of Cooperation. He discusses politics getting in the way of friendships, in real life and online, and how to find a better way.
With Tesla enabler Mike Kazmierksi, president and CEO of the Economic Development Authority of Western Nevada, now stepping down, we went into our archives to hear from different residents of Reno who have felt "Teslafied," in recent years, as in kicked to the curb, now living on the streets due to higher rent prices, gentrification, motels being torn down, inflation ... not directly due to Tesla arriving on the scene with massive tax breaks, but certainly feeling like it was a consequence, and that they were collateral damage.
Dustin is trying to help his wife get her kids back from Child Protective Services, after they were victims of abuse from her incarcerated ex-husband and more family troubles. The reporter for this episode in Reno, Nevada, is Brad Vincent.
Seniors in Reno, including Jeff a former chiropractor who now lives in his car share their plight living on the streets and explain why they avoid the Nevada Cares Campus despite the cold weather.
Slovenly Records and Sticker Guy are teaming up with Spitting Image and Austin Pratt to release their first Reno punk album. Our episode includes songs from Full Sun and discussions about the local punk scene, punk influences, gentrification, the lack of venues and the value of hard work.
Lynette Eddy, the founder of the Eddy House, to help street young adults in Reno, Nevada, recently published a new book called The Fight Inside, Winning the Battle Between Your Ego and True Spirit. She shares how her own life, full of turbulence and tragedy, has guided her own path doing good for society, and how the Eddy House has grown since it was an idea she had as a graduate student.
Anwar, 24, a 2021 transfer, is the only Afghan student pursuing his Bachelor’s degree in Metallurgical Engineering at the University of Nevada, Reno. When Anwar first came to the United States in 2019, he still had plans to go back to his country and help explore the mineral wealth there. However, when the Taliban took over in 2021, his dreams of going back and setting up a business there were shattered. “I wanted to pursue mining and metallurgical engineering because universities back home did not offer that degree. I wanted to help build an income source that could help the economy of my country,” Anwar says. He has now turned his attention to getting asylum here and being able to stay beyond his degree. Find out more about his hopes and ordeals in this podcast episode with Kingkini Sengupta. “Going back to Afghanistan is not safe anymore,” he says.
Chris Reynolds has owned and operated numerous Cold Stones in Reno since February 2003, but the one in the former Shoppers Square, now the Reno Public Market, has been his most successful. He hopes the new space will bring in new customers without losing the regulars. After a lengthy construction process and tough adjustments during the pandemic, he's finally moved into the shiny new location across from the Sprouts supermarket, a few hundred feet from his previous location. In this episode he discusses challenges and rewards of his business with reporter Ariel Smith.
"I have grown it to where I’m now supplying seven different restaurants, the Great Basin Food Co-op, and Riverside Farmer’s Market which is a fantastic farmers market." Gaia Osborne interviews Walker Sauls, the co-owner of Biggest Little Mushrooms, a gourmet mushroom farm in Reno, Nevada.
Jessica and Joseph Daylover, a polyamorous couple, are influencers in Reno who promote and practice polyamory while raising a family. With reporter Kingkini Sengupta, they discuss their path into polyamory, their challenges, their rewards and people’s reactions, including from their own families.
“We’re looking for businesses with heart,” Donna Walden says of her drive to make our area greener, by looking for partnerships with local businesses to lessen their environmental damage. “They care about sustainability, they want to know what more they can do to help keep Nevada beautiful for future generations.” On this episode, Gaia Osborne talks to Walden, the founder of GreenUp! who helps small to medium sized businesses make strides to being as environmentally friendly as they can be,
“I had grandparents or grandmothers that were in their nineties and even 103 and it just seemed like, it's nice to be able to help folks that don't have the ability physically, maybe financially to live comfortably and safely. And so it seemed like a good, a good fit,” says Katie Pace of becoming executive director of an organization which has its mission to ensure safe and healthy housing for those with a crumbling infrastructure. The reporter for this episode produced by Chloe Cross is Chris Darche.
Many mental health issues that people face as adults result from traumas they faced as a child. Christopher Conway, 56, a therapist, decided to address this problem by creating a foundation based out of Reno that helps people facing such traumas to open up about their experiences and receive resources to be able to manage them. Conway started the National Foundation for Adult Victims of Childhood Trauma last year after moving to Reno in late 2020. “As a child, I faced sexual, physical and psychological abuse … and have been shamed for it,” Conway told Our Town Reno. With his non-profit organization which is at a very nascent stage currently, Conway is trying to create a network of people who have a special relationship and understanding with each other. The reporter for this episode is Kingkini Sengupta.
As part of a series on local entrepreneurs, Jacob Kostuchowski interviews Kyle Jennings and Bradley Linde, the owners and operators of local coffee shop, Buzzed Coffee. Jennings and Linde talk about the community and culture they want to foster, marketing strategies and more on this week's episode of the Our Town Reno Podcast.
Since we featured them in a web article earlier this year, the Reno band Flamingos in the Tree, an indie basement pop band, has reached new heights. Jaden Urban catches up with lead vocalist Daniel Escovar to find out about this sudden fame in this bonus podcast episode.
Jacob Kostuchowski talks with business owner Francesca Martinez, the owner of Bad Apple Vntg, a local boutique here in midtown Reno, to discuss her process of acquiring inventory and being a small business owner in a place like the Biggest Little City.
Jacob Kostuchowski interviews Francisco Moreno, the young creator of the clothing brand Anime Galore. He asks Moreno about what it's like being a young business owner, how to grow a social media presence, and why he goes for "subtle" anime wear.
Reno’s Victoria Scott, a scientist-turned-writer, is capturing some of Reno’s skyline and signage in her photography. After a career as a software engineer working at NASA, Scott came out as a transgender woman during the pandemic. Scott found going back in person to the Houston office and explaining this unappealing.
With a few years moonlighting as an automotive writer in her free time under her belt, Scott decided to try that route full-time. The remote nature of the new job meant that Scott could work anywhere in the country.
A subsequent road trip across the nation, admiration for the desert and a friend renting out space left Scott with the impression that Reno was the place for her to move to. Listen to some of her journey which includes discovering Reno through her lens with reporter Jesse Stone.
Starting with an extension card hooked up to a mini-fridge in their front yard, Claire Holden didn’t let the daunting size of Reno’s vulnerable population stop them from helping feed the community the best way they could. The Biggest Little Free Pantry program is a mutual aid network that acts as a tool for the community to take care of itself. Listen in as reporters Parker Samuelson and Vanessa Ribeiro find out more on how the initiative is making Reno healthier.
Sue Smith, a former Ward 4 City Council member in Reno from 1987 to 1991, enjoys the UNR campus where she used to be a student, the beautiful fall weather we’ve been having in October, the local arts and theatre community, and so many aspects of the Biggest Little City, but there is one current negative amid all these positives: she believes our local governance needs to open up again. Listen to her thoughts in interview with Our Town Reno coordinator Nico Colombant.
Kendra Bertschy, a local criminal public defense attorney running for Reno Justice Court, Department 2, remembers the decisive moment that propelled her into compassionate commitments, including helping foster kids and troubled youths, both as a volunteer and in her work. She pauses though, before answering, during our outdoor interview, with the Truckee River flowing behind us, and pedestrians walking by. Listen to the episode with Our Town Reno coordinator Nico Colombant as Bertschy explains why she's the best choice for voters in November.
Meghan Ebert is the Ward 4 candidate trying to topple incumbent Bonnie Weber, amid a surge of development, she believes is not always in the best interests of actual residents.
For our episode #200, Jacob Kostuchowski goes to a rally of families of northern Nevada residents killed by local police, which took place September 17th, outside the Bruce R. Thompson US Courthouse and Federal Building.
The Northern Nevada Literacy Council is a non-profit organization aiming to help raise literacy rates in Nevada, which also offers free access to a program that helps adults get their high-school equivalency, regardless of how much education they already have.
“I say it's never too late,” Adrienne Santiago, Executive Director of the NNLC, said. “I say come on in to come talk to us, let us get your assessments done. You may only be here for a month and have a high school equivalency. You could be that close, and it might take a little bit longer, but even if it does, we'll work around your schedule. We will help you with all the barriers that are preventing you from doing this.” Listen to more in this podcast episode with reporter Jesse Stone.
The Access for Community and Cultural Education Programs & Trainings (ACCEPT) is a non-profit organization in Northern Nevada specializing in health education and services for clients with HIV, and now also helping other marginalized communities.
Founded after the tragic death of two men due to AIDS, the group has been serving the Northern Nevada area for nearly thirty years.
“In the early nineties, there were two young men that died from HIV and AIDS that were going to our church,” Executive Director of ACCEPT Gwen Taylor explained. “No one wanted to tell my husband that they died. Those two guys died. Young men died of AIDS without their pastor going to visit them. My husband just became very aggravated with the ignorance.”
Find out more about this organization in this podcast episode with Jesse Stone.
Reno City Council selected Kathleen Taylor, but there was another candidate much more representative of current issues of concern, such as protecting abortion rights and speaking for the working class amid an affordable housing crisis. Kingkini Sengupta interviews Jakki Duron, who was unhoused herself as a teenager, and was willing to represent those struggling in our community, but was passed over.
Steve Boyer a foodie entrepreneur in Reno describes his new curbside mobile oyster venture, as well as how he survived the pandemic and previous business failures.
Painter Zoe Bray explains her pursuits in fostering Eco-Art and reaching back to her Basque Heritage in Reno. “You don't need all this artificial stuff, but you have the most amazing nature around you and get yourself familiarized with that, and learn to care about your environment in the process. And so I think that's empowering to both children and adults and very freeing too,” Bray says of the eco-art experience. One of many projects she’s pursuing is trying to get eco-art incorporated into local school curriculums.
Remi Jourdan has been busy all summer preparing the musical portion of the Sept 8-11 Reno Tahoe International Art Show, in its first edition, with stages at the Reno Sparks Convention Center, a special night at Cargo and a gala at the Nevada Museum of Art. He's also behind Tunetrax a global platform for musicians and their fans. In this episode, he discusses other ideas for more musical festivals in Reno.
Jaden Urban goes to a garage concert which gets interrupted by police but is able to interview the band members behind Reno punk band Blind Fortune. Episode also includes snippets of some of their recent songs.
Band members found a book called “Meditations” by Marcus Aurelius. In the book there was a sentence that said “the kiss of charity”. They changed the name to Charity Kiss.
While the band has been able to form a good following here in Reno, the band’s ultimate goal is to relocate to Los Angeles.
“We’ve established a lot here in Reno and we love it here,” Ziegler said. “But the scene is pretty small and we want to get to a place where we can reach more people. But home base will always be Reno, we love Reno here too. We just think there might something more we can hit in LA.”
Find out more about this up and coming band as part of our musical series of podcast interviews with Jaden Urban.
J Gip has had many brushes with depression and death, but he's lived to tell his tales with hip hop. He wanted to share his ordeals with our music reporter Jaden Urban to show hope is possible even in the bleakest of moments. The National Suicide Prevention Lifeline is available 24 hours in English, Spanish. Call 800-273-8255 for any urgent situation.
As part of our summer music series showcasing local bands and musicians with recent interviews by Jaden Urban, we find out more about local teenager 88 Strait and include snippets of his music.
Every time Seven Ply Mag "drops" a new edition, they accompany it with a big local concert. Tyler Hammers and Jaden Urban interviewed them at two of their most recent events in Reno.
After a ghost procession, Our Town Reno coordinator Nico Colombant catches up with three organizers of nightly protests in Reno, Nevada, following the overturning of Roe v Wade. They explain their motivation and how they welcome others wanting to join them.
Protests have been taking place in Reno on consecutive nights since the Supreme Court overturned Roe v Wade. Our Town Reno reporter Ariel Smith catches up with passionate protesters to find out what drives them and what their outlook is on the present and future.
Conor Croskery explains to Kingkini Sengupta his passion for beekeeping. He talks about getting stung and gives tips to others who might want to start their own beehive.
Louis Bubala, a local Reno lawyer specializing in bankruptcies, remembers how he started volunteering with Friends of Nevada Wilderness in 2004, a moment which would set his path for countless more hours of helping preserve the region’s ecosystem. Listen to podcast interview with Our Town Reno reporter Kingkini Sengupta to find out more about his eco journey and the group he supports.
“I've known since I was nine that I was a little bit different than everybody else,” Sherrie Scaffidi says.
“But back then there was not a lot of information about people who were like I was. So I kept it hidden and I didn't do much about it. I told my late wife I think in the early 1990s. It didn't go over well at all, so I kept it hidden. She passed away in 2012, and that's when I decided that I was going to live my life the way I was supposed to be. So I started cross hormone therapy and in 2015 I came out to my three grown children. And I haven't looked back since then.”
