“Don’t Let a Good Pandemic Go to Waste”

Picon says, “Oh you Washoe County you … keeping us on our toes at all times.”

The title of our article comes from a quote from Assistant County Manager Kate Thomas on KTVN Face

the State, while discussing how the Nevada Cares Campus was developed. It is a direct quote. Really Ms.

Thomas, Washoe County residents were dying during the pandemic, but you “didn’t let a good

pandemic go to waste.”

Washoe County seems at crossed purposes with residents, has the county’s focus on homeless

programs overshadowed the needs of the working population and seniors. With the excessive amount

of taxpayer dollars being allocated on the Cares Campus and other program initiatives, there is growing

rumblings about the outcomes and effectiveness of Washoe County’s efforts under the leadership of

County Manager Eric Brown. The homeless population boils down to about 1600 people in Washoe

County, as reported by Assistant County Manager Kate Thomas and ‘Tolles Tours the Campus Anytime

He Wants” Tolles Development; Cares Campus Fundraising Chair, Par Tolles on Face the State on

October 2, 2023. Washoe County has limited ‘outcomes’ from the Cares Campus and pinning the county

down to get true numbers, like how many people who have been placed in housing, leaving the Cares

Campus are still in that placed housing? You can find the numbers in other cities, but Washoe County

hides behind protecting the privacy of the Care Campus ‘guests’ we don’t want their names we want

‘outcomes’ AKA numbers. The fact Washoe County won’t provide clear and verifiable data, leads us to

believe the numbers are not something the county wants exposed.

Oddly, as reported by Our Town Reno Washoe County seems to have pushed out the former Director of

Washoe County Human Services Agency (Howell disappeared in April 2023 and was replaced with Ryan

Gustafson as the acting HSA Director in September 2023, while the search to replace Howell takes place).

The departure of former Director of Human Services Agency (HSA) Amber Howell has left the

community puzzled. It is particularly noteworthy that alongside Gustafson’s new role, Dana Searcy and

her Housing and Human Services (HHS) team were moved from the Office of the County Manager to

form a new division within HSA.

The shift has raised questions about the decision-making process and the motivation behind it. Why was

Searcy’s position not always reporting to HSA, especially considering that other similar initiatives, such

as Our Place and Crossroads, fell under this department, and Howell’s mentorship. Former employees

who prefer to remain anonymous have suggested that Howell’s commitment to transparency and her

refusal to hide behind withheld numbers may have influenced this decision. With Howell gone, the

reorganization took place, leading to HHS becoming a division under HSA, with Searcy assuming the role

of a Division Director.

The most puzzling event occurred following an article published by Mark Robison from the Reno Gazette

Journal on April 7, 2023, highlighting the success of the Crossroads program under Amber Howell’s

leadership. The program boasted a remarkable 71% success rate. However, just six days after the

article’s release, Howell mysteriously disappeared from Washoe County HSA. The ‘rumor’ is the article

was not vetted by county management staff before publication and made the Crossroads Program

eclipse the Cares Campus numbers. Does this mean the RGJ allows the county’s communication team to

see an article before it is published? It is surprising that no follow-up investigation or reporting was

conducted by the Reno Gazette-Journal, considering the close relationship between Robison and the

county’s communications team. One can’t help but wonder if this incident is emblematic of an

underlying competition within Washoe County’s management over homeless programs. Does this boil

down to a homeless-off, with one department not wanting to be outshone by another. County

management competition over homeless programs? Really Washoe County?

Oh, and Assistant County Manager Thomas on Face the State expelled a housing number, using the

county’s favorite word, recidivism, the term used by the county to describe individuals who relapse into

homelessness after being placed in housing. The county has seen a recidivism rate of 37% in the first six

months of county management, which has decreased to 27% in the last six months. With 640

placements into permanent housing in two years, the monetary cost of the program raises concerns

among taxpayers. So is Ms. Thomas letting the federal funds the county gained access to during the

pandemic go to waste, we hear grumblings from residents they very well might be.

Article published October 10th, 2023