Reno Street Audio

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.