Scaffidi, 72, is a transgender woman who came out to the world at the age of 65 in the year 2015. She’s well know in Reno at Our Center, and from her involvement in various groups including with PFLAG, an organization for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and queer (LGBTQ+) people, their parents, families, and allies and with TAG, the Transgender Allies Group.
Here she tells her story with reporter Kingkini Sengupta.
This week’s guest is one of her forever #sheroesofreno Wendy Wiglesworth. She recently held a vigil for our unhoused neighbors too soon she will never forget. She’s also been doing outreach for the Our Place shelter for women and families, and helping others in northern Nevada be better and more caring when doing their own outreach with people fending for themselves. Our reporter for this episode is Kingkini Sengupta.
As part of our series on interesting candidates running for local office, Joaquin Roces was sleeping at the Nevada Cares Campus just a few months ago, but was able to find housing and is now running to be Reno's mayor. He has lived experience with issues facing many Reno residents, from dealing with the affordability crisis to surviving mental health struggles. He also has new ideas for the Biggest Little City.
This week’s guest on our podcast is Judi Rought as part of our series on local political candidates running for local office and getting to know them better. Rought is already known for her pink beetle with Flamingo on its license plate. She also compares Reno to a flipped house. Hear more about her thoughts for the Biggest Little City including installing better wi-fi everywhere with our reporter Kingkini Sengupta.
Tabitha Schneider, who was once a single mother on welfare, only to become the founder of the Reno Hive Coworking and Incubation Space, is now campaigning for Reno's top elected position. Hear her develop her ideas to make the Biggest Little City better in our interview with Kingkini Sengupta.
As part of a series on the Our Town Reno website called the Last Motel Residents of Reno, we interviewed Skyler, a veteran and resident at the Desert Rose Inn. After a nasty separation, he was on parole with a job at Tesla, but then a stroke set him back. He details his life before and ahead, and why for him the motel has so much value on his journey. Our reporter for this episode is Kingkini Sengupta.
On this episode, as part of our series of interesting local candidates, Cotter C. Conway makes the case for his candidacy for Reno Justice of the Peace, Dept. 2. Conway has served as a Judge Pro Tem in four courts, including right now on the bench as the Court Referee in Reno Justice Court. He gives a civics 101 lesson on what different local courts do, and what makes a judge election different than others.
Taissa Lytchenko is a grad student at the University of Nevada, Reno, from Ukraine, who survived a difficult childhood, and is now pursuing doctorate studies in brain sciences, while performing as a gogo dancer at night in the Biggest Little City to be able to pay her bills. Our reporter for this episode is Kingkini Sengupta.
Taissa Lytchenko worries constantly about Ukraine, but she has to survive in her own journey, here in Reno to pay for mounting bills. She has had to fend for herself since being a teenager in a group home. Now while she pursues a doctorate degree she's a gogo dancer at night. Our reporter for this episode is Kingkini Sengupta.
The Ukrainian-Russian war rages on, and for people like Olena Nekrasova, a native Ukrainian living here in Reno, it’s a nerve wracking time for the present and what the future holds. She talks about ordeals faced by her family on the run, local support and difficulties in getting donations into Ukraine. Our reporter for this episode is Matthew Berrey.
While Washoe County has decided to have fewer open meetings about helping the unhoused in our community, Spencer Banda takes the opposite approach, spending as much time as he can to help people struggling. He's a part of several groups doing outreach while also working in after school care. Our reporter Kingkini Sengupta finds out what drives him and how he's able to balance his life while helping so many people.
The peer to peer group at Our Center in Reno provides support for “parents, friends and caregivers of transgender and gender variant youth” on the third Thursday of every month from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m.. One of the participants is Valerie Lovett who on this episode with reporter Kingkini Sengupta shares her own journey trying to help herself and her child.
Reno is not often considered a home to a vibrant film community. However, one production company Horror Nerd Productions, with almost a dozen films to their credit, is singlehandedly building an indie film community.
“I’ve always been a giant horror nerd,” said Dillon Brown, during a recent interview with Our Town Reno. Having studied English he is a published author but had always wanted to make a film. “I just went for it,” he told us. Listen as he and assistant Jessica Grimaldo explain how they are trying to turn the Biggest Little City into a hotspot for the horror movie genre.
Aaron Sims, an openly gay candidate, accountant for an employers insurance company in Reno and a frequent volunteer for the unhoused, lost a race for Carson City’s mayor position in 2020, and initially launched a campaign for Congress, but then as the puzzle for 2022 became clearer, decided Nevada’s 16th district for Senate was a better race for him. Listen to his interview to find out how he wants to turn housing, education and health as human rights.
Ben Davis has been behind the lens for a long time. His latest project, Reno After Dark, which can be found on Instagram is becoming a living historical document of how Reno is changing. Davis moved to Reno in 2010 for work; however he has always had connections to the Silver State. His family came to Nevada and laid down their roots outside of Ely working at a copper mine. His mom left the state, breaking a multigenerational run, but he returned. He now spends many nights photographing downtown Reno, its people and its signs. This episode is with reporter Richard Bednarski.
Jaden Urban interviews the coordinators of Family Soup Mutual Aid and local musicians on why they are organizing a big benefit concert called Our Streets in Reno at Dead Ringer Bar on the evening of March 9th.
The last time Kyle Isacksen says he ran for an elected position was for fifth grade class president and he came in third. He’s now running for Washoe County Commission District 3, a post held since 2007 by soon to be termed out Kitty Jung. In this episode, he explains why he's running, what the position entails, what policies he would pursue if elected and if he believes he has a chance to win the June Democratic primary and November runoff.
Jammal Tarkington came to Reno in the early 1990s to study music at the University of Nevada. He quickly found success behind the saxophone and has become a staple in the local music scene and beyond, having traveled the world on tour with many of his bands, from Mudshark to Keyser Soze. In this podcast episode with reporter Richard Bednarski, he muses on what the future might look like for musicians in the Biggest Little City and elsewhere coming out of the pandemic.
Mary Gilbert gives us a tour of a new boutique which was set up at Our Place to help with women and families staying at their shelter in northern Nevada on their road to being rehoused.
When Henry Sotelo was 18, he came to Reno with a friend who wanted to check out the University. His friend never attended the school but when Sotelo set foot on the campus, he fell in love. “I just loved the place and I’ve been here ever since,” he explains. Sotelo has been practicing criminal law as a Prosecutor for the City of Reno and Washoe County District Attorney’s office; as a criminal defense attorney, both as a court appointed attorney, and as private counsel; and finally as a Judge Pro Tem in the Reno Municipal Court. In this episode, he explains to reporter Richard Bednarski why specialty courts are the way of the future.
Black Wall Street Reno is a nonprofit organization spearheaded by its two founders Donald Griffin and Romar Tolliver, going stronger and stronger in its second year of existence. Both men hope that their organization can be one that steers local teens away from the adversity that they faced as youths and young men.
“This organization is to provide preventative measures for teens,” Tolliver said during a recent interview with Our Town Reno. For him, Black Wall Street Reno is a way for youths to channel their energy into productive learning and enrichment activities instead of being out on the streets. “I got in trouble as a kid,” Tolliver said, referring to the time he spent in the Nevada Youth Training Center (NYTC) when he was younger. His experience at NYTC was an eye opening one, and it’s marked in his memory as eight months of his youth that could have been spent doing something better. Listen to more of his experiences, insights and current endeavors in this episode with reporter Lynn Lazaro.
JP Harvey has been spending what time she can spare, between school and raising three kids, to help the unhoused locally. From rolling burritos to hand delivering jackets and boots, she has grand plans to make the world a better place. Listen to her as she details her involvement in a new group called Helping Hands Loving Hearts with reporter Richard Bednarski.
Reno Food Systems is an urban farm located on the corner of Mayberry drive and McCarran boulevard. Everything from fruit to fresh vegetables to medicinal and culinary herbs are produced on the lot during the growing season. Everything is grown organically and with sustainability in mind.
“We have workshops, we have volunteers, we have interns,” said Lyndsey Langsdale, the farm manager. “We also do a lot of educational things as well.”
The non-profit began as a vision between a few friends about five years ago and this last season was the fourth successful growing season on the farm. Next year they hope to expand growing into the winter. Find out more about all the growing they plan to do and the partnerships they keep building in this interview with reporter Richard Bednarski.
Dr. Sherilyn Duckworth is the founder of A Friend of Mind, empowering youth through yoga, education, and mental health advocacy. She also wants to help in Reno where she just arrived with the unhoused, as in 2021 there were four reported suicides in Washoe County among people living without stable shelter.
Catherine Schofield interviews fellow student reporter Richard Bednarski who looks back on reporting about the unhoused for 18 months during the pandemic and worsening affordability in Reno with motels being destroyed and more and more luxury apartments popping up.
Catherine Schofield hosts and reports for this episode from the Believe Plaza in downtown Reno where a new young group of volunteers has started a new regular Tuesday night outreach event. Some of the first people they helped were recently resettled Afghan refugees who have also struggled with the affordable housing crisis.
Savannah, a university student, thought she had found the perfect apartment, near the downtown hotel where she works full time, below $1,000 per month with everything included, even if that's about half of what she makes. But that was until a public notice sign went up, and there were indications her apartment building was being bought up by Jacobs Entertainment, just like the neighboring motels. She now worries what she will be able to afford whenever she is forced to move.
Karen Foster, the reverend at the Unitarian Universalist Fellowship of Northern Nevada, gives day in and day out, including during the giving season. Amid an affordable housing crisis, this religious leader has a plea for developers, as she tries to spread compassion and empathy. Our reporter for this episode is Richard Bednarski.
Non-binary lesbian Rachel Jackson recently started Pride of 775, a multimedia project to highlight and share queer experiences in Reno. On this episode with reporter Catherine Schofield we talk about how Pride of 775 started, what Rachel plans to do for the project, and we both share some of our experiences of being queer in Reno.
What's it like having a tent village right behind your classes? Bailey Shepard shares his thoughts and interviews a couple staying there, hoping to get into rehab housing soon. Richard Bednarski interviews another tent occupant who has done lots of jail time and has had a hard time figuring out his economic footing. The tent village has had notices to evacuate but parts have remained in an area right behind the University of Nevada, Reno.
It was a cold, windy, and cloudy fall day. Puddles of water marked the Believe plaza in the normal random manner. Yellow and red leaves stuck to the aged concrete. A lone skateboard practiced through the puddles. Near the crumbling Space Whale, a small group of unhoused community members took a rest and shared conversations. Bill Sims, a longtime Reno resident and advocate for the unhoused came to meet us there. He is the son of a man who was homeless. He now spends his free time volunteering to share meals, clothe and help the unhoused where needed. He also usually takes the podium during public comment sessions at City Hall. The reporter for this episode is Richard Bednarski.
Our older residents have been lonely during the pandemic, while some of our kids have been struggling in school. What better program than to pair the two together in a win win program. Seniors in Service has been doing just that. They have a foster grandparents program that pairs senior citizens with students in local schools. Half mentorship and half companionship, this program benefits not just students, but the volunteers and also the teachers. Listen to Sheri Brown, the volunteer coordinator talk about the program and hear from long time volunteer Linda Peterson. Our reporter for this episode is Richard Bednarski.
As part of our heroes of Reno and sheroes of Reno series, Catherine Schofield highlights the work of Jane Dunn a leader of the Reno Posse and how and why they do outreach to neighbors in need.
Richard Bednarski interviews local lawyer Ken Stover who became a lawyer to protect the Earth and now defends activists, from Black Lives Matter to the anti-sweeps movement.
Kathleen Lang got caught up in recent sweeps while living at a tent city in Reno. She’s now in housing in a dorm style room inside containers at the Village on Sage Street but her long time partner Doug is dead. In this episode, she recounts his final weeks and the weeks leading up to his death. She can't forgive herself for not being there with him at the end of his journey, but she was dealing with repeated sweeps herself. Many who die while unhoused are forgotten and not mentioned in media. We here at Our Town Reno try to correct this when we can as best we can. Our reporter for this episode is Richard Bednarski.
The Truckee River is looking frighteningly low toward the end of 2021. Our guest for this episode is environmental storyteller and Truckee River expert Kelsey Fitzgerald. She is a graduate of the Reynolds School of Journalism who earned her Master’s degree here in 2015 and started the website truckeeriverguide.org/ The website is a citizen interactive field guide to plants and wildlife along the majestic and rugged Truckee River. She’s also a science writer for the Desert Research Institute.
Jake Maynard explains why he joined the anti-sweeps movement in Reno, Nevada, while we go into our archives, a profile of Joane, over 70 and fending for herself. Can't we do better as a society to help the most vulnerable among us?
