Helping those in need starts at home, student involvement crucial
Ally Patton
We all want to make a difference in the world, but what about Reno? What can we do to make an impact here at home?
While several Associated Students of University of Nevada organizations hold fund raising events to benefit international causes (such as, ahem, Project 58’s “Movie and a Mission” on Monday at 6 p.m. in the Joe Crowley Student Union Theater to learn to prevent child soldiers in Kenya), what can we do to impact the local community?
On Oct. 6, the Reno community was forced to recognize the plight of the homeless community in our own town. With news of the closing of the makeshift campground for the homeless, Tent City, due to the coming cold of Reno’s winter, journalists covered the event with intensity.
All the activity captured my attention. Interested in hearing the personal stories of the homeless living in a close community on Fourth and Record streets, I visited with the residents of Tent City last Monday afternoon.
There I met Kari Hartman and Don Morey. Now in their 40s, the couple has been together for seven years. Last Monday, they were forced to separate.
All men were required to permanently leave by 5 p.m.
Police attended to ensure the eviction. An overflow shelter in Sparks was recently opened to house men during the winter months. On Wednesday, newly-constructed women’s and family shelters will be provided.
I don’t doubt a good many people had excellent intentions in relocating the homeless from their weathered outdoor tents near the railroad tracks.
However, the men’s overflow shelter provides 60 beds. There were 90 men in Tent City. What is going to happen to the other 30 men?
Yesterday, as I drove to campus, I saw four men huddled beside a Bank of America dumpster.
One guy had metal tent poles sticking out of his backpack. I couldn’t help but wonder where he would be sleeping that night.
Last weekend the snow enveloped our city. This is only the beginning of a long winter.
Where are these men possibly going to find shelter?
“We’re like monkeys in a cage,” Kari said, frustrated. “Everybody wants to come look today, but tomorrow nobody’s gonna care what happened to us.”
May that not be said of us.
As opposed to the common stereotype of the homeless as lazy bums, some homeless men and women are genuinely just down on their luck.
With the economy in such bad shape, many people are finding themselves dangerously close to poverty and homelessness.
Don’t let that one poor experience with some fake taint your opinion of all the individuals who are currently struggling to get back on their feet.
I encourage you to take a chance, break beyond your presuppositions and give your time.
Get a group of friends together, call the Reno-Sparks Gospel Mission and ask about spending time at the shelters just to get to know the people. Or volunteer with St. Vincent’s food bank, making sandwiches to be distributed.
Start in our own city. Get involved and act against injustice.
Ally Patton is a columnist for The Nevada Sagebrush. She can be reached at apatton@nevadasagebrush.com.
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