Homelessness is an issue that our region has been trying to tackle for years.

The Nevada Cares Campus has been one of the biggest providers for homeless services.

The campus opened in 2021, due to the increase in homelessness from the pandemic.

However, turning to 2024, the shelter has expanded to add more services.

"As we get ready to open our new welcome center that will bring more services to the campus," said Dana Searcy, Division Director for Washoe County Housing and Homeless Services.

That center will open August 5. 

Over the past few years, more homeless people are off the streets, but the big issue is there's not many options for people to go after the shelter.

"The critical piece for us is that housing continues to develop. Without that housing people will stay here and they will stay in other programs with nowhere to exit to," Searcy said.

Searcy says the entire community is coming together to help tackle this very complex issue.

"It's not just the Cares Campus. This is just one big piece of the puzzle, but there's lots of community providers. Our nonprofits that have stepped up and are expanding their programs," Searcy said.

Another one of the resources in our community is Washoe County's homeless outreach team, known as the HOPE team.

The team started in 2021. Their mission is trying to get the homeless connected with more services and it's taken a while to build that trust with their clients.

"Us showing up on scene, and being recognized as police officers," said Deputy Andres Silva, Washoe County HOPE team. "We are police officers but we are here to help and provide services to people experiencing homelessness and it's been a barrier getting past that but it's slowly working."

Often times it takes multiple contacts before getting them down the right path.

"A lot of follow up and a lot of multiple contacts in order to get them to make that next step to getting off the streets," Deputy Silva said.

Some of the unhoused population say that the HOPE team has been a great help for them.

"They're actually trying to help us and not just tell us to leave," said Richard Stanaland.

"He [one of the case managers with the HOPE team] lifted me up and I'm able to continue," said Robert Pierce. "I was going to stop there for a while."

Pierce has been homeless for 14 years, after trying to help his family.

"I came to help my mother out, in distress," he said. "She was on her death bed and she since passed and my brother became destitute, so I stayed and helped."

They say it's been a tough road of not having a stable home.

"I come from a family that always had a home and living out on the streets is a little bit different than being at home," Pierce said.

"You know that when you go off and do something you coming back to home. Here, being on the streets, in a RV, or in a car," Stanaland said. "You got places where they don't want you there. You got to move every three days."

Stanaland has a possible solution he thinks could work out for everyone.

"A land or something we can open up," he said. "People that have RV's that are nice, and that run or whatever or that are plausible for habit can go to for a year or something or pay a monthly rent but reasonably."