What happens when you've lost almost all hope while living on the streets? Why is it that in certain situations it's so difficult to climb that hill again and get back into the job market? Our Town Reno reporters speak to Robert and Ace, the first saying he's waiting for death, and the second from our archives suicidal while unhoused. Our neighbors without stable shelter deserve our close attention and empathy, because who are we if we can't help those among us struggling in our communities?
Contracted private operator Keolis, transportation and city officials have expressed disappointment and frustration bus drivers are back on strike amid ongoing efforts to get a better collective bargaining agreement. Little media attention is given to who these bus drivers are exactly and what led them to pursue the job in the first place. Our reporter Richard Bednarski went to the picket line this week to find out.
Too many of our neighbors have had their relatives killed by local law enforcement in situations which could have easily avoided death. At a recent rally, Our Town Reno reporters Gracie Gordon and Rachel Jackson met with the daughter and sister of Johnny Bonta who was killed at the age of 43 by Sparks police four years ago.
In this episode with Richard Bednarski, we look into getting more details on what’s going on at the Nevada Cares Campus and the overall local government plan to help the unhoused.
Our guest is Washoe County Commissioner Alexis Hill. She speaks to us as the county is taking over leadership in helping the unhoused regionally from the city of Reno after months and months of negotiations to make that happen. She’s also the new chair of CHAB the community homelessness advisory board. Unlike many others in town, Commissioner Hill always responds to emails and queries for interviews. This is a frank discussion from improving the food at the massive big tent mega shelter to logistics and staff, to renewing contracts and building better partnerships with advocates.
Being elderly in normal times can lead to acute loneliness. In this new normal of a still surging pandemic and terrible air quality, the loneliness has grown exponentially. Our guest with reporter Richard Bednarski for this week’s podcast episode is Hannah Sweeney, the program director for Seniors in Service. The northern Nevada non profit has been growing a program that combats isolation by giving tablets, wifi and tech training to seniors in need.
In this bonus episode, we look into the plight of evacuees from the Caldor Fire on the California Nevada border. Despite efforts by firefighters, hundreds of homes have already been destroyed. Reporter Richard Bednarski catches up with evacuees now staying at the Reno Sparks Convention Center amid this climate change crisis we are experiencing full on right now, from bad air quality for those around the fires, to those losing homes destroyed by the rampaging flames.
Jessica Castro was unhoused herself and went through devastating trauma but has rebounded. She’s now a powerhouse advocate for those struggling in Reno and northern Nevava, on social media, at City Council meetings and outside the new Nevada Cares campus. She works as a local auditor at a call center, but when she’s off work you’ll usually find her helping others. Several times a week, she distributes hundreds of bottles of water and holds big community meals, providing healthier options than what’s being offered inside. In this episode with reporter Richard Bednarski you'll also hear those she helps and volunteers working by her side.
Our guest on this episode is Anthony Shafton, a Chicago native, independent scholar and current Reno resident. He’s an author who has written several books including The Nevada They Knew, Robert Caples, Walter Van Tilburg Clark, a double biography about Nevada’s prominent modern painter and novelist of the 20th century. Recently Shafton wrote an oped for Our Town Reno about public art in Reno and how current pursuits might be misguided. He discusses this past, present and future of the Biggest Little City and warns about corporate driven gentrification and homogenization.
What's it like for journalists covering the devastating fires and never ending smoke here in the West during a historically bad year? Our guest is one of our current reporters Richard Benarski, who was an intern with the Reno Gazette-Journal this past summer, and whose aspiration is to become a storyteller raising awareness by covering climate change. He’s also from Quincy, California, a town in the thick of it, so he’s been reporting in an area he’s extremely familiar with. In this episode he gives many insights both about the situation, what it's looking like right now and in the weeks ahead, and being a reporter literally thrown into the flames.
How can public art become better for Reno and other communities across the United States? Mark Salinas, the senior project manager at Forecast Public Art, recently helped develop a land recognition statement as part of many projects he is working on in the Biggest Little City where he works from. He has also recently worked with a social worker artist empowering the unhoused after they get into housing in Atlanta, as well as with a major community bridge park in development Washington, D.C. On this episode with Our Town Reno coordinator Nico Colombant, Salinas discusses Reno's Space Whale, electrical boxes, Jacobs Entertainment art, the Locomotion plaza and how to get grants and community engagement among several public art related topics.
Danielle Barrineau went from tying herself up in garbage bags to stay warm and hidden while living on the streets in Reno and addicted to heroin, to now being housed with her daughter and helping others. She recently spoke up at City Hall to stop the sweeps. She has plenty of insights from her own experiences and her current work as a peer recovery specialist. She also shares her dreams and aspirations for herself, for Reno, for the world and her daughter.
It was the start of the pandemic. It was the beginning of the end of the Record Street shelter in downtown Reno. It was before the Nevada Cares Campus. It was chaotic, it was frightening. The Reno Events Center was opened for those without shelter. Staff were screaming, yelling instructions, while the rest of the city was empty. This historical audio piece was first run as part of a series with Nevada Humanities, now replayed on your podcast here.
This week we’re reissuing part of a previous episode but on its own to never forget. This month in July marked eight years since Iraq war veteran Kenneth Stafford, a 27 year old father of three girls, was cornered, gunned down and killed by local police while he was going through a difficult time. At a recent protest reporter Gracie Gordon met with his mother Terry Colgrove and his sister Courtney Henderson. They explained how he was on military leave on that fateful tragic day. He had just traveled down to the area from Washington. He was dealing with PTSD and stress related to a pending court case. He had gotten a shotgun from someone to protect himself. When his family called for help, instead of a mental health worker, it was police who came out firing. On this Our Town Reno podcast episode, his mother describing the days and then seconds leading up to his killing.
As more and more federal money arrives into Nevada and local coffers in Reno, those seeking to help our struggling neighbors are seizing the moment to reinvigorate long held ideas never tried before locally.
At the June Community Homelessness Advisory Board meeting, Eileen Bidwell, representing the One Truckee River non profit, presented the need for a local safe parking program. CHAB members seemed interested but wanted to keep the ball in her court, to keep seeing how much further she could take the idea herself. They seem preoccupied by the new Nevada Cares Campus and its safe camp, she said.
“Safe and legal parking can make a huge difference in people's lives. It could make the difference between living unsheltered or living in a relatively safe and legal place to park,” Bidwell said during a recent interview. “People who have no choice but to live in their vehicles live in fear of notices and having their shelter towed away.” In this choice, she gives us an update on the whys and hows this type of program could help locally.
Catrina Peters, a Washoe County official gave us a tour last week of the new safe camp, which is part of the new multimillion dollar Nevada Cares Campus. At the time of our visit, only 14 people and one cat were reported to be staying at this pilot safe camp so far. In the interview we are told only 50 tents in all will be planned when it moves to the yet to be ready former Governor's Bowl baseball field. Our Town Reno tried to get more details of what's being offered and responses to community concerns about what might be missing to make it a more successful and welcoming initiative. Many unhoused we spoke to previously had high hopes for the camp, but feel frustrated at the lack of space, shade, location, clarity of waiting lists and criteria to get in, the food being served there and dogs not being allowed yet, among mounting concerns. We ask these questions and others during the tour, which also included insights from Austin Solheim, the Washoe County Homeless Services Program Specialist, and Grant Denton, the head of the Karma Box Project which has been awarded an emergency contract to operate the camp.
Brianna Punsalang once walked into a local store branded as metaphysical looking for some supplies. When employees tried to sell them on a “Tarot for Teens” class, they thought the local shop must not have had a very diverse clientele. Brianna was 30 at the time. Several years later, they are now running Coyote Supply Co. and gave our reporter Rachel Jackson a tour.
As one of the leaders of the Reno-Sparks chapter of the Citizens’ Climate Lobby, a nationwide nonprofit which focuses on creating the political will for environmental progress, Michelle Hamilton brings energy, dedication, and innovation to addressing climate change.
“It’s been around since 2010 as a national organization,” explained Hamilton, “and there are three chapters in the Nevada area.” Along with the chapter locally, there are chapters in Carson City and Las Vegas. The Reno chapter was established in 2015 and all three chapters focus on lobbying politicians, influencers and stakeholders to advocate for climate change legislation.
“We do that through many vehicles, one is meeting directly with members of Congress,” said Hamilton “to help them understand the climate legislation that we’re advocating for.” The local chapters also focus on outreach to community leaders and business owners. Their goal is to start the conversation and amplify the discussion around climate change and a possible carbon tax. Our reporter for this episode is Richard Bednarski.
Shaved head, painted fingernails, multiple earring that’s Gallo Chingon, the podcaster behind Sucias are my Favorite, a welcome addition to our local landscape. Gallo moved to Reno for a job at Tesla but has since left to begin a life of content creation and exploration of hobbies. He values his time and says he’s out of the rat race for now. In this Our Town Reno podcast episode with Richard Bednarski, he explains how he was able to reconnect with many different parts of his personality here in northern Nevada.
We've heard of mutual aid groups and community gardens, so why not combine the two? Patricia Curtis-Ostler is one of the volunteers for a new initiative in a sideyard in downtown Reno. She explains why she’s helping as she does with so many groups in the community. We’ll also hear from Michael Carson, a coordinator of this project. He’ll explain his plan to grow crops for those in need.
This is a podcast rundown of a stop the sweeps protest today June 7th, 2021 in Reno when protestors faced off against police. I’m Nico Colombant the coordinator for the Our Town Reno multimedia initiative.
As people chanted, outreach workers started arriving first, speaking to people unhoused laying on the grass at Believe Plaza. I interrupted Erika Minaberry doing a Facebook Live to ask about her insights with tensions rising. Then the police arrived. They had issued a notice for the advocates to vacate by noon. Lily Baran and others explained it was a free speech vigil protest and not a camping situation. At first police and a city official said they wanted to offer resources to those camping in the Believe Plaza area. Tensions rose at the protest site as advocates for the unhoused weren’t sure what police would do next. After talking separately with Lily Baran, one officer said he would be back the next day during his early shift. The crowd taunted police as they left while Baran and then Ilya Arbatman, another advocate, gave us their observations on the quickly unfolding situation.
Wraith is mad an encampment at N Edison and Mill Street is next on the sweeps list in Reno, following the opening of new mega shelter the Nevada Cares Campus. It’s broiling hot and it’s only June second. People here are tired of journalists and cameras. Advocates were hoping they could make this a legal safe camp until the official safe camp opens at the new Nevada Cares Campus but the City of Reno cars and police vehicles are already here and notices have been handed out. There’s been a petition getting hundreds of signatures to stop the sweeps, angry words at the City Council meeting, and a new Occupy protest in downtown Reno, but the sweeps aren't stopping, so Wraith is busy getting people and their possessions into different vehicles.
At the beginning of summer last year, protests were erupting across the country over a range of issues, including police violence and conditions at Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention centers. Helen Miranda and Ashley Solano decided they needed to do something about it. Being friends since their sophomore year of high school, the two decided to start Project UNITY, a group aimed at organizing protests and activism in the Reno area.
Solano was born and raised in Reno, while Miranda moved here from Los Angeles when she was eight years old. Disappointed in the lack of local action, Miranda and Solano took it upon themselves to create the change they wanted to see, even if it was just the two of them. Since then, they have organized protests against inadequate immigration facilities, sex trafficking, and police brutality. They have also hosted donation drives for Reno’s houseless community. Listen to their accomplishments and aspirations in this Our Town Reno episode with reporter Rachel Jackson.
When we interviewed him, Carl, an Illinois native, had been living in the tent city in Reno for about a month. “We're all sick, we're all struggling. You know, we're all struggling. I mean, you do get some bad seeds up in here, but you know what, we're all pretty much in the same boat.” As notices were handed out up and down railroad tracks in Reno, Carl sat down in an outdoor couch to have a cigarette and share his story with Richard Bednarski.
As a University of Nevada, Reno graduate student, Alex Muñoz, originally from Barcelona, Spain, plans to study the geography of the developing Governor’s Bowl Park homeless shelter. With a background in cinema and global studies, Muñoz wants his work to have an impact on the community. Muñoz has also implanted himself in the local community’s outreach efforts addressing the needs of our houseless neighbors. He is one of the three members behind Laundry to the People and has helped with the Reno Burrito Project. Our reporters for this episode are Gracie Gordon and Richard Bednarski.
Since early February, the Reno Gastro Project, whose stated mission “is to support the local economy while feeding community members facing hunger”, has been purchasing restaurant meals at full price for those most in need.
In nearly three months, they have already raised about $16,000 dollars. Susan Abele, the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Nevada State Coordinator for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, along with three of her co-workers, had this vision in helping our neighbors in need. On a recent morning, she sat down with Our Town Reno reporter Richard Bednarski at the local restaurant, Lili’s Restaurant and Bar, over a cup of coffee.
