To mark its fifth anniversary of street reporting, Our Town Reno will host a free community conversation titled “Helping Our Unhoused Neighbors,” on April 13 at 6 p.m. on Zoom and Facebook Live. The event will focus on recent initiatives to help, current challenges and possible future solutions related to Reno’s affordable housing and living wage crisis as well as the impacts on community members without stable shelter.

Moderated by Reynolds School of Journalism lecturer and Our Town Reno coordinator, Nico Colombant, the hour-long event features a panel discussion followed by community member Q&A. Panelists include:

• Matt Ferencevich, who was formerly unhoused and living in Reno shelters,
• Meghan Simmons, a coordinator at Reno/Sparks Mutual Aid,
• Donald Griffin, Black Wall Street coordinator and a Downtown Reno Partnership ambassador,
• Alexis Hill, Washoe County commissioner,
• Dwight George, an Indigenous community leader and podcaster,
• Natalie Henriques, a community activist, and
• Meagan O’Farrell, a coordinator at Reno Food Systems.

“A lot of pieces are currently moving right now, with a looming eviction crisis, a new campus for the unsheltered set to open and available federal aid money, so we believe it’s now more important than ever to look at how best our society can help the most vulnerable among us, including those struggling to get back into housing,” Colombant said. 

Started in 2016, Our Town Reno is a collective, multimedia street reporting project by concerned citizens and University of Nevada, Reno students and faculty on issues facing Reno's most vulnerable citizens. It is a production of the Reynolds Media Lab, a media center at the Reynolds School.

Interested individuals can find more information and RSVP on the “Helping Our Unhoused Heroes” Facebook event.