Shelter Winter Preparations Put to the Test and Another Motel Boarded Up

Our most commented post this week was off of an essay and picture series on the Castaway Inn, the latest motel to be boarded up as part of the Jacobs Entertainment downtown buyout spree. Reactions ranged from a few happy to see change to a majority sharing our concern as to the dwindling supply of living options for the credit underclass and those surviving month to month, without the funds or ability to access other types of lodging.

Simply put, and precisely in this case, aren’t we losing our soul if Reno no longer has a place for castaways? According to Wikipedia, “a castaway is a person who is cast adrift or ashore.” The Biggest Little City has long been a place for the drifters, and the so-called river rats, the runaways, the down on their luck gamblers, the poets and Burners, the train hoppers and hobos, the skateboarders and taggers, the self-started artists on a road trip to lay low, take stock, take a break, survive on the streets and in motels for a while, make new like-minded friends, feeling free together in the high desert country.

Above is part of a Washoe County statement on its website pointing to winter preparations at the Cares Campus. For many advocates and other concerned citizens, these are inadequate. They are calling for the former Record Street shelter to be converted into an emergency warming center, or as an extra refuge for women, since Our Place is usually full.

We wrote about Bryce and another resident of the safe camp portion of the compound, who both said they were cold at night in the Washoe County provided, Karma Box Project operated tents.

There is also a petition pointing to the potentially lethal lack of preparation, with cold, stormy nights on the way.

Our other reporting this week included a feature about a local lawyer who recently represented anti-sweeps activists, and the thought process behind his career, and a podcast episode with a Truckee River expert. Another recent podcast episode from the front lines of the on again off again bus strike is now our most listened to.

One of our photos got grabbed and hijacked, without our permission, garnering hundreds of comments on the Reno wtf moments Facebook page, mostly transphobic. That site seems to sometimes bring the worst out of people. We try as best we can to take down any hate speech we do see emanating from posts on our own platforms, but do let us know if we miss any. Repeat offenders and negative trolls get blocked, because our goal is to uplift and inspire, while waving flags on potential problems and abuse.

We also created our own ourtownreno sub on Reddit to encourage more story ideas and contributions from the community as part of this evolving street reporting social media driven collective. Thanks for being part of this #helpeachother journey! Our yearly zine is now also available so let us know if you’d want a free copy.