“We’ve been raising money to buy meals from local restaurants at full price and provide the people in need,” said Abele as the chatter from early morning diners and wait staff filled the air. She moved here in 2004 from Idaho and was recently inspired by a friend’s Facebook post about a similar project happening in Spokane, WA. Abele wanted to not only bring food to people who need it but also support the local restaurant scene as well. The initial campaign is focused on providing meals for the Eddy House, which helps youth without stable shelter. “Our goal is to provide two weeks of meals to the at-risk youth that they serve,” said Abele, as the waitress brought us each a cup of coffee.
Officially launched on February third, the Reno Gastro Project is a licensed non-profit with the State of Nevada. They have also applied for 501(c) 3 status with the U.S. government and their application is pending. Once this happens, all donations will be tax-deductible.
“We’ve supported over 20 local restaurants already,” explained Abele “and our goal is to support each one at a $1,000 a restaurant.” To date, the Reno Gastro Project has supported over 20 local restaurants. This includes Cherry Bomb Catering, who squeezed them in during a busy sold-out Easter Sunday in order to provide an Easter Brunch for the women at Casa de Vida. Other big players have been Two Chicks and Ijji Noodle House. More on this ingenious program in this episode, as part of a series here about Heroes of Reno.
Sana Sana says he's working to bridge the gap between dehumanization and injustices to land and water through hip hop, illustration, and direct action. “I was pretty much born an artist, but I feel like I didn’t really start coming into my own,” said Sana Sana, a local Reno visual and hip hop artist “until I dedicated my art to saying something that was meaningful to the people and for the land.”
He does not believe art and activism are independent of one another. He goes by Sana, which is Spanish for heal as his chosen name because of the song mothers from his community sing to their kids when they get hurt, sana sana colita de rana.
Originally from Milwaukee, Sana Sana came to Reno about fifteen years ago. His artwork is based in illustration, having worked as a tattoo artist for fifteen years. As the pandemic wore on, he chose to leave a local shop. It was an opportunity to break out on his own and focus more on his work and be selective about whom he tattoos.
Sana Sana draws heavily on his ancestry for not just inspiration but also to live up to who he is. His family goes back to the people of central Mexico where he says poetry is the highest form of expression. “When something moves me to say something, that’s when I create,” he said “that can be either an illustration or it can be a song.” His mother’s side is Coahuilteca, an Indigenous group from southern Texas and his father’s side is Purépecha, a group of people living in Michoacán, located in central Mexico.
Listen to the episode for more with reporter Richard Bednarski, including song clips.
On an early morning by the Wells Avenue bridge, downtown Reno ambassadors roam around on Segways; cops respond to disturbance calls, and two women attempt to clean out their tents in hopes of making the area feel more like home. Ahead of a new Cares campus, this is where people living in tents are being allowed to stay, but that may all change soon, with sweeps being threatened, and police refusing to hire more social workers, despite pleas from advocates.
Shannon Moore, 32, has lived in Reno for 30 years and has been homeless for the past six years. Moore feels invisible because of her current state of living. To her, being a woman and homeless comes with severe challenges.
“I can't even take a shower now,” she said. “You know, like they have two different men's shelters for men to do whatever they want all day long, be drunk on beer and all that. And they can take showers. The women’s shelter is all the way (across town). And when you get there, you can't get in and take a shower, not unless you have a bed there and the bed wait is like a month.”
Patches, 63, a woman at the Wells Ave. camp originally from Carson City expressed how becoming homeless in Reno has required her to change how she sees the world. Patches explains the world is all about love, but often times being a woman without stable shelter, she says people seem to take her for granted.
Our reporters for this episode are Gracie Gordon and Rachel Jackson.
With temperatures rising and skies clearing, activist Lily Baran started her day tending to a batch of strawberry seedlings she received from a farm in Dayton, Nevada. Her son Oliver and her dog Champagne are close behind, dodging wasps here and there. Once frost is a threat of the past, the seedlings can be put into the ground to bloom and grow into red delicious berries. For now, they are one of the first batches of seedlings grown by the Hampton House Community Garden Project.
Baran, a Reno citizen of almost eight years, partnered with Black Wall Street Reno about two months ago to start the project.
“I think I've always loved gardening, but, in my work and organizing and activism have really wanted to find a way after such a traumatic year for everyone, but especially for Black and Indigenous people, to try to find a way that we can have a space where we're restoring and healing and taking care of each other and ourselves and our communities.”
Our reporter for this episode is Rachel Jackson.
Laundry to the People is composed of Ilya Arbatman, Rosie Zuckerman, and Alex Muñoz. The three were connected by Blaize Abuntori of the Reno Burrito Project.
While there have been a handful of groups stepping up and providing nutritious food and hygiene kits to the houseless community locally, less attention has been given to other necessities. Seeing this, Laundry to the People stepped in and began helping people living along the Truckee River get their laundry to the laundromat, cleaned, and dried.
“We basically go down to tent city in a big van,” said Ilya Arbatman, one of the founding members “get people who need their laundry done. They load up their laundry in the van, we meet them at the laundromat and we help them do their laundry.”
A simple action can go a long way if it’s done consistently and with compassion. Run by three community members, Rosie Zuckerman, Alex Muñoz, and Arbatman, the group came together after Blaize Abuntori of the Reno Burrito Project put them in touch. For nine weeks now they have been helping the houseless community wash their clothes.
Recently, Our Town Reno reporter Richard Bednarski met them at the Mr. Bubbles Launderland on Second Street and Wells Avenue, not too far from the encampment where people are being helped. The sun was shining and people were busy shuffling in and out of the laundromat as the large white van pulled in. Moments later, members of the houseless community walked up and began helping Arbatman and Muñoz unload the van, each person carrying a bag full of dirty laundry.
For Michael Guymon, being an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT) is a career filled with tragedy, bitter realizations, and beautiful moments of brotherhood.
Guymon has been an EMT for about three years and six months full time on the streets of Reno.
As an EMT, Guymon, a UNR graduate, says he has seen sides of Reno he wished did not exist. “It's (Reno) dirtier than I thought it was going to be. Drugs are a lot more rampant here than I first anticipated, and the amount of meth in Reno is pretty absurd.” Meth, he says, remains a serious issue in certain communities.
“So opiates are kind of a more expensive drug, same with like all your like hallucinogenics and cocaine,” Guymon said. “Meth is massive. Super cheap meth is easily obtainable, and you're high lasts for way longer. Fortunately, I don't see too much overdose in terms of heroin and the homeless population. I have encountered meth with people who have hotel rooms or live in some very low-priority housing kind of thing. That's where you start to see meth use.”
Mental health is also an issue he believe has not received enough sustained attention. “A big issue is with drugs and with just the inability for us to actually take care of mental health patients on the street, and they don't get help there. So they just continue to try dosing themselves with random drugs or use like meth or something like that. They're very easily taken advantage of by other people on the street. It's really sad because there's very little that we can do for mental health. And there's very little the ER can do for mental health. We only have, like, I would say probably like four or five major mental health facilities and Reno. And if you don't have insurance, it's kinda difficult to get into those.”
Dealing with downtown ambassadors he says is also a work in progress. Listen to the full episode with Gracie Gordon to find out more of his candid thoughts.
Amie Duncan, the founder of Reno Soup for the Soul, started during the COVID-19 pandemic is now looking to Spring 2021, with a new focus on supplies, sandwiches, salads, and street outreach. As a mother of one and holding down a full time job, Duncan has carved out time in a busy schedule to do what she can to help her unhoused neighbors. Volunteers help in person or can donate via an Amazon wishlist or a gofundme account. The reporter for this episode is Richard Bednarski.
"We're trying to make it livable out here. I mean, my tent is the big one over there and, you know, just it's, I think it's ridiculous. I think it's ridiculous when the cops have to come out here and pull all of us out of here. We're not doing anything wrong, you know, we're trying to live just like they do every day. We're trying to get back on our feet and it's hard."
That’s Kelly at Fisherman’s Park near the Truckee River on the Reno/Sparks line, fearing more police sweeps. Advocates are pushing for mental health and social workers to do outreach rather than police criminalizing those without stable shelter.
Kelly has been through so much. She’s lost three of her four children along the way, and her security job during the pandemic. She gave up a motel spot paid with vouchers to take care of a dog, and returned to living in a tent. Our reporter for this episode is Richard Bednarski.
Hands of Hope, an ingenious food bank, which charges 10 dollars for nearly 200 dollars worth of groceries twice a week for veterans and community members, is now facing having to move from its Valley Road location in Reno due to rent issues. This after Frank Seve had to take over from his parents, after they were deported back to Western Samoa. Our reporter Richard Bednarski has the story.
Michael Carson said he had a turnaround in 2020, with the pandemic and the murder of George Floyd. Seeking guidance from mentors, he is now taking it upon himself to help create a better world, including in northern Nevada. If there’s a sweep going on, he tries to be on the scene doing a Facebook live, to show the community what’s happening. He’s also organized community cleanups along the Truckee River and started a food pantry on his front porch. Our reporter for this episode is Richard Bednarski.
During this difficult stretch in his life, Jeremy is grateful to have people that still look out for him. “I have people that manage some places around here and they let me come in and get my showers and let us do our thing,” Jeremy said of living on the streets but getting help. “They're very cool about it. I've known them a long time and they're not going to let us completely fall on our face. I’m [also] thankful to be alive. I'm thankful for my wife, I'm thankful for my dog, I'm thankful for you guys, right now.”
Since the COVID-19 pandemic took hold of the United States one year ago, Jeremy and his wife have periodically been without shelter. This is their second time camping by the river and it's an experience that Jeremy says is difficult, particularly due to the health complications he’s been suffering lately. The reporter for this episode is Scott King.
It’s another windy day in Reno along the Truckee River. Austin and Eric with the Eddy House are going from tent to tent checking in on people, and if they are young adults offering their services to get them back on track. We’ll also meet one of them Matt who’s been living with his husband in a tent for six months after losing a warehouse job. Our reporter for this episode is Richard Bednarski.
A legend of the local graffiti and skateboarding scene recently passed away. In his tribute a mural is being created in Reno, part of which includes his trademark letter style. Our reporter for this episode Richard Bednarski interviews another graffiti artist taking part in the project who goes by Easoe. He has plenty to say about who he calls the godfather of graffiti in the Truckee meadows as well as about the local and national history of graffiti and the effects of gentrification.
It was a week to remember. Snowfall was following snowfall and the temperature was getting lower and lower. Advocates for those without stable shelter were arguing with Reno City Council members over social media. Officials kept saying beds were still available at the main shelters but what about those who had bad experiences and never wanted to return to those shelters? What about opening up hotel rooms and motel rooms to save people from dying in the streets? That’s when the community stepped up and with a large donor and matching contributions, a new initiative started to get people into motel rooms with private funding.
Our reporter Richard Bednarski caught up with Mary Gilbert from the group RISE which also operates a women’s shelter, as the whole operation was getting underway, starting a new movement with citizens providing the solutions and getting it done as well.
Many people don't realize there is an informal economy and mutual aid society of sorts that continuously operates in tent cities. Gracie Gordon interviews James, a Baptist from Alabama living along the Truckee River, who helps others by fixing their bikes. He says he's "fixing to move" though because he's heard of an oncoming police sweep.
Troy says he’s been in Reno since 2006 and without stable shelter for the past three years. He says he used to be a carpenter who helped build houses, but his disabilities have made it impossible for him to pursue that line of work anymore. One of his prized possessions is a small solar panel he uses to charge his phone. He avoids shelters, he says, because he doesn’t want to be told when to wake up, and also likes to stay with his girlfriend and a dog he’s been taking care of he calls Squeaker. Our street reporter for this episode is Richard Bednarski.
After experiencing roughly 13 years of living on Reno’s streets, Linda, 70, says she wants to leave the Biggest Little City. She recently survived a stroke, but says she will not stay in local shelters anymore.
“They're not nice. Everybody fights to their teeth. I'm staying out on the streets where I’m safe,” she said. Although Linda is among the demographic most susceptible to Covid-19, she remains unafraid. “I'm 100% safe. I have taken the test eight times and negative eight. Now I can leave Nevada safely,” she said.
She's survived fights, thieves, and mistreatment by others, so she is fearless in a way. But she says she does suffer from “loneliness.” She says people like her gather along railroad tracks, but when the group gets too big, it attracts unwanted attention.
She says she feels she’s one of the “mentally ill,” but has given up on seeking out resources as well. It’s too much of a hassle, she says. She says she burned her hair.
Where will she go? She doesn’t want to say, but her rolling suitcase seems neatly packed and she’s by the downtown bus station. In this episode, we will also hear from Tony who says he tries to find harder to access spots not to bother anyone or to get booted in police sweeps.
”They go on the other side of the river, where all the parks are, so the police kind of leave us alone here,” he said. Unlike many others living in their tents, Tony says he keeps very little so he’s able to quickly adapt to any situation that may come his way.
