Some friendly smack-talk and the clatter of a pool stick hitting the cue ball — that’s the sound that greets clients coming through the doors of Eddy House on a Wednesday morning.
For 15 years, the youth homeless shelter near downtown Reno has been taking in at-risk clients who are 18-24 years old, addressing one of the region’s ongoing challenges. Young adults remain the fastest growing segment of the city’s homeless population.
Clients at Eddy House say the woman behind the pool cue has made a big difference in their lives, as they try to find their footing: founder Lynette Eddy.
"She's like, really, just joyful. Always has a smile genuinely,” one client, Amorett Riddle, told 2 News Nevada while hanging out in the lounge just inside the shelter’s front doors. She later added that in her interactions with Eddy, “You feel heard, you know. That's not something you get when you're homeless, often."
Another client says he’s surprised and happy to see the active role Eddy plays at the shelter, stopping by frequently to get to know youth personally and run group mindfulness sessions.
"It makes you feel safe. It makes you feel like you have somewhere to go. And it makes you feel like you're welcome here,” said Devon Taha.
And that’s exactly what Eddy says her goal is, to help at-risk kids feel acceptance and significance.
She's helping Reno's homeless youth find shelter -- and family.
"There’s just loss. They're lonely. They're scared,” she said during an interview in the Eddy House kitchen.
Eddy knows firsthand what it means to face down those difficult emotions. It was a combination of challenging and eye-opening life experiences that inspired her to open her doors to Reno’s homeless young adults.
"It was 2010, was probably my lowest point. I was living in Truckee, and going to school, and my husband died by suicide. We were married 34 years,” Eddy said.
When she received his life insurance payout, she decided she wanted to use the money to make a difference. She bought a four-bedroom house in Northwest Reno, and offered the space to young men exiting the foster care system.
At the same time, she was still studying the scale of the problem, and what resources would help young adults exit homelessness.
In the years that have followed, Eddy House has continued to expand its services and capacity.
During her group counseling sessions with clients, Eddy says she tries to teach youth to ignore the critical voices in their heads that hold them back from success.
In fact, she’s written a book about her approach to tackling self-deprecation. The Fight Inside tells the story of her own personal struggles and explains how to use Open-Heart Mindfulness, a strategy she created, to navigate tough times emotionally and mentally.
She’s even put it to the test. In 2024, she hiked the Pacific Crest Trail from Mexico to Canada. Eddy doesn’t necessarily consider herself an avid hiker or outdoorswoman. She just wanted to see whether she could truly use Open-Heart Mindfulness to overcome any and all self-doubts.
"I'd get that voice, you know. Like, oh, you can't. This is too hard. Go home,” she said, recalling the four-month trek.
But she didn’t turn tail. She did it, and she says it exemplifies one of the greatest lessons she’s learned.
"That's what I tell the kids,” she said. “Life's not supposed to make you happy. It's supposed to challenge you.”
A lesson she reaffirms every time she steps through the doors of Eddy House and takes the time to make sure each kid knows that they belong, and they matter.