While City Council Wednesday decided not to go ahead with a purchase of new land to help the chronically homeless, life at Reno’s main downtown shelter was typical, with homeless, with mental illness and without, complaining of services and struggling with addiction.
Norma said she was going to try another shelter in Reno Wednesday after the incident she partly blames on her own drinking and not taking her usual medication.
Other homeless women at the shelter said they have concerns about how people with mental illness are treated there, and whether or not conditions are adequate for those suffering from mental illness. They said some of the people who are mentally ill scream or talk to themselves at night in their bed or in the shelter bathrooms, making the experience disruptive and uncomfortable for all.
Mayor Hillary Schieve said she thought it was more of a project for the Reno Housing Authority to take on. But she said she didn’t want the public to think the Council was not being supportive of new ideas to help the homeless. Neoma Jardon said some of the money could be used to improve the city’s secret overflow shelter, which as Our Town Reno has documented previously, has less than pristine conditions.
Source: OurTownReno.com.
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