Reynolds Reno

Life on the streets of the biggest little city

Wednesday, July 20, 2011 By Tom Trimingham

RENO -- Reno's streets lead to opulent casinos, a new baseball stadium and tourist-oriented river walk. “These streets get pretty cold in the winter,” said Greg, a middle-aged man who said he was currently homeless. Greg didn’t offer his last name. A rich orange sunset reflected off the windows of a distant casino as he rolled another smoke and added that the streets are “hotter than you can imagine in the summer.” According to Greg he is among a growing number of homeless people who gather outside of the downtown gaming district. According to the city of Reno's website, the last count of outdoor homeless people was done January 31, 2007. There were 98. “The police won’t bother you as long as you stay out of downtown,” he said, explaining that Reno was set up as a gaming town and in his opinion is not really accessible to the homeless. “Oh I get hassled for the different holidays, but they mostly leave you alone. The casinos are another story,” he said. Greg went on to explain how casinos photograph the homeless and remove them immediately if they try to come back. “They got their part of town and I got mine,” he said. When asked if the city provides any sort of accommodation to the homeless, Bill Nelson, another man sitting next to him, said “Oh they do have a shelter here, but if I spend more than a few days indoors, I start to get cuckoo.” Greg said that he came to Reno in 1972, and in better days worked for a local firm that manufactured commercial walk-in freezers. When that ended he was able to support himself with local jobs, but eventually he lost his apartment and became homeless. “It’s easy to fall down, but once you’re down, it’s hard to get back up,” he said. As he spoke, a young skateboarder with a shaved head stopped and offered a handful of loose change. “I can’t afford to give you this man,” said the skater, “I don’t have any cash either.” Greg crossed his leg and took a deep drag on his cigarette. “This was the coldest winter in twenty years, but at least I got my own parking place” he said. “(I) g ot permission from a merchant to sleep right here. I guess you can call me an optimist.”