Our Town Reno

Our Place, A New Shelter Model for Northern Nevada

Episode Summary

"I hope that Our Place brings the message that our neighbors are some of the most creative, resilient, beautiful humans I've ever met. And when we invest in people, we get great results," said Jen Cassady the Our Place director. Shelters take on many different forms, sizes, shapes and models. Here in northern Nevada, a grassroots movement called RISE, the Reno Initiative for Shelter and Equality has teamed up with Washoe County to establish Our Place, a new, more human centered, friendlier, less prison like shelter for women, families and the elderly with nature spaces, backyards, a wing for pets, and staff with lived homeless experience. Our reporter Scott King finds out more on how Our Place recently opened with the added challenges of the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.