He says some of his neighbors sometimes try to go into local shelters on cold nights, but have to wait hours and sometimes get turned away, so many give up even trying. Our reporter for this episode is Gracie Gordon.
“Currently, I'm homeless. I got my own little camping set up," Darius said when we met him on the streets of Reno. He said he’s found ways to get early morning day labor without needing an ID, which he says was recently stolen. People don't always realize what an ordeal it is to get an ID back when you are also trying to survive moment to moment. Biggest Little Streets is that rare podcast which gives the microphone to people detailing how they are trying to get back on track, amid a life affordability crisis.
Our reporter Gracie Gordon goes to two skate parks in northern Nevada to get an update on the skateboarding scene which perseveres despite COVID-19 and occasional winter storms. She interviews Chase McMullen, a veteran skateboarder who says he used to be a troublemaker, but now he’s working on an Instagram page full of videos and photos to support, inspire and motivate younger skateboarders. Gracie also goes to the North Valleys Regional Park to meet with Eddie Washington, the founder of the Reno Skate Alliance.
Elaine Voight, who takes no salary for herself, has been helping ex-felons rejoin their communities in northern Nevada by helping them navigate the uphill battles they face when released from prison. The paralegal began another group called “Friends and Family of Prison Inmates” in 2002.
“The goal for this group was to provide understanding to those who have been left behind when a loved one goes to prison. I know from first hand experience what judgments are carried over to the families and the shame, frustration, anger and sense of abandonment the families are trying to work through. After a few meetings, we realized that those leaving the prison system were experiencing the same feelings but from a different perspective,” she writes on the My Journey Home website. Listen to her interview with Richard Bednarski as she gives an update on the type of help she now provides and how get to this point.
Reporter Richard Bednarski goes into the church kitchen of Cowboy Tom as he prepares holiday meals for groups helping those without stable shelter in northern Nevada. What started as a small catering business grew into a community wide initiative to help others struggling.
Ashley, a mother separated from her children, has been staying at Barbara Bennett park in downtown Reno by the tennis and basketball courts and the Truckee River for the past several months and has been without housing for the past year. She used to work in housekeeping but she says a broken foot derailed her life. Reporter Scott King finds out more about her difficult journey.
As part of our series of street audio postcards, Scott King interviews Rico who was carrying around tree branches after others asked him to try to make some DMT with root bark. He says he lost his way after losing three brothers in short succession, but that he's a good soul. “I’ve been in Reno for approximately six years and I would sum up my experience in Reno with patience, pain, and love,” Rico said. He says he hopes to soon enroll at TMCC and take classes like psychology, philosophy and languages like Hindu or American Sign Language. Those classes will prepare him, he says, to take on a position as a life coach, aside from his pursuits as an artist.
As a graduate student at the Reynolds School of Journalism, Scott King spent his entire 18 months as an Our Town Reno reporter. From podcast episodes to share your story at the downtown library sessions, from night time street photography to documenting early morning police sweeps, Scott has been from tents to motels to the river and alleys of Reno interviewing and listening to those who live on the streets of the Biggest Little City. In this episode with current grad student Richard Bednarski, Scott, a former Peace Corps volunteer from Cleveland, shares his on the street reporting insights.
Chris Fegert, who does community communications for Northern Nevada Hopes, takes us on a tour of HopeSprings, a tiny home village already built up but which still needs operational money. What is causing these delays? What will future residents get from living in this so-called village in downtown Reno? Our reporter for this episode is Scott King.
“I think the act of scooping rice and beans onto a plate is gratifying." After testing positive for COVID-19 and quarantining, UNR student Stephen Zipkin has been back out on Saturday mornings with Washoe Food Not Bombs, who also now distribute blankets, jackets and tarps at Barbara Bennett Park where there is a small encampment. Our latest #heroesofreno #humansofreno story on why people help people in need is by Richie Bednarski.
In part two of our series about River Stewards in Reno, Scott King interviews Byron, who lives in a tent along the Truckee River, but has joined the new program with One Truckee River, where he gets paid daily to help clean up the trash. “I know that you know, all this garbage out here, it looks really, really bad for our community, but I'm working on the inside to try to change that for you guys, just for our image and for Reno's image, Nevada's image,” he said.
Grant Denton, well known locally already for his Karma Box project of neighborhood donations, and morning workouts for women in recovery, now coordinates the River Stewards program to help keep the Truckee River clean.
As we pass tents, Denton stops to talk with the person inside and offers them a trash bag and the opportunity to join his crew. The River Stewards have already collected and disposed of over 350 bags of trash. Denton has a group of four regular homeless workers who come out five days a week to clean up trash left behind by the homeless community. He gives them a $50 daily gift card for them to use for food, clothing, or other essentials. At the end of each week, Denton takes the group out to eat at a local restaurant giving them a sense of what life is like outside of the homelessness bubble.
Our reporter for this episode is Richie Bednarski.
Marcus Stewart, 25, who has albinism and is legally blind, had been sleeping at the big tent shelter on East Fourth Street about a week when we met him. He said he moved from Winnemucca to Reno in August, but he says the sun here makes it hard for him, and he’s not sure what to do next. He’s originally from Oklahoma City, where he says he might try to get back to. He was living with family in rural Nevada, and when it wasn't working out, he says, they bought him a train ticket and told him to try his luck in the Biggest Little City despite the raging pandemic.
Zach Cannady is the driving force behind Prema Farm, overseeing a small organic farm in Long Valley just twenty minutes north of Reno.
Along with four employees, he cultivates just over an acre of farmland along with three greenhouses. He estimates his team produce senough food to feed 600 to 800 families in the summer. “I hope to be a hub for inspiration,” Cannady said on a recent Fall day, inside one of his 3,000 square feet greenhouses filled with several hundred seedlings, almost ready to go into the ground for the winter growing season.
As a pillar of the community, Cannady has been donating food to a local chapter of Food Not Bombs since early April. Food Not Bombs is a group of community members using direct action to build community networks and civilian solidarity through the preparation and donation of nutritious food.
Cannady feels the mission of Food Not Bombs aligns with the driving philosophy of Prema Farms.
“I think that working with them as people and just seeing them in action does a wonderful amount of good. It's really about getting food directly to people that need it and that's why we choose to work with them,” Cannady said
On Saturdays, Cannady can be found at the Riverside market in downtown Reno. Find out more in our latest podcast episode with reporter Richard Bednarski.
Matt doesn't understand why shelters kick people out every morning in the dark when it's still freezing cold. While we all await for election results in Nevada and elsewhere, he struggles every morning with this stark reality. On this podcast, we ask can't we do better as a society. And we give the microphone to people like Matt, recently divorced, in a bad accident, having lost his retail job, in a wheelchair, now on the streets of Reno. Our reporter for this episode is Scott King.
In this episode, we hear from Lily Baran who recently helped organize the People's Summit at Miguel Ribera park in Reno, to gather forward thinking, solutions oriented progressives. Our reporter Gracie Gordon also interviews several participants, including RoMarTolliver, representing the Black Wall Street non profit in Reno, a new group helping the community’s youth, reaching out to the homeless and working toward a better, more just society. Two members of the Reno Initiative for Shelter and Equality, Jen Cassady and Mary Gilbert, also join her to detail the evolution of RISE which now also manages the new shelter for women, families and elderly called Our Place.
Seth Bradley, 23, a head server at Liberty Food and Wine Exchange in downtown Reno, is proud of how well the restaurant responded to help its staff when the pandemic shutdown began.
“When Covid first hit, we had everybody come in, this was like pre quarantine, obviously and we had everybody come in like the whole staff, and we have a pretty large staff, and they (Liberty) gave us a bunch of food, like a lot of meats that were probably going to be going to waste and like pastas and just whatever they could. And we all got to just kind of take whatever we wanted, essentially. They were trying to just give us some kind of security because we weren't going to have work for who knows how long.”
In this episode, our reporter Gracie Gordon interviews Bradley about how the pandemic unfolded and affected his livelihood from the initial shutdown up to today.
“Love seems pretty radical to me,” Nightingale said of joining PERCh several months ago, and taking part in solidarity crosswalks and other actions. The group plans to broaden its efforts and help those without stable shelter with their laundry. The group is also organizing a special Halloween event in downtown Reno for kids who live in motels and in other precarious situations. Reporter Richie Bednarski witnesses a recent crosswalk and finds out more about this selfless group in the Biggest Little City.
Our reporters Scott King and Richie Bednarski reach out to Diana, who has been living on the streets on and off since childhood, and Rose, a senior citizen, who recently got evicted, and is also living in a tent in Reno, to find out how they view the 2020 election, whether they will vote, and if they think results make a difference. The two of them also share their survival techniques, with winter approaching.
A sharecropper as a child in a large family, Arkansas-born Earstin Whitten wants to provide and teach others in Reno how to grow healthy food for themselves.
Whitten dedicated himself in retirement to help others after three decades working in the insurance industry. Our reporter for our latest #heroesofreno #ourtownreno podcast episode is Richie Bednarski.
The National Affordable Housing Trust has as its tag line Helping Create and Preserve Homes for Those in Need. It’s a non profit low income housing tax credit syndicator.
For this episode, our reporter Scott King interviews Lori Little, the president and CEO of the NAHT, and Vice President David Lennon as their organization joined with two other non profits, the Low Income Investment Fund and the Stewards of Affordable Housing for the Future to start a new partnership to address the nationwide affordable housing crisis.
They are helping to raise one billion dollars over five years to build new housing for those struggling in our communities. Little and Lennon also discuss their plans and track record in Reno, which already includes helping establish the Sierra Manor for local seniors.
With the November elections just weeks away, campaigning is as important now as ever before. A major challenge for this year’s local office candidates, however, is finding creative ways to campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic. One such candidate, Wendy Stolyarov, who is running for the Ward One seat on Sparks City Council, has been conducting her own contact free campaign neighborhood “lit drops.”
Stolyarov has also turned her campaign into a vehicle for assisting people in need. “When the pandemic hit, we switched to doing community welfare calls,” Stolyarov said. “Whatever [their needs] might've been, we were then putting them in contact with those resources and encouraged people to engage in mutual aid. Our first mailer for the campaign was a mutual aid card, which you basically put your name on and stuck it on your neighbor's door offering to help. I got a lot of phone calls from people who had received those and said that it was such a sweet idea and were going to reach out and help their neighbor and see what they can do in the community.” She says this also made her realize the positive influence of community building, rather than pretending to be an individual savior.
Hear much more in this episode with reporter Scott King on her campaign techniques and the issues she cares about as she runs for a seat on the Sparks City Council in northern Nevada.
Kyle Chandler-Isacksen could be considered a visionary jack-of-all trades. We’ve featured him on Our Town Reno previously, helping with community murals, composting and garlic festivals. He also runs the non-profit Be The Change Reno, an urban learning space dedicated to service, sustainability, and community uplift. Now, he’s built a house which has been placed in a community land trust, an economic model designed to lower the cost of owning a home.
He used locally sourced and milled lumber as the siding of the home, giving it a unique log cabin feel. His wife, Katie, established an organic garden, just steps from the spacious front porch.
The two-bedroom home is an experiment to create affordable housing and home ownership a reality for low-income families. The cost of the land is taken out of the home price and put into a trust to keep the cost of home ownership down. Isacksen believes “it's part of a broader solution” as the community struggles with an affordable and accessible housing crisis.
The reporter for this episode is Richard Bednarski.
The Village on Sage Street, which offers affordable dorm style living inside large containers, was started in Reno in August 2019 after over 50 truckloads delivered the prefab buildings from a working site in Wyoming. Tenant requirements were loosened after the project launched to accept more lower income senior citizens. The 200 plus unit compound is now reported to be at 100% capacity. Each unit goes for $400.
Our reporter for this episode is Scott King. He interviews Nick Tscheekar the community engagement officer with the Community Foundation of Western Nevada. The non-profit manages the compound on land donated by the City of Reno and operated by the Volunteers of America organization, which has local contracts to also run shelters. Residents have complained bathrooms, hallways and other common areas such as laundry and recreation spaces don’t always get cleaned quickly enough. They also have complained about too much security, and feeling watched a little too closely. Life isn’t perfect at the Village on Sage Street, but residents we spoke to said they thought they were getting really good value for $400 a month.
The episode starts out with Ray Bacasegua Valdez, the director of the American Indian Movement in Northern Nevada, who was one of over 60 people at a recent support protest in downtown Reno, Nevada, for families of those killed by local police. In the interview, he references Johnny Bonta, a Native American who was killed in 2017 by three police officers in Sparks.
