For the past four years, Family Soup has served over a hundred people every week. Family Soup organizer, Nicole Anagapesis said the plaza is extremely accessible.
“We see all kinds of folks, not just people who are experiencing homelessness, but, you know, folks who are lower income,” she said.
Normally, the group would use the entire plaza for their work.
While attending a city council meeting in March, Anagapesis learned the Believe Plaza would not be fully available during the summer. The Downtown Reno Partnership was requesting the use of Locomotion Plaza for Rollin’ Reno. However, that location was not available. The city suggested the Believe Plaza instead.
The DPR is a non-profit organization separate from the city. Their goal is to make downtown a safer, cleaner, vibrant district according to their website.
The original blue-print for Rollin’ Reno took up the whole plaza. Family Soup saw the plans and sent a letter to the DRP requesting a meeting to talk about how they could share the space. Executive Director Neoma Jardon responded saying the DRP could not accommodate Family Soup. Anagapesis said Jardon didn’t reply to repeated attempts to reach her following that email. That was in late March.
Part of the DRP’s contract with the city for the event states it has to include a free speech area. However, according to the city, how much space isn’t specified. The DRP would be responsible for injury or damages in that area.
On April 18, parks and recreation director Nathan Ullyot reached out to Family Soup. He explained that there was no space in the plaza for them to set up. And offered other plazas as alternatives.
But Tara Tran, a Family Soup volunteer, said the population they work with is hard to contact. Making moving to a new location difficult.
“A lot of people that come here don't have phones, they don't have access to [the] internet,” they said.
When the offer was refused, Ullyot went back and looked at the proposed skating rink plan. It was sitting on the Tahoe-Pyramid Trail. Ullyot told the DRP that Rollin’ Reno has to be 12 feet away from the path, which is on the river side.
In May, the plans changed. The rink expanded out to the previously unavailable parking lot and a small area became open public space. Because this space is outside of the fence placed by the DRP, they are not responsible for injuries or damages.
He offered part of the area to Family Soup but told them they have to leave a 5 foot wide path for the trail.
“At that time, I reached back out to Tara and said, ‘Hey, this might be able to work for you. It's not a lot of space, it's not what you're used to, but it could work’,” Ullyot said.
In the final design approved by the city, more than 90% of the plaza is used for Rollin’ Reno. Leaving Family Soup a narrow path from Virginia Street to Center Street. It’s roughly six feet wide and 330 feet long against the Believe sign.
Due to the tight fit, people who came to the distribution formed a single line starting at the “B” down to Virginia. On a June evening, people sat on the ground against the Rollin’ Reno fence rather than the seating structures in the plaza.
On July 1, parks and recreation placed barricades to prevent Family Soup from impeding on the trail. According to emails, the volunteers did not want the barricades. But, the parks departments insisted. After they were installed, the single-file line turned into a clump of people on the Center Street side of the plaza.
“You can imagine being crammed with 100 to 200 other strangers in a five foot walkway between two fences in 100 degree heat, and what that does for the, you know, just general emotional say and well-being of our distro,” Tran said.
Both Anagapesis and Tran feel this situation could have been prevented, if Jardon had responded to their emails back in March.
KUNR sent multiple messages to Neoma Jardon but did not receive a response back.
While Family Soup is disappointed in the city and the DRP for approving the event, they continue to host their distributions at the Believe Plaza. And are grateful for the space they do have. They say no matter how tight the space gets, they won’t move. Rollin’ Reno ends on August 9 but won’t be taken down until August 14.