Our Someone 2 Know spends his days helping unsheltered men, women and families in the Reno-Sparks area. You may have seen “Just Knate” around town, on TikTok, Instagram or You Tube. He has gone viral on social media for sharing the stories of the people he meets - and now people all over the world are helping support his work.
"All these items are in here,” Knate shows us a filled backpack, “First aid kit, a comb, deodorant, flashlight…" Great care goes into filling these backpacks, with different and specific items for men and women. About 30 bags per week, every week, are given away to people living on the street.
The man behind it all says his name is as simple as his mission - "I’m just Just Knate and I’m here in Reno helping people as best I can."
Helping people one question at a time.
In one viral video we see Knate approach a woman sitting on a street corner with a sign, and he says, "I was gonna see if there's anything I can do to help you out today?" The woman pauses as she thinks of a response and says "Wow." The video continues as we hear what she needs - some water and maybe a pair of shoes. Knate shops for her and delivers more than she asked for. Eventually she tells Knate there’s a storage unit that has all her family’s belongings and she’s worried they’ll lose all of it, as she cannot afford to pay for it. Knate explains that his followers donate money to him, so he can help others. He pays for her storage fee. She’s visibly grateful, relieved and surprised, all at once.
This is just one of dozens of videos posted by Just Knate.
Knate says there's one thing many of us overlook.
"Just taking the time to share a conversation with someone - and engage and talk with them."
Knate hits the streets of Reno and Sparks every week, sometimes every day. Different than typical outreach, Knate records most of his interactions and posts them to social media.
"People can be a little bit hesitant, but at the same time when I have a back pack, or I have tents, I have sleeping bags."
Or he pays for much needed fuel...
"It lets them know that I do care, I am serious, I’m not doing this just for my own benefit. I'm trying to help people.”
So, where does this do-good-drive come from? Knate says when he moved to Reno about five years ago for a job it fell through. "I had kinda an epiphany and realized I could be in someone else's shoes like these people we see that are living outside."
Knate started with a spare $16 a couple of years ago and quickly learned most people need something to eat and something to wear. During that first interaction, it was a pizza.
After some trial and error, Knate developed his own version of the buy-one give-one model. He has buyers from all over the world. Just Knate sells blankets, hats and - always in demand -socks.
“So far I’ve sold a thousand pairs and given away a thousand pairs,” shares Knate, showing us the black socks with his signature “JK” mark on them.
Managing inventory, production, donations, requests, his online presence and the on-the-street outreach is now Knate's full time job, seven days a week, and yet, "I enjoy this, I don't feel like I work a day in my life."
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Knate says he is able to do what he does because of the generous support he gets from his followers - and there are millions of them.
If you would like to help JUST KNATE with his outreach, or watch some of the videos he posts, this link will take you to his web page -