We will then hear from the mother of Kenneth Stafford, a soldier who was killed while on military leave in 2013 by police in Sparks while suffering from PSTD. Terry Colgrove recounts in detail what led to that horrific killing. Many police killings happen when victims are suffering from mental health breakdowns of some sorts. After families seek help to save a loved one, in the several local cases we've looked into, it’s the police who arrive on the scene, and a very bad day turns tragic.
The reporters for this episode are Richie Bednarski and Gracie Gordon.
"I hope that Our Place brings the message that our neighbors are some of the most creative, resilient, beautiful humans I've ever met. And when we invest in people, we get great results," said Jen Cassady the Our Place director. Shelters take on many different forms, sizes, shapes and models. Here in northern Nevada, a grassroots movement called RISE, the Reno Initiative for Shelter and Equality has teamed up with Washoe County to establish Our Place, a new, more human centered, friendlier, less prison like shelter for women, families and the elderly with nature spaces, backyards, a wing for pets, and staff with lived homeless experience. Our reporter Scott King finds out more on how Our Place recently opened with the added challenges of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.
The parish of Our Lady of The Snows in downtown Reno, including volunteers and Reverend Bob Shorey, are now hosting a food insecurity outreach program in their church parking lot for those in need. This new outreach program which is being paired with other help was recently launched as an expansion effort due to COVID-19 difficulties. This episode with Our Town Reno reporter Scott King goes into strategies for helping those in need during these uncertain times.
"Our Town Reno is a little experimental, so sometimes we just have one voice for a story. But I'm still going into it as a journalist and these folks do not have an incentive to lie or make things up. They are so honest all the time, so people kind of get mad at that. For example, I did a story on a sign in a McDonald's that said you can't be here for more than 30 minutes. I was like, ‘Hmm, I wonder if this targets houseless individuals?’ I went down there to interview folks about the sign and I interviewed someone who was staying in the shelter and she totally approved of the sign and she’s like, ‘I’m trying to eat here. I don't want people hanging out for more than 30 minutes.’ Like, totally honest. "
Former Our Town Reno reporter Lucia Starbuck recently graduated from the University of Nevada, Reno, and began working for other media outlets, including This is Reno and KUNR. Before her departure, she took the time to speak with colleague and fellow Our Town Reno reporter Scott King for a Q&A to share what her experience has been like reporting for our street collective.
Arthur was attending a recent Black Lives Matter event in downtown Reno, and as he sometimes does, was watching from a distance at first.
Large groups of police congregated on bikes behind him. The Michigan native who is new to Reno says he doesn’t understand why police officers get so little training before entering police forces across the country, sometimes even less than what beauticians go through..
“You know, we sent you to school more to do hair than we do to protect and serve the lives of citizens and people. I mean, it's not an easy job. You literally have to be a superhero. Seriously. If you really want to be a cop, you literally have to act like a superhero. You got to let somebody shoot you first or shoot at you first, before you fire, you literally have to go in like a fireman,” he said of the risks involved in being a police officer.
Listen to many more of his insights in your latest episode in this the summer of 2020, marked by new thoughts and protests to end systemic police racism, brutality and unjustified killings.
Moriah, 20, already has had a very difficult life story, from being an abused foster kid to a runaway to a pregnant teen who had to give up her child for adoption. While starting to work several hours a week for an organization setting up a new shelter in Reno/Sparks, she has been living in a tent, which gets repeatedly uprooted in city sweeps. Sometimes people living in the encampment are cited, fined and given a court date. Sometimes trash is picked up. It changes all the time, but not Moriah's drive to survive. In this episode of the Our Town Reno / Biggest Little Streets podcast episode, she explains why herself and others prefer the tent life even if it's illegal.
In this episode, we go on the streets of Reno with Kristuffer Richmond, who was a Downtown Ambassador, as part of the Downtown Reno Partnership, as COVID-19 hit the Biggest Little City.
Before the stay at home orders, during the stay at home orders, and as Reno slowly reemerges, the pursuits of the Partnership, a so-called Business Improvement District, and the work of its ambassadors, have pretty much stayed the same.
But many in our community remain confused as to what exactly the very visible ambassadors do, and how the BID fits in with the rest of the city’s leadership and future.
Our reporter on the streets is Lucia Starbuck. For this episode she also teamed with Scott King to do an in-studio interview with Alex Stettinski, the Executive Director of the Partnership, and Mike Higdon, its marketing manager.
When Our Town Reno met Erik, the recent widow was acting as a watchdog for his houseless friends at Barbara Bennett Park. He told us he had been traveling for most of his life and that he moved half a year ago from California to Reno, where he’s lived before. He was sleeping in his car, a 2001 Honda Accord.
He told us he tries to help out especially when big encampments have been removed in police sweeps, and that people without stable shelter, like him, are having to find a new location to feel somewhat rooted for a few weeks.
"We're all out here starving, we're all out here trying to make a life. It's not the kind of life I want to really be in but I'm comfortable with it. I just want to make sure other people don't die around here. It's too much death, man. I'm so tired of it,” he said of himself and others living on the streets, surviving as best they can.
James Henderson, 50, part black and Native American, an ex convict who did 16 years in prison in different spells from Hawaii to San Quentin, says he survived riots and being shot three times. He’s a recent graduate of the local Crossroads recovery program with new hopes for his own future. “I used to brag about it, but I'm not proud of it because it's wasted time,” he said of his prison record. “You know, now that I'm older I'm using this thing called cognitive thinking, and it has improved my life.”
Henderson has been keeping a close eye on protests in downtown Reno from his usual daytime spot at the Believe Plaza, watching protesters come and go. Having just had knee surgery, he says he prefers to just watch for now, but that recent events do bring back childhood memories.
“My mom and dad were some of the founders of the Black Panther party in the 1960s in Oakland, California, so I am a Black Panther progeny. I remember going to marches as a kid,” he said.
He says he likes the mix of colors he’s seen in Reno, which is reminiscent to his own childhood experiences. Like now, he says, it was also about a mix of issues. “It was black, white, Chinese, Mexican, Korean, every nationality you could think of. And it was about equal housing, equal living standards. It was about equal schooling, and equal health benefits. It was based upon equal way of living as a citizen.”
He does see some progress, such as when police officers have taken a knee with others, something he says he never saw several decades ago. “That is like so much improvement in itself. You know, you would never hear that, hear about that, a cop ever doing that,” he said with tears in his eyes.
Dressed in a black hooded-sweatshirt and camera in hand, Eric Marks has become a feature of downtown Reno nightlife. But as the owner of Reno Street Photography and as a documentarian, he’s more in the shadows, documenting what he sees to share with the world what life on the streets of Reno is all about. This episode by reporter Scott King looks into challenges and rewards of street photography.
It's people like Tex who get displaced during police sweeps. He's fighting cancer so he avoid large crowds such as what you can find at the shelter. He used to stay at the courthouse but following protests that's not possible anymore. He was recently hit by a car. His cards are down, but Tex, who got his nickname from his Texas base, hasn't stopped fighting, whatever life and the world throws at him. Our reporter for this episode is Lucia Starbuck.
How does one cope after losing their child who served in the military?
Tina Drakulich founded the David J. Drakulich Foundation For Freedom of Expression after losing her own son, David Drakulich. The Reno artist turned soldier died at 22, in January 2008, near Chagali, Afghanistan. At the time, he was a fire support specialist with the 1st Battalion, 508th Parachute Infantry Regiment, 4th Brigade Combat Team in the 82nd Airborne Division.
The non-profit in his name provides different art programs, like open art studios, writing workshops, performances, and community discussions to help veterans and their families heal.
Our reporter Lucia Starbuck went to a therapeutic art workshop called Combat Paper Nevada, which turns military uniforms into paper. Learn more about this initiative in your latest Biggest Little Streets Our Town Reno podcast episode.
Jeff Bogue recently moved back with his parents, but is trying to fix up his van to live in it again, for more independence. He believes it should be allowed to sleep in your vehicle amid this affordable housing crisis.
“The cops shouldn't always go after the homeless that are not causing problems and just because they’re sleeping,” Bogue said. “[Sleeping] should not be a crime, in my opinion. For somebody who's extremely tired and doesn’t have a place to go, they should have a little compassion.”
Should there be safe parking spots in Reno and across the United States? Our reporter for this episode is Scott King.
Many people living on the streets say one place is better than another in terms of services. They aren’t always in the place they prefer. How do services compare? Why does a person without housing end up in one place rather than another? For this episode of the Biggest Little Streets Podcast, reporters Scott King and Lucia Starbuck were at Barbara Bennett Park in downtown Reno. There they met Chris, who had recently re-located to Reno from Portland, Oregon. Note: this was produced and recorded before the pandemic hit the Biggest Little City.
Ian was one of the participants in our Share Your Story sessions on Mondays at the downtown Reno library, which had to be stopped due to the library closing as the community tries to stave off the coronavirus pandemic.
Ian is proud to have grown up in Reno, but there are a few concerns he’d like to see fixed, including having his Medicare cover all, and not just some of his healthcare costs .
“I qualify for Medicare and I'm on disability,” Ian explained. “I'm fortunate to receive enough disability to live on. However, the health insurance doesn't cover psychiatry because it's Part B Medicare. But that's all I need.”
Analysts say the current situation is pushing the United States into a mental health crisis with clinics collapsing financially, while anxiety and depression rise.
My name is Luke Keck, and for the last few months I’ve worked as a reporter for Our Town Reno. I moved to Reno when I was 17 and fresh out of high school. I’m 24 now, and I’m getting ready to finish grad school in the next few weeks. I’ve spent seven years in the city, most of them around the University where I went to school, nestled in the suburban neighborhoods around Kings Row.
In the summer of 2019, I moved downtown, and the experience shocked me a little bit because I started to see how many people we’ve left behind as Reno grows and moves forward. Everybody who lives in Reno knows the city is evolving, we’ve heard the speeches from politicians and developers about the new Reno we’re looking to build, and we’ve heard the talking points about housing inequality and homelessness and how it’s a problem that needs to be fixed. And that’s the story we hear, but it’s not the real story.
The real stories aren’t told by numbers and statistics, they’re told by the people left without shelter in the shadows of luxury apartment buildings and giant offices, the people who can’t afford rent, the people who were put out on the street after the motel they lived in was torn down.
This is an audio diary of me reporting for Our Town Reno, from sleeping by railroad tracks to dealing with coronavirus while on the streets to failed bailout plans for small businesses.
Clint Koble first ran in 2018 for Northern Nevada’s US Congressional District Two, a seat currently held by Republican Representative Mark Amodei. From his 2018 campaign experience, where he got past a crowded Democratic field, and time serving as the State Executive Director of the USDA’s Nevada Farm Services Agency, Koble believes he is poised and ready to represent Northern Nevada’s constituents. Koble recently took the time to share with Our Town Reno reporter Scott King some of the issues and platforms he is running on in this year’s election. Mail-in primaries will be held June ninth.
Eddie Lorton, a developer and frequent local candidate, is now running for the At-Large position on the Reno City Council, with mail-in primaries scheduled for June 9. Lorton says he'll wait until later in the campaign to reveal big detailed plans. He’ll be facing Devon Reese, who was voted in by the Reno City Council in 2019 after the seat was vacated with former councilman David Bobzien’s departure. Lorton last ran in 2018 for Reno city mayor and finished second to Hillary Schieve, notoriously calling her a bulldozer queen in an election debate, after many motels were demolished. This is part of a series of interviews with local candidates, asking them questions on the issues we care about. Our reporter for this episode is Scott King. His interview was over the phone due to coronavirus and physical distancing.
Patricia Ackerman, a Democrat, is running for Nevada’s Congressional District 2. The seat is currently held by incumbent Mark Amodei, who has been in Congress nearly 10 years now. First there’s the Democratic Party primary still scheduled for June ninth, in a crowded field. Other notable candidates include Clint Koble and Rick Shepherd.
On this episode of The Biggest Little Streets podcast, Ackerman shares with Our Town Reno reporter Scott King how her life experiences have prepared her to be the best qualified for the seat. She also speaks to the issues we care about, including helping the homeless and alleviating the affordable housing crisis,
While coronavirus is extremely deadly, people are still suffering from other serious medical ailments. The Community Health Alliance is now working with Uber Health so the most vulnerable patients in Washoe County can be taken for free to their own vital medical appointments. In this podcast episode, Scott King attends a recent relaunch of CHA with a new CEO, Reno councilman Oscar Delgado.
Wendy Stolyarov, a progressive, is running for Sparks City Council Ward 1 in Northern Nevada touting several new ideas including what she calls a mutual aid card. After recognizing a need to do more for her community she says she now wants to represent those whose voices are not being heard. This is part of a series on local candidates running for office in the 2020 cycle and speaking on the issues we care about. Our reporter is Scott King, doing his work over the phone, due to coronavirus.
