The day use area at the homeless shelter is closed, for now.  Homeless individuals typically use the area as a place to stay, during the daytime hours.

It's run by Volunteers of America, in partnership with the City of Reno, who say its temporary closure is a small sacrifice for the better.

Anywhere from 200 to 350 homeless gather at the day use area inside the Record Street facility complex, on a daily basis. Jon Humbert, a spokesperson for the City of Reno says, "It's not entirely a shelter and isn't part of that sort of nexus, but it is an opportunity for people to go, be [in] a safe place, clean place during the day."

While some homeless say the closures is an inconvenience because they have nowhere else to go during the day and often get kicked out of areas like parks, others are glad to see it empty.  Denise, who is homeless says, "It's horrendous here. Who wants to go in the day area when it's full of tents and people selling drugs and drinking and using foul language and stealing?"

The City of Reno says the closure is temporary while Volunteers of America welcomes a new outreach supervisor on board. Humbert explains, "This two week kind of wind down pause button for this, [is] to make sure he's up-to-speed on the program, that other members coming on board and becoming employed at the facility are up-to-speed, because we really want that facility to be the very best that it can be."

Upon reopening, there will be more oversight in the day use area. The new supervisor tells us he is taking the time to retrain the outreach crew. That includes rewriting certain rules, like tents, which will be prohibited in the area, going forward.  

Humbert adds, "Even though we don't like having to shut things down, even on a temporary basis like this, we feel that it's the best way to do it so those folks who are concerned about it can have those needs met."

Crews will also carry-out a cleanup at the end of August, complete with repainting and planting.  

The day use area is expected to reopen in about two weeks. 

Shelter officials say if there is any extreme weather while it's closed, homeless individuals with health issues will be allowed inside shelter day rooms. 

The day use area will be open from 4:30 a.m. until 9 p.m. when it reopens, pending any additional adjustments from the new supervisor. Â