Reno Works Graduates 8 Out of Homelessness

The City of Reno and Volunteers of America (VOA) today celebrated the graduation of eight members of the current class of the Reno Works program.

Several donors and supporters were recognized during the program.

The City of Reno accepted a $10,000 check from The U.S. Conference of Mayors. The DollarWise Campaign awarded Innovation Grants of $10,000 each to five cities across the country in order to help expand the economic mobility efforts in their communities.

The $10,000 will support future Reno Works classes and programs. Bank of America is the founding sponsor of the DollarWise Campaign.

“This is a truly special day that we all look forward to at the City of Reno,” Mayor Hillary Schieve said. “Our heartfelt thanks go out to all of the community partners who make this innovative program possible. And a huge thanks this year to The U.S. Conference of Mayors.”

It was also announced today that Waste Management will help support the next Reno Works class with a $25,000 donation. Waste Management conducted mock interviews for the current class and provided a tour of their facility.

Since 2015, Reno Works has received $200,000 in donations.

“Including this class, we’ve had 73 people graduate from the program so far,” said Vice Mayor Neoma Jardon, who helped establish Reno Works with VOA Regional Director Pat Cashell, in 2015. “Many homeless in our community day that need the opportunity and the tools to improve their lives. Reno Works provides them those skills and that chance.”

The City of Reno and Volunteers of America also thanked the following companies for their continued partnerships:

• Caliber Hair & Makeup Studio – provided haircuts and styling
• Dress for Success Reno – provided clothing for job interviews
• Job Connect – provided orientation, connected the work crew to individualized services and provided a work space for online job search with staffing
• JOIN – provided orientation to extend career opportunity to the work crew and provided computer training classes to assist with employment search
• Nevada Safety Training – provided 12 OSHA construction safety classes and 12 American Red Cross CPR/AED/First Aid training sessions
• Olive Garden – provided four donated meals for the Getting Ahead class, and Olive Garden has been supporting Reno Works since the inaugural class with various donations, including employment opportunities for several of our graduate
• Outsiders Salon – provided hair-styling techniques

The 12-week Reno Works program, which was recently extended from 10 weeks, provides a group of Community Assistance Center homeless shelter residents with classes focused on life and job skills as well as providing temporary employment through community improvement projects including working in area parks, improving public facilities and cleaning along the river corridor.

Information

Visit Reno.gov/RenoWorks or VOA-NCNN.org/Reno-Works.

SOURCE: City of Reno