It’s the PITs
According to Washoe County Government the homeless/unhoused population that they had touted had been cut in half last year, have bad news for all you taxpaying residents and, hey, the numbers are up, but only slightly, and Washoe County expected it.
“The fluctuations in sheltered and unsheltered populations are expected and provide us with an important glimpse into the factors that impact homelessness,” said Catrina Peters, Washoe County’s homeless services data and policy specialist, in a carefully crafted statement.
Picon amused ourselves, and reached out via phone to get a comment from any of the commissioners regarding the PIT Count, and the only commissioner who returned our call was District 2 Commissioner Mike Clark.
Clark said, “This is ridiculous, the PIT count was completed on January 25, 2024, and these numbers are just being released yesterday, May 6th. Why did it take 90-days to release the count? Washoe County had no choice but to release the report prior to the CHAB (Community Homeless Advisory Board) meeting on Monday, May 13, 2024. The first CHAB meeting that has been held since September 11, 2023. Face facts, Washoe County has been releasing propaganda to the Wall Street Journal and other news organizations about how the homeless/unhoused population is being reduced. Now, the numbers show that is not the case. We need a CHAB meeting per month, which I have asked for. Unlike Sparks Councilmember Kristopher Dahir, who wants to have a hybrid style meeting. We need to get elected CHAB members together and start to figure out fixes instead of patches. We need to remember this is taxpayer money and act responsibly.”
What Picon finds interesting is the elusive, I don’t speak to the press, Governor Joe Lombardo’s Appointed Commissioner Clara Andriola and her recent claims that she, single handedly, due to her long career of volunteerism, can solve the homeless problem in Washoe County, and “get the homeless population off the streets.” Might we inquire when she plans on getting started. Lombardo appointed her in April 2023 – it has been a year and what has Andriola done? Is Andriola waiting to be elected to dive in and “clean up Washoe County and get residents the help they need.” How about an idea now Clara instead of later.
The gobbledygook Washoe County continues to spew about the homeless population and Nevada Cares Campus needs to have an outside audit. The PIT count that was the ‘be-all-end-all report’ last year, is now, according to Division Director-Housing and Homeless Services Dana Searcy, “the PIT Count is only one tool we use to identify trends and to understand the population we are serving.”
District 1 Commission Chair Alexis Hill spewed more rhetoric, aptly written by Washoe County communications specialists saying, “I’m thrilled to see the continued collaboration across the region to solve this challenging problem. Although we have seen a slight increase in the PIT Count, Washoe County has housed 1,334 people in the last year, and we are seeing a decrease in recidivism with our tenancy support programs.”
Can someone ask Commissioner Hill to explain to us what has been ‘solved?’ Again, we think it is only fair to give credibility to Washoe County’s recidivism numbers to have an outside audit done.
We wonder if Wall Street Journal reporter Jim Carlton would still stand by the numbers he was provided by Washoe County when he wrote the November 29, 2023 article - Reno Is Beating the Odds in Solving Homelessness – pointing out “number of unsheltered dropped by more than half in this Nevada city after large tent to house its homeless was built.”
Read the gobbledygook that we’ve been sent by three different sources regarding the 2024 PIT Count.