by Rebecca Venis

Homelessness. Its causes are multiple and complex, its remedy a source of heated debate. 

This debate occurred for more than 20 years in Reno, Nev., until the city decided to establish the Community Assistance Center, a homeless ?campus? in the heart of downtown that was created last year. For delegates to learn more about this successful center, NLC will conduct mobile workshops allowing delegates of the Congress of Cities and Exposition an opportunity to visit the campus and hear first-hand about the partnerships that made this project happen.

Those attending the conference can join workshop panelists Wednesday, Dec. 6 from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m., or Friday, Dec. 8 from 1:30 p.m. to 5 p.m. for a discussion entitled, ?Reno?s Homeless Services Shelter: How to Leverage Limited Resources to Build and Sustain Services and Shelter for the Homeless.?

Developing the Campus
As city officials in Reno already knew, alleviating homelessness is a contentious issue for government officials and community organizations in cities across the nation. The very nature of the issue demands that difficult decisions be made, not only regarding location of services and allocation of public funds, but concerning the duration and types of services offered, and to whom.

As the effort to eliminate Reno?s homelessness would be a daunting task, various community organizations have partnered to build the Community Assistance Center facility in two phases. The partnership includes the City of Reno; the Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission; St. Vincent?s Dining Room; the City of Sparks, Nev.; and the Reno Area Alliance for the Homeless.

Phase I was completed in November 2005 and included creating a 190-bed men?s drop-in shelter, and St. Vincent?s Dining Room and Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission centers.

The three buildings that comprise the Community Assistance Center are nearly within sight of the city?s primary economic engine ? the downtown hotels and casinos. It was a location which some feared would threaten recent efforts to revitalize the area ? a plan that initially garnered some opposition. Still, most agreed that the city?s homeless needed an accessible, centralized site for shelter and support.

Phase II is planned to begin this month. The phase includes building a 102-bed family shelter, a community resource center, a 40-bed women?s drop-in shelter, an on-site 16-bed triage center (perhaps the first of its kind to be collocated with shelter services), and a facility to house a new law enforcement program being launched by the Cities of Reno and Sparks, and
Nevada?s Washoe County.

Success Now and in the Future
Since the completion of Phase I, the Community Assistance Center has made notable progress toward reducing the city?s homeless problem. City officials also note that they have received no complaints from area businesses or residents, and that the location has not shown any negative impacts on the area.

With many triumphs and few setbacks, the facility has provided an overall benefit for the people of Reno. And as the center continues to expand and refine its services to the community, it has not only become a beacon of hope for those in need, but a shining example of a successful citywide partnership and a model for other cities around the nation.

Details: For more information, visit www.nlc.org.

Rebecca Venis is the public relations manager for the Bauserman Group, a Reno-based public relations firm.