One year after opening, how are conditions inside Washoe County's new homeless shelter?

RENO, Nev. (News 4 & Fox 11) — Exactly one year ago, the Cares Campus homeless shelter opened, vastly expanding the amount of beds available for people experiencing homelessness in Washoe County.

The warehouse-style shelter on E. 4th St. in Reno has given more homeless people a bed and a meal, but even Washoe County leaders acknowledged it's been a difficult road, with staffing, safety and cleanliness concerns.

In an interview with News 4-Fox 11 Tuesday, assistant county manager Kate Thomas said it hasn't been the 'smoothest process,' but believes overall the shelter has proven successful.

"It has certainly not been the smoothest process It is a new location with new dynamics and a new structure but all in all, we've learned and we've pivoted and we've made it a better situation for everybody," Thomas said.

The testament to the success of the campus is the fact that it's been nearly full since it opened.

County leaders are also pointing to the latest point-in-time count, which showed that homelessness decreased by 10% from 2020 to 2021.

But advocates and activists painted a much worse picture — pointing to photos of apparent mold, reports of a shower collapsing and a report that showed the facility was unsafe and understaffed, according to This is Reno.

Lily Baran, who works for the ACLU of Nevada, said it's been 'really disappointing' to witness and hear of poor conditions from people staying in the shelter.

A really dangerous facility that is increasingly inhumane.

News 4-Fox 11 requested to tour the shelter for this report, but county officials denied our request, citing their policy that media are not allowed in 'to respect the privacy and confidentiality of our guests.'

Thomas said the apparent mold shown in photos published by Our Town Reno has been cleaned. She blamed the conditions on the fact that the temporary bathroom and shower facilities weren't designed for so many people to use.

Phase 2 of construction at the Cares Campus is expected to begin June 1, Thomas said, bringing permanent bathroom, shower and laundry facilities built for the nearly 600 people that stay there nightly.

"That's going to be the long-term solution for this. That structure was never meant to handle the capacity that we have at that campus," she said.

Thomas said the facility is about 90% staffed, up from much low staffing levels over the past year. But perhaps the most important question — how successful has it been at transitioning people out of homelessness and into permanent supportive housing?

"We don't have a ton of data yet just because again, we've been trying to keep it safe. It's really not been about getting those numbers tracked. We're getting to that point," she said.

When pressed, Thomas said she did not have recidivism data for the Cares Campus shelter, but said the nearby Safe Camp has a housing placement rate of about 60%.

Baran said based on what she's seen from speaking with clients and other activists, the figure for the Cares Campus is likely far lower.

"I think you would be really safe to say that very few people are finding permanent supportive housing out of the large shelter," she said.

In addition to the new bathroom facilities, phase 2 of construction will also include partitions to divide the large structure into 6 smaller units. Phase 2 is expected to be completed within a year.

Email reporter Ben Margiott at bjmargiott@sbgtv.com. Follow @BenMargiott on