In October, Northern Nevada HOPES announced they were more than half way to reaching the $2.5 million goal in their capital campaign for Hope Springs, the nonprofit’s short-term housing village. Now, just two months later, a nearly $900,000 donation from the William N. Pennington Foundation has allowed HOPES to reach that goal.
Hope Springs, which is scheduled to open in January 2021, is a 30-unit complex of individual small units along with a central facility that includes showers, restrooms, a kitchen and community space, including a garden and dog park. The community is considered a “first-of-its-kind solution” in the northern Nevada area to provide bridge housing to residents working to transition out of homelessness.
In October, media was invited to tour Hope Springs while it was nearing completion. Reno City Council member Neoma Jardon, an early champion for the project, was on hand.
“You can’t start a path to getting back on your feet if you don’t have a bed to lay in or a door to close or a shower to shower in. These 30 units, over time, are going to change hundreds of lives,” she said.
Northern Nevada HOPES will operate Hope Springs and provide wrap-around services including health care and wellness support services to residents who choose to use them. HOPES anticipates residents will live in the homes for four to six months before transitioning to more permanent housing.
Officials estimate it will cost about $14,226 to provide bridge housing and wrap-around services per individual. That’s a fraction of the more than $35,500 the National Alliance to End Homelessness estimates it costs taxpayers per unhoused person per year for services such as jails, hospitals, social services and shelters.
“If Hope Springs assists 60 individuals with bridge housing each year, an approximate $1,281,120 public costs will be saved in our community,” said Jardon. “In times like these, projects that find solutions to our community’s most pressing issues, while provide cost-savings to our taxpayers, are simply invaluable.”
The concept for Hope Springs was championed in its earliest days by Jardon and a coalition of others including Abbi Whitaker of the Abbi Agency, Bob Conrad of ThisIsReno.com, Volunteers of America, ACTIONN, RISE, Northern Nevada HOPES and other partners to address the region’s shortage of affordable housing and shelter options.
Hope Springs is located at 1920 E. 4th Street. To learn more about Hope Springs and opportunities to contribute to the development and sustainability of the project, visit nnhopes.org/hopesprings.
DISCLOSURE: This Is Reno and Bob Conrad helped to launch a fundraising campaign in the initial stages of development for Hope Springs.
