Council hears reports from homeless outreach partners; mayor to press county for funding
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Summary
Multiple community organizations updated council on street outreach, pre‑employment cleanups and volunteer patrols. Council members praised partnerships and the mayor said she would send the county a letter requesting funding to sustain the programs.
At its Oct. 8 meeting, the Reno City Council heard updates from local outreach groups about programs that provide street outreach, pre‑employment volunteer opportunities and community cleanups for people experiencing homelessness.
Presenters from Rise Outreach, Karma Box Project and volunteer group SAVE described services and outcomes, and council members and the mayor emphasized continuing partnerships and asked the county to contribute funding to sustain the programs.
Mary Charles, RISE outreach manager, thanked city staff (named individually) and praised the collaborative work with the city’s Clean & Safe team. Ian Anderson of the Karma Box Project described a two‑part program: outreach services connecting people to resources and a pre‑employment component in which volunteers — including program clients — perform community cleanups. He provided metrics: “Over 1,500 resources and 400 IDs were accessed by just the Karma Box team… 6,000 bags of trash were picked up by 1,800 volunteers representing 7,600 hours of community service,” he said.
Ron Trevor and members of SAVE reported third‑quarter metrics: 77 active members, 5,335 volunteer hours and an estimated savings to the city of roughly $164,638; Trevor also said SAVE’s cumulative value to the city since tracking began in 2001 reached $10,000,000. Council members thanked volunteers and noted local impacts, such as clearing abandoned big rigs in industrial areas.
Mayor Hillary L. Schieve said she would send a letter to Washoe County asking it to fund the outreach teams and urged coordination; she also said she would “CC you on that letter” to keep partners informed. Council discussion repeatedly called for sustaining the partnership and for county support, and expressed concern about preserving these programs in the next budget cycle.
Council members commended the partners and asked staff to continue coordination with county officials and to report back on funding status; the mayor pledged a follow‑up letter to county leadership.