Walls, floors, doors and other parts are being assembled east of downtown Reno. This is the site where Washoe County set up its campsite.
Steven Sanchez has stayed in a county-provided tent for about two months. Before that, he was sleeping in a tent along railroad tracks.
鈥淲hen you鈥檙e outside, you鈥檙e exposed to everything; everything can get you, anybody, or the weather, or whatever, you know,鈥� Sanchez said.
Now, he鈥檚 looking forward to moving into one of the new structures. They鈥檙e called , and they鈥檒l replace the tents. They measure eight feet by eight feet and include a cot, heating and cooling, and a door that locks. They cost nearly $14,000 each, and there will be about 50.
鈥淭hese pods I鈥檝e been hearing about, you know, that鈥檚 what鈥檚 really got us interested, because, like, are you kidding me? A room of our own, with walls and electricity?鈥� Sanchez said.
Washoe County started its in Reno . It鈥檚 in an industrial area, near a highway interchange. Assistant County Manager Kate Thomas said it鈥檚 an alternative to the county鈥檚 shelter, where nearly people sleep.
The shelter and campsite also offer food, restrooms, showers and laundry facilities. There鈥檚 a space for pets as well.
鈥淭hese are individuals who have been out in the weather, for some of them, decades. We鈥檝e removed some of the barriers that make it difficult for them on a day-to-day basis out in the elements,鈥� Thomas said.
But it鈥檚 not just the heat or cold. A few months after the tent program opened, county residents were because the air quality was deemed hazardous due to wildfires in California.
鈥淲e offered space in that large emergency shelter. We set it aside [as] sort of its own area, [but] people didn鈥檛 want to go; they just want to be in their own space,鈥� Thomas said.
Some West Coast cities have for years. It鈥檚 a in our region, as more and more people struggle with homelessness. In the Mountain West, there are sanctioned camps in places like , and .
In Denver, the Colorado Village Collaborative operates three programs. Together, they have room for 150 people, but a last year found more than 5,500 people in shelters in the metro area, and advocates say the count is likely higher.
鈥淲e do believe that housing is the solution to end homelessness, but we also know we鈥檙e never going to be able to build, right now, to meet the demand that鈥檚 out there, so, until then, what do we do?鈥� said Cuica Montoya, the program director of Safe Outdoor Spaces.
The Denver-based nonprofit provides ice fishing shelters, zero-degree sleeping bags and heated blankets.
鈥淲e set it up during [the] COVID pandemic as a response to stay-at-home orders. How are our unhoused folks going to stay at home if they don鈥檛 have a home?鈥� Montoya asked.
Donald Whitehead is the executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. He said sanctioned camps aren鈥檛 the answer, especially in winter.
鈥淲e need to produce housing; we need to create jobs that pay affordable wages. Those are the long-term solutions and the structural changes that we need. Solutions like encampments are a way for communities to, kind of, get an easy pass,鈥� Whitehead said.
People in Washoe County鈥檚 program must agree to seek . So far, nearly have, but subsidized housing programs have long wait lists. And in Reno and Denver, the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment is more than $1,900, , so getting to the next step can be difficult.
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