help for the homeless?

Considering my bike commute into work looks like this throughout the Tahoe/Pyramid Bikeway (i.e. Riverpath) it's welcome news that there seems to be movement on some better accommodations for the homeless in Reno.  Pretty much every bridge you ride under in the morning is populated by 6 to 12 people living in tents or laid out on the path in sleeping bags.  I'm sensitive to the needs of the homeless and understand why they populate the river.  But as someone who uses the path almost daily it seems reasonable to expect that the city would take care of the needs of the homeless, while also doing a better job of making the Bikeway a safe place to walk or ride.  If the Truckee River is such a selling point for the city it should include more than the 4 or 5 blocks in the urban core.

Here's part of the article from the RGJ.  I know Neoma Jardon has made the homeless one of her signature issues, so a hat tip in her direction is in order.   More photos below, and it should be noted that the encampments along the river have spiked again.  I'd guess since the usual post Burning Man surge, we are seeing on the order of 10 times the numbers, at least in the section of the river path I frequent, from downtown to the Mill and Rock exit.

Excerpt:

A coalition of faith-based and human services groups is working to build a tiny house village for the homeless, but they need money and land.

They would also need the city of Reno to change its zoning and building code laws to allow for such homes to be built without bathrooms, kitchens or other code requirements that other builders are held to.

At the Reno City Council meeting Wednesday, Pat Cashell of Volunteers for America and Sharon Chamberlain of Northern Nevada HOPES presented their ideas for a tiny home village to help house the chronically homeless.

The plan is modeled after similar villages in Seattle; Portland, Ore.; and Eugene, Ore. It would include 40 bare-bone houses that one councilwoman likened to a "tent with hard walls," including a roof and a locking door. The houses would be situated around a central building with bathrooms and kitchen facilities.

Cashell said the group would count on volunteers from youth groups, church groups and other community members to donate supplies and labor. He estimated each house would cost about $3,800 to build.


Chamberlain estimated the project would need a $270,000 operating budget, which would fund a project manager and case managers who could help connect residents to other social services and permanent housing.

The village would help close a housing gap that is widening as Reno comes to grips with an economic recovery that is driving housing prices up and vacancy rates down.

Human services agencies have seen wait times triple as they try to find transitional housing for chronically homeless individuals who can't make use of the shelter because they have a partner, a pet or a health condition that puts the shelter out of their reach.

Cashell, who spent 10 years homeless as he battled addiction, stressed such a project is critical.

"People without shelter die," he said. "I can’t stress this enough. These are human beings who actually die."

Picture 1 in the sequence...seems clear enough.

Pic 2...All clear?

Pic 3...Safe passage?

Whoops!