Reno Street Audio

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.