The Community Homelessness Advisory Board met on Tuesday at the Washoe County Administrative Complex. Local agencies presented recently collected data on homelessness and affordable housing to the board.

The Washoe County Human Services Agency (WCHSA) said its programs have been successful, but its four shelters -- the CARES Campus, Safe Camp, Our Place Family Shelter, and Our Place Women's Shelter -- are running out of beds. They last counted 1,389 unhoused people in its shelters last January, meaning 85% of its 1,696 total beds are occupied.

"We need to be able to be flexible and to be able to pivot to be able to continue to increase capacity," said Ryan Gustafson, WCHSA Director.

Gustafson said the agency also needs to "know what the capacity needs are. Do you need services for families? Does it need to be for women? Does it need to be for men? What does that need to look like?"

The Reno Initiative for Shelter Equality (RISE) said 26 unhoused people stayed at its Good Neighbors Warming Center for more than 30 days, with four folks staying for all 84 nights the center was open. RISE said the total cost of the program was $23,295.87, which was offset by community donations.

The City of Reno reported it spent $17 million on rental assistance to 6,694 households between Fiscal Year 2021 and 2025.

"We were able to support the creating of over 4,000 units of affordable housing," said Elaine Wiseman, the Housing Manager for the City of Reno.

The Biggest Little City reported over $103 million in support for affordable housing, ranging from permit reductions to purchase agreements.

Going forward, Wiseman said Reno's focus is "to encourage developers to continue to come to us, whether it be for money or other incentives, to continue to produce affordable housing so that everyone has a safe, affordable, accessible place to live."

The Reno Housing Authority (RHA) said it's working on new affordable units.

"One of the things we're going to be doing is constructing Carville Court, which is a permanent supportive housing complex," said Heidi McKendree, RHA's Deputy Executive Director. 

When finished, McKendree said Carville Court will provide 15 units of permanent supportive housing. RHA will begin construction in the first quarter of 2026 and anticipates completion some time in 2027.

The City of Sparks said it provided an average of $4,500 of emergency rental assistance to each of 600 households. A total of 710 households applied for the program. Sparks assisted 581 of 688 applicants facing eviction and supported 19 of 22 short-term seniors.

Catholic Charities of Northern Nevada (CCSNN) said its main priority is helping folks maintain their eligibility for SNAP benefits.

"There were a lot of waivers for individuals who are starting homelessness," said Marie Baxter, CEO of CCSNN. "Those waivers have ended."

Baxter said federal funding changes over the past few months have led to the elimination or change of many "safety net" programs.

"There are about 48,000 individuals in Washoe County who are current SNAP recipients," Baxter said. "Many of them are going to be impacted by these changes, where they may find they had a waiver where they didn't have to be working or volunteering 80 hours a month, and now they do."

Many of these agencies said they've made good progress in addressing homelessness and affordable housing. However, they recognize there's much more work to do.