Britton Griffith, a former city of Reno Commissioner, is one of the candidates running to represent Reno City Council Ward 1, perhaps the most competitive local seat being contested this year in the Biggest Little City.
This is part of our series of interviews of candidates running for local office to hear their ideas on the issues we care about, including helping those without stable shelter and easing the affordable housing crisis. Primaries are scheduled for June ninth. We’ve previously interviewed the incumbent for the Ward 1 seat Jenny Brekhus as well as another main contender JD Drakulich.
Griffith says she intends to use her experiences in housing and development to ensure that current and future development initiatives in Reno have everyone’s best interests in mind. Griffith recently spoke with Our Town Reno reporter Scott King over the phone, due to social distancing in this very stressful time of coronavirus.
Tayler McCurley, a University of Nevada, Reno, graduate, recently launched a private Facebook group called Silent No More: Breaking the Stigma One Story at a Time, with her friend Dakota Brown. It’s so important to deal with our mental health these days with everything going on and all the uncertainties swirling around us, and difficulties we are facing as a society. Both Tayler and Dakota understand what it’s like to live with mental health challenges. Our reporter for this episode of your Biggest Little Streets podcast is Scott King.
As part of our special series on local candidates, Our Town Reno reporter Scott King interviewed Elvira Diaz who is putting her hat in the political ring, for the Ward 3 council seat in Sparks, Nevada. She is long time advocate on a range of issues we care about, such as reaching out to those in need. In this episode, she outlines some of her priorities in these increasingly coronavirus affected uncertain times.
As part of our special series of interviews with those currently running for office in Reno, our reporter Scott King interviews JD Drakulich, who is running for the council seat representing Ward 1, now held by Jenny Brekhus. Drakulich is a realtor, and he’s also the President of the Board of Directors for the Eddy House, which gives services to youth and young adults without stable shelter in Reno. On this episode he also talks about affordable housing and ways he believes he could get the City Council to help Reno residents.
As part of a new series, we are interviewing some of those running for local office, to discuss their ideas surrounding homelessness, gentrification, the affordable housing crisis and now coronavirus in the Biggest Little City. Our first interview for this series is with Ward 1 incumbent Jenny Brekhus. Due to social isolation, the interview with Scott King was conducted over the phone and wasn't of the best quality, but her answers still provide a very distinct voice in the local political landscape. We will be interviewing others seeking the Ward 1 seat and including those interviews in the weeks ahead.
We went to an encampment earlier this week in downtown Reno to find out if those living without shelter were concerned about coronavirus. Robert likened it to napalm, Elizabeth was worried about her MS, and Emily who is fleeing an abusive relationship was more concerned with the stereotypes people have of their neighbors without stable shelter. The reporters for this episode are Scott King, Lucia Starbuck and Gracie Gordon.
“We need to find someplace these people can set up camp and be safe." Art Gillespie, a recovery success story himself, is now helping those who are being displaced from one encampment spot to another in Reno, Nevada.
This episode also concerns displacements and whether proper written notices are being given before the camp displacements and cleanups take place, and whether there any shelter spots actually available when these happen.
In this episode, we hear directly from those helping like Art, those being displaced and those coordinating the displacement. Our reporters are Scott King and Lucia Starbuck.
“The way the homeless are treated in the state [of Nevada], it’s like, we shouldn't even be alive or we should be lepers on an island somewhere. I don't get it. I've never done anything to be treated the way I've been treated [here].” Bryan, a former business owner, has been homeless in Reno since being evicted and becoming blind. He still works despite all the difficulties but bounces around from the overflow to encampments trying to survive the best he can amid an #affordablehousingcrisis. He also keeps trying to get a guide dog but can't finish process. How can he get helped? Reporting by Scott King and Lucia Starbuck.
Derrick Pillors was waiting for the overflow shelter to open up when we met him in downtown Reno. He has plenty of ideas on how Reno could help those without shelter. Why not have an empty warehouse converted into a gym with showers for those on the streets, he asks? Why not have the casinos organize free monthly barbecues for the community, including the homeless? He says he recently stopped getting his Social Security check so he’s scrambling to find work. He shared his story for this Biggest Little Streets podcast episode with reporter Scott King.
Angela arrived in Reno in 2019, walking all the way from Ridgecrest, California, with her husband. The journey took her twelve days and once in the Biggest Little City, they separated, and her life derailed further. A mother of four, she says, she isn’t allowed to see her kids until they turn 18. She keeps that motivation as her main goal to keep going.
Shortly after arriving, however, the setbacks started coming. During the first month she was staying at the Wonder Lodge motel in Reno, when she says she was robbed. "Someone came in the door and took everything we had," Angela said. "[At the time] I was out looking for a job."
After the robbery, she started staying at the downtown shelter on Record St. At the time she was still able to live off her disability checks, that is until, she says her Social Security card, ID and birth certificate were stolen from her as well.
"It's been difficult because I get money, so I shouldn't be out here," Angela said of living without stable shelter. "But I can't touch it [now]. I can't even get an ID here without a birth certificate."
Our reporters for this episode are Lucia Starbuck and Scott King.
Daniel, who lives in and out of homelessness, has gone through many recent trials and tribulations, including having his ID stolen and getting arrested for sitting in an empty parking lot, where a motel recently got bulldozed down.
Working in construction for the past 14 years, he’s grateful he still has a job that keeps him somewhat afloat. At times, it allows him to not only look out for himself, but for others living on the streets as well.
“Thank goodness I have a trades skill that I learned and I have some college [experience],” Daniel said. “This past weekend, I had some cash and I’m always thinking, ‘Well what am I going to do? So I bought a couple of guys some clothes, I got another couple of guys a room.’”
The reporter for this episode is Scott King as part of Share Your Story at the downtown Reno library.
Muhammad didn’t want his picture taken, but expressed his views on staying at the Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission, as part of their services helping those without shelter.
“I'm there right now only because I got caught on crack last month. They took my car and all my property that was in that car. I lost maybe $2,500 in property last month. I'm on SSI and that took a toll on me,” he said.
Homeless shelters come in for a lot of criticism. But for some like Malik Muhammad it keeps them out of the elements for a while and they make do with all the rules.
In this Biggest Little Streets podcast episode, the Oakland, California, native shares his experience of being homeless in Reno and staying overnight at the downtown shelter.
Our reporter is Scott King as part of our Share Your Story time at the downtown Reno library.
“This is really such a blessing,” Michelle Nullius Filius Couyette said of living at the Village on Sage Street, a collection of squeezed in $400 per month dorm units inside containers on land donated by the city of Reno.
“I am happy for this opportunity and I really hope more people can take advantage of this. If you meet the criteria, come down and see what you can do with a little space.”
The Community Foundation of Western Nevada recently announced it was loosening requirements for seniors on fixed incomes to qualify for this housing, which so far has catered more to workers with limited income, amid the region’s growing affordable housing crisis.
Rudy Leon, a scholarly book editor, two time burner and Midtown resident, who currently lives on about $30,000 per year, recently launched her campaign website RudyForReno.
She says she is the one candidate who understands what it’s like to have most of her income go to her housing. This is a podcast version of an interview q and a which ran on the Our Town Reno website and Facebook earlier this month.
When his apartment in Santa Rosa, California, went up in flames during the 2018 October fires, Miles Vinson was forced to move. It was an unexpected turn of events, but Vinson is taking advantage of his fresh start in Reno. “Thankfully I didn't lose a lot [in Santa Rosa],” he told Our Town Reno during a recent Share Your Story session at the downtown Reno library . “But I was already breaking my own bank trying to live there anyway."
In the Biggest Little City though he has found the affordable housing crisis has arrived here as well. The reporter for this episode is Scott King.
Tex went back to Texas, where he’s from in the western Midland-Odessa area, after his mother died there, but now he’s back in Reno, where he’s lived on the streets before.
He found out some of his friends had died while he was away. “They died out here freezing to death because they had nowhere to go,” he said. “The shelter, I don't care if they have space, I will not ever go there because it's nothing but disease… It's just nasty. People fighting all the time.”
He used to wok in saw mills, but injuries have weighed him down. Still he says he’s a survivor.
“I know how to live. Can't knock me down. I got more metal in my legs and I feel every screw right now in this cold weather. It doesn't matter. I just keep moving. They told me I wasn't going to walk again. I said bullshit. I call bullshit on that.”
During the winter he says the key is to keep your feet dry. “I mean, this could be a Vietnam for us out here, 24-7, but you gotta keep your feet dry and clean,” he said.
This podcast episode is from our archive interview vault with reporters Prince Nesta and Jordan Blevins.
Gordon Gossage is an entrepreneur and burner at heart, who wants to create a new space combining art and housing for the homeless, while also attracting other artists and hi-tech workers. The reporter for this episode is Lucia Starbuck.
Lee says he sees himself as a leader protecting those around him without shelter, and that the sense of community is vital to surviving life on the streets in the winter. “We all do something to pitch in. Some bring food, some bring blankets, some bring medicine, whether it be a bottle to help keep us all warm at night or a little bit of pot. You know what I'm saying? It's real out here. 90% of the people in this town can't handle it,” he said.
For outsiders, he says a little bit of empathy goes a long way. “Talk to us like we're human,” he said. This episode with Jordan Blevins and Prince Nesta is from our archive Our Town Reno interviews, now in podcast form.
Paul lost his job as a carpet installer after getting in a fight with his boss, and then lost his place to stay. In an economy turning to high tech jobs, creating higher and higher rents, he now lives away from his girlfriend and dog in his SUV until he figures it out. He discusses his challenges and outlook on a life turned difficult in this episode reported and produced by contributor Michelle Baker.
Issues surrounding people without shelter seem to be reaching a boiling point across the western United States, including here in Reno. Is society criminalizing poverty or are we showing empathy, or a bit of both? For the Biggest Little Streets podcast, several weeks ago, Our Town Reno reporter Scott King went to City Council to meet with at-large councilman Devon Reese. In Fall 2020, Reese is running for his seat he was appointed to, so we wanted to know where he stands on a range of issues dealing with our affordable housing crisis. He gave updates on a new campus for homeless women and children, on a dormitory project which hasn't filled up and on other developments, while sharing his overall views on preserving the dignity of all the people he is trying to serve, including those without stable shelter. This is part of a longer interview which was featured in an Our Town Reno web story.
In Reno, while many people criticize how the local City Council treats those living without shelter, they also disagree on solutions which should be pursued. From handing out donations, to holiday meals, to consistent help, to wanting safe grounds for camping, or more recently suggesting citizen’s arrests, those who show concern can sometimes offer diametrically opposed solutions. Michelle Baker recaps a recent series of events during turbulent months over growing homelessness in the Biggest Little City.
For the past five years, Melissa says she provided for her four kids by working as a cashier at Dollar Tree. But earlier this year, unable to pay for housing anymore she says she became homeless, and then lost her job. When reporter Scott King met her at the downtown library in Reno, her husband, Michael was on a computer filling out job applications. He spent time in jail over the summer complicating their situation and ability to rebound as a family.
We are at the downtown Reno library where people living without shelter line up to use computers, get away from the elements and try to find new direction. We now also have Share Your Story time with Our Town Reno. A man who wanted to stay anonymous walked up to the table recently with a major dilemma. What happens when Child Protective Services gives you a deadline to get into a treatment program to regain custody of your child but all the waiting lists are full? He shared his story with Our Town Reno reporter Scott King.
Our resident street poet Donald Griffin returns with more poetry, as he rebounds from past devastation and addiction, into a sober, productive life, which includes writing and contributing to Our Town Reno.
There have been vigilante actions recently in Reno targeting those without shelter. But what about those who find community at their local park? What about those who find friends to take care of their belongings when they have no other options? What about those who want to live with their pets? Annette has been living on the streets on and off for about three years. She talks with Our Town Reno Reporter Lucia Starbuck about how much she cares for her ailing dog Keika and what her day at the park is like. Thanks for taking a closer listen to those struggling in our community.
University of Nevada, Reno, graduate Nathaniel Benjamin is a co-founder of Reno's community printing press called Laika Press. As a nonprofit co-operative printmaking space in Reno, it provides accessibility to printmaking equipment for members of the Reno community. Having been a member of Reno's art community for a number of years now, Benjamin also thinks about how the relationship between art and the city of Reno has begun to change amid gentrification and an affordable housing crisis. The reporter for this episode is Scott King.
What’’s the local movement like for climate change here in Reno? Jaren Hutchings is a climate activist who was one of the organizers of the recent National Youth Climate Strike. He’s a senior at the Davidson Academy in Reno, and is passionate about finding ways to slow the effects of climate change, and also get the attention of politicians to put forth policies to do so. He talked with Our Town Reno reporter, Lucia Starbuck, about what Nevada and individuals can do to help the Earth.
