Holiday Greetings in Casino-land

You can almost hear the jingle of sleigh bells in Reno, the "biggest little city in the world," as the city inspector added his off-red decoration to this nondescript house which had been home to one family for the past 5 years.

The bad news was delivered about 10 in the morning, and the mom, dad and 6 kids, including an infant, had to vacate by 4 that day. And because they have no option, they ended up in a no-tell-motel, 2 adjacent, but not adjoining rooms. A social service agency helped them by paying for the first 2 weeks. Mom's the full-time breadwinner, but their meager finances would be devastated by the $400 a week for their rooms, not including the storage rental for their stuff.

The landlord failed to make repairs, and now this family and a single guy who had just moved into this place are all homeless in time for the holidays. Despite what the definition of homelessness is according to HUD, this family is HOMELESS. And, despite common thinking, Reno has NO family shelter other than a 3-family set-up in a church that has a waiting list of over 40 families.

Pause for a moment to consider the reality of 2 adults and 6 kids in 2 little motel rooms with a microwave and small refrigerator for "kitchen" use. Think of what foods can be nutritionally served with that arrangement. Even thinking about the space issues makes me cringe. Yes, they're better off than if they lived on the streets, but not by much. The stress level with this family is devastating. I've spent time with them.

Now, this isn't some third world country or state. They're in Nevada, where casino profits are at a record high. I dunno, call me stupid, but with PROFITS for these gambling enterprises topping over $2 BILLION, it seems like it's not for lack of money floating around Reno. Maybe it's a lack of asking the right people....

Seems to me someone would be able to cough up a little financial assistance to help this family have a merry Christmas. And, please don't think that means toys and electronic games. THEY NEED A PLACE TO CALL HOME!

Clueless In America

South Korea is quite a distance from Reno, NV. So, as I sat last night at dinner talking with the 3-person team of the South Korean MBC news crew, it was fascinating to explore homelessness in S Korea as they queried me about America's homeless adults and children.


The same is true in SK as in the USA--invisible homeless families and teens escape notice, much to their detriment.


They have domestic violence in SK, but women tend to stay with their abusive spouses. They have house fires and other disasters that displace families, forcing them to double-up with relatives or friends.


A few key differences--housing costs are more affordable and medical expenses are far less than this country.


But they talk about greed and extreme wealth there in similar ways that some of us see this pervasive condition in America.


We visited a local shelter program that helps families. They are only able to serve 3 families at a time, and folks can only come in at 6 and must leave in the early morning hours so the church can be used for its daily purpose. Generous volunteers make this stop-gap service possible.


The director said they have a waiting list of 40 families which doesn't include the number of families requesting help that just don't get on the list.


Reno has a new state-of-the-art mens' shelter, part of the federal government's much-heralded "Ten Year Plan to End Homelessness," better known as the clear out the visible homeless adults plan. The feds don't want to include families in their definition of homelessness fearing "opening the floodgates."


Seems to me that in a city of decadent gambling, entertainment and dining, the proverbial crumbs from the tables could be gathered to assist families who live in dreadful conditions, in all forms of homelessness. Instead we're growing a future crop of homeless adults by ignoring families today.