A group of city employees, Reno police officers including the new chief, and blue-uniformed ambassadors such as Roscoe Roper walked along the Truckee River on Friday morning.
“We are doing the ‘City Walk’, which [is] basically just picking up trash, checking on our homeless people. First thing in the morning, we go around and get them all up, and make sure nobody's OD’ed under their coats,” Roper said.
The ‘City Walks’ began in October. On this particular day, staff provided people experiencing homelessness with shoes and water. At one point, an ambulance was called for someone needing immediate health care.
The program can also connect people with rental deposit assistance, supportive housing, and transportation to Washoe County’s large homeless shelter. The city’s Housing & Neighborhood Development Program Assistant Jamie Peek explained what she hears from people during these walks.
“A lot of time they don't need services at the time, but it's really encouraging when they do, and a lot of affordability issues, so they don't have enough income to be sustainable with the rent increases,” Peek said.
Peek said some of the barriers to housing include no ID, social security card, or having evictions on their records. City staff spoke with one man named Jacob Waggoner, who recently lost his wallet. He declined assistance but told KUNR he finds the city’s presence helpful. Assistant City Manager Jackie Bryant said they often visit people multiple times in order to gain trust.
“We offer them what we can provide, and if they don't want help, we say ‘We're here, if you need us, look for the blue jackets,” Bryant said.
During the walks, the city also identifies public safety issues such as sidewalk cracks, frequent criminal behaviors, and animal feces in need of a power wash.
