We’ve been trying to track the disappearance of the former Director of Washoe County Human Services Agency Amber Howell who went missing in April 2023. We keep checking milk cartons. When anyone inquired about Howell, Washoe County hid behind human resources as they always do, unable to release any information.

We asked ourselves shouldn’t homeless women and children come first. Would they not be considered the most vulnerable of the homeless population. There was $500 million available due to former Governor Steve Sisolak’s Home Means Nevada affordable housing initiative so shouldn’t all hands have been on deck at Washoe County to get housing built at Our Place? Why give the Cares Campus top priority, a no-barrier shelter in lieu of a low-barrier shelter. It is clear at Washoe County there was the ‘Care Campus team’ and the ‘Human Services Agency team’ and Howell was on the HSA team all alone. These two teams did not meet in the middle, in fact they were afraid of losing funding if they overpitched. The two teams did not align in their approach. This disconnect raises concerns about the coordination and communication within the county’s efforts to address the housing needs of the homeless community.