After vigilantes threatened to kick out homeless from a park in Reno, they were forced out by police, some of them losing their possessions. Angered advocates then held a donation drive to show their support for those without shelter. Reporters Scott King and Lucia Starbuck were on the scene.
What’s it like to lose a child to addiction? A local chapter of a group called The Addict’s Mom recently held a Lights of Hope candlelight event at the Rail City garden in Sparks, Nevada. Speakers shared stories of how drug addiction affects their lives as well as the lives of their loved ones. Our Town Reno podcast reporter Scott King met with the organizer of the event, Darcy Patterson, herself an Addict's Mom, as well as with others who attended.
Our resident street poet Donald Griffin is back with Police Brutality, He Who Opens a School, Closes a Prison and Faces. Recordings and editing at the Reynolds Media Lab studios by Lucia Starbuck.
In this Our Town Reno episode we visit with Meghan Simons a substance use disorder counselor at the Life Change Center in Sparks. A sign on her door says she meets people where they are. People come to the LCC as it’s known for a variety of reasons. Some are encouraged by family members, a friend, an employer. Some find the courage to go themselves. Our reporter for this Our Town Reno podcast episode is Scott King.
This week’s episode of the Our Town Reno podcast is about painting a large community mural under an overpass. What’s the value of that? How do you find a theme? How do you get a community’s buy in? Our reporter for this episode is Scott King, interviewing Asa Kennedy and Kyle Isacksen.
Morgan Green from the Center for the Application of Substance Abuse Technologies at UNR took part in a recent event marking International Overdose Awareness Day. She passed out naloxone kits, which are used to counter effects of an opioid overdose. “I think we're breaking a lot of barriers in terms of people who are overcoming addiction, but there's still a long way to go,” she said. “A lot of times we tend to pretend that they don't exist, they hide in corners. People themselves don't even recognize when they have a problem because we don't talk about it. We want to make sure that the education's out there, that the compassion is there.” Our reporter for this episode is Lucia Starbuck.
Joyce charts her path from being addicted and homeless, to recovery, to being housed in a motel, but displaced a few times as these were demolished. She then went to social media to make new connections and was able to secure public housing while on disability payments.
Josella Starbuck is a long time motel owner in Reno, a town which increasingly looks down on motel residents and the motels themselves. Politicians claim they are filled with prostitutes and drug dealers, while developers try to buy them out and bulldoze them away. But the motels have had a long and rich history, and now cater to a population with rapidly dwindling affordable housing options. Some of the questions we ask in this episode include: how does someone become a motel owner? Why do people live in your motel long term? As a motel owner are you bringing value to the community? How do you deal with angry social media comments and pressure to sell? Some answers in this episode.
Alan, 59, gets disability checks but says he can’t afford any housing in Reno. He blames Tesla and other new companies in the area for pushing prices up and causing motels to be demolished. For him, the motel room was his last resort before homelessness. Our reporters for this episode are Prince Nesta and Jordan Blevins.
“People come to the park, and offer jobs so I'm getting ready to be picked up right now,” Josh, 33, said when we met him at a spot for day laborers. “It's picking up slowly, but it's picking up, you know. It's gonna be busy later but now it's slow and we are just here hanging out. Payment depends on a person. Sometimes I make a hundred, maybe under 100... it depends on the person and the job itself.” Josh says the problem is when he doesn’t get picked up for work, he turns to drinking or weed to pass the time. “That's a bad thing,” he said. “But hey, I still work and still get my job done and I still get paid. I do anything like construction, moving. I can do yard work and, all that stuff.” The San Jose native has been in Reno about 15 years, but he says when he can, he prefers to find work in the Biggest Little City, but then sleep outside city limits to avoid trouble. He lost his parents and went to prison, and says he finds it hard to recover in today's society. Our reporters for this episode are Prince Nesta and Jordan Blevins.
J.D. says he’s from a broken family and that he’s never recovered from facing his father’s death without the support of his relatives.
“That's the reason why a lot of people are homeless because there's broken families, they're fighting each other, brothers and sisters are fighting each other,” he said. “Wives and husbands are fighting with each other. That's what's going on right now in life. That's the reason I'm homeless because my family is dysfunctional…. broken….”
He tried to rebound with odd jobs for older people, raking leaves, helping with yard work, but he says he has had fewer and fewer opportunities.
“Like if somebody needs help, I do it for free, but sometimes they give me something, a little pocket change and I take it because I do need it but I don't ask or beg for it. They just give it to me out of their own heart.”
Our reporters for this episode are Prince Nesta and Jordan Blevins.
Steve says he avoid shelters because he says he gets sick there. The California native says he lost his mom and then lost his way. He does temp work and sells his blood, from time to time, but he says he’s bad at saving money. He’s sober now after being an alcoholic, but he still doesn’t have a place to call home, so he sleeps in different hiding spots in downtown Reno. Our reporters for this Our Town Reno episode are Jordan Blevins and Prince Nesta.
Kyle, who had been homeless for about a decade when we met him, says he first went to live in the forest with pot growers after breaking up with a girlfriend. He avoids homeless shelters, and prefers camping outside despite the many challenges such as the lack of security. "I even got stabbed in the face, one night, while walking down the streets in an alley," he said. "I was trying to save a girl from a known drug dealer who was on top of her."
“I'm Jamie and I come from Oakland, California. I found myself here at the river bank after troubles at home,” the mother of six told us. “I lived in Winnemucca, Nevada, and we just had troubles there, you know, with family and always fighting and not getting along. And I figured it would be better if I just left. I came to Reno about two years ago. I've been staying at the river bank for about two years.” Being a woman is especially challenging, Jamie says, when living on the river.
“I've never stayed alone,” she said in our recent interview. “There's very few girls out here and lots of men so I always have company, always. It's pretty tough being a woman and being homeless here at the river bank. I mean, people disrespect you … sexually … They steal your stuff. It's hard.”
“It's eye opening and changes your world. It humbles you,” the entrepreneur said of going “undercover homeless” in Reno. Tim Doss operates the JunkUber.com removal service, but unlike others in his business field, he donates back to the homeless and those without many means moving into new residences. He also took part in an outreach initiative for the homeless several years ago, going undercover and walking in their shoes for a few days. The reporters for this episode are Prince Nesta and Jordan Blevins.
The Greek says he wants more out of life than being a bartender and a drunk. Now without a job, he's on the streets of Reno, trying to get sober, and dreaming of other lives, such as living on the water and working with boats. He almost died of cold during the most recent winter, but still clings to hope his life will take a turn for the better before it's too late.
When we caught up with her, Jody, whose father was a rich developer, but who fell on hard times herself, and her teenage daughter had been living without housing for three weeks.
“I tried to do the weekly thing. I had a job, but I was two days late on rent. They wouldn't let me stay for two days and here I am … Shelters are currently full. Domestic violence shelters are full and have a waiting list. Section 8 has been down closed for a year….The family shelter is also full and also has a waiting list and they told me to check back once a week. This is the biggest homeless population they've had in history here… I was lucky enough to find this place called the Prayer House. And we're just kind of winging it here you know. But here I am lugging all my stuff around down to two bags for my daughter and I. And this is my life. I don't do drugs and you know I don't gamble and we're just good people, just got put on the street you know.”
This episode features more poetry by our resident street poet Donald Griffin.
Here's some of what Drew Willis wrote analyzing his writing ...
"Donald Griffin speaks like he writes. He weaves through images and ideas, the last word of every phrase seeming to trigger a parallel line of thought. He can theorize about unseen dimensions and institutional corruption in the same sentence... In his work, Griffin calls this phenomenon 'The Reno Matrix,' an invisible veil hiding what really controls the day to day reality of a changing city. He represents the unseen influence of media with the ubiquity of devices.."
Our resident street poet Donald Griffin returns with new street poetry, based on his life from losing the mother of his children and himself to addiction, and then charting his miracle recovery through writing.
“I was in Midtown, and they raised my rent 70% there all at once and there was no way I was going to pay for that with no improvements on their part. And I left Midtown and came to Wells Avenue." For some local business owners, like Reno native Lisa Adele Rojas from Mandala Massage Supply & Apothecary, they face the double whammy of rent for their own living space going up as well as for their business. Reporters Prince Nesta and Jordan Blevins spoke with her at her shop to find out more.
As a second part looking into the opioid epidemic on the Our Town Reno podcast, reporters Prince Nesta and Jordan Blevins interview Dr. Karla Wagner, an Associate Professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, and Robert Harding, another local Reno expert in harm reduction and community outreach to discuss best practices to help the addicted and those in recovery.
Daniel Fred himself in long term recovery teaches students at the University of Nevada, Reno about substance abuse. Here with Our Town Reno reporters Prince Nesta and Jordan Blevins, he discusses the ongoing opioid epidemic, as well as the resurgence of cocaine and MMDA, as well as other challenges faced by current students.
Our resident street poet from the NEW Generation Dare group, Donald Griffin, reads three of his poems, Crystal Meth, Holding on and Bedtime. Griffin lost the mother of his children to addiction and was attacked while sleeping along the Truckee River, before deciding to get sober and turn his life around.
Despite all of her daily woes, Paula, who calls herself a starving artist and lives in a motel, shows up at her streetside storefront on the corner of the north end of the Truckee river and Sierra street, rain or shine, in downtown Reno, to sell the necklaces and bracelets she makes.
“I'm very upset. I'm pissed off,” Sharon Marie Daniels said. “We just want to help people and they're cutting that off so we're not able to do that anymore.” Soon, after new locations are figured out, healthy volunteer prepared meals will no longer be allowed at Reno's main downtown shelter. Daniels who was homeless herself as a teen says she will keep fighting to make sure her Sunday noontime meals are served, wherever she can, to access the most people in need as possible.
“It's hard, but it's better cause it's warm, you know?” Steven said. “It's stressful because I feel like I’ve got to protect … you know, the streets ain't fun.” Two college graduates whose lives took difficult turns, Renee and Steven were recently separated after he went to jail in Louisiana and she decided to go back home to Pennsylvania. “I was assaulted while he was in jail. So yeah, it's hard,” she said. Renee said she missed the embrace of his arms and feeling safe with Steven. The two decided to be together again in Reno, even if it means living on the streets. Here they describe how difficult it is and how they are trying to get sober.
“I took money out of my retirement and kind of bet on myself that I could do it... Since then, I've had the ability to gather a couple of investors who believe in the cause ... And everything now is self funded. And we do that by charging fees to live with us. So the idea of someone living with us isn't to have a handout. It's a hand up." Stacey Payne explains how she established Lyfe Recovery Services in northern Nevada and how her own journey led her to this entrepreneurial vision.
Jackson, 43, was an operations manager for a hazardous waste facility, married with a daughter, when he ran into burnout, and started self-medicating with alcohol, sending his life into what he himself calls a downward spiral. “I kind of had a nervous breakdown about six years ago and kind of got out of the circle of life so to speak. I just haven't been able to pick myself back up,” he said.
Ace says he’s newly homeless again after he said he had family problems back on the East Coast with his older brother and mother, who both siblings depend on. He says he didn’t agree with his mother taking his formerly jailed brother in. He says he had been a caretaker, cooking for his mom. He’d been to Reno before and felt people didn’t bother him here, so he came back. He says he’s also had periods of homelessness in St. Louis, Missouri and Portland, Oregon, among other places, but he feels safer in the Biggest Little City.
Grant Denton, a survivor of childhood abuse who become a deadbeat Dad junkie trapped in homelessness in Las Vegas and repeated incarceration, now helps other recovering addicts in Reno on a path he himself has taken, with discipline, exercise, meditation and a resolve to survive and do good in society.
Legendary Baby Bleu was homeless when we met her and had recently survived winter on the streets. She described how she started being a prostitute as a high school student and how a bad relationship left her fending for herself 24/7.
“I've been on the streets for about six months, but (soon) when I get my check, I am going to have a room. I'm on the streets because there were a lot of bills I had to pay so I couldn't pay rent and everything, so I just did the only thing that I could do.” It's terrible that in our society elders among us who worked hard their whole lives face moments without shelter here in Reno during this cold, raw winter. Joanne tells her story to Our Town Reno reporters Jordan Blevins and Prince Nesta.
Wendy Wiglesworth who lived along the Truckee River for years explains how she got in that situation, how the shelter just didn't work for her and how the riverside community protects each other.
"The fact that the university doesn't keep any record of it is partially explained by the fact that if they did, then they would recognize that there is a problem and once you recognize that there's a problem, you have to start to fix it. And I don't think homelessness is a priority for the university right now" We know extremely little about student homelessness but our guest Leann Silvia is trying to change that through her research at the University of Nevada, Reno.
In our first episode, Donald Griffin records part of a spoken word poem he wrote for an Our Town Reno #localorelive live journalism event at the Desert Rose Inn in downtown Reno, where more and more motels are being demolished, worsening an affordable housing crisis and increasing homelessness.