Reno Street Audio

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.