Reno residents share their thoughts

Earlier this month we shared a blog post about the new homeless overflow shelter opened up by the Reno Police Department and the Community Assistance Center (CAC).The organizations have been reaching out to illegal campers along the Truckee River to educate them on the new shelter. The coverage of this outreach is the Truckee River Corridor (from Stephenson Street east to Wells Avenue, within 350 feet of the river).Since the initiation of the overflow shelter and outreach program, news has picked up concerning the efforts. On July 9, police were reaching out to a group of illegal campers when three unleashed pit bulls charged at the officers. One dog was Tasered while another dog was shot (not fatally).Channel 2 News in Reno did its own story on the police and CAC's efforts on July 14. Channel 2 posted on its Facebook page the following:

Homeless camps like this one by the river are getting cleared out by police, now that there is room at the overflow shelter, but some don't want to go. They risk getting arrested if they don't. Do you think there is a homeless problem along the river?

Two hundred and twenty comments resulted. We went ahead and listed some of them , including replies, below. The remaining comments can be found here.[pdf-embedder url="http://onetruckeeriver.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/07/KTVN.pdf"]Channel 2 News posed the same question later that day, saying:

Over the last few weeks Reno Police Department officers have been working to clear homeless camps out of the Truckee River corridor. As KTVN Arianna Bennett reports, police say the goal is to get them into the overflow shelter.Do you think our area has a homeless problem? Why?

Another 78 comments were posted.So we turn to you, our One Truckee River readers, supporters and friends. What are your thoughts on the above-mentioned questions and comments? Does the Truckee River have a homeless problem?Please post your thoughts on our Facebook page, mention us on Twitter, or email us at onetruckeeriver@gmail.com. All of your comments will be extremely helpful as our initiative moves forward!