UNR Street Reach, Our Place and safe‑parking pilot show early service results, CHAB hears

Two service‑provider presentations emphasized on‑the‑ground care and short‑term stabilization for people experiencing homelessness.

Jane Fox, director of the Larson Institute at UNR, described Street Reach, a nurse‑led street‑health program providing wound care, blood‑borne virus testing and linkage to community services. She said March soft‑launch activity engaged about 250 people and April saw 172 interactions, with 72 people receiving services and 41 blood draws. Fox reported 18 wound‑care treatments and five active hepatitis C infections identified among tested individuals (a 12% positivity rate among those tested). Street Reach is operating under an MOU with Washoe County and is integrating a recently transferred mobile clinic to expand geography and offerings.

Penny Adams, director of Our Place (Volunteers of America), reviewed campus services: capacity for 158 women and 38 families (expanding to 182 in winter overflow), 1,400+ individual emergency‑shelter contacts in the July‑March reporting window, 80,000 direct services year‑to‑date, and 188 exits to permanent housing. Adams described a safe‑parking pilot that operates nightly with six designated spots; seven individuals used the pilot and staff plan to continue and learn from the program before expanding it.

Board members praised the programs and asked about scaling and coordination; presenters cited needs for testing resources, casework funding and coordination with enforcement to reduce the harms of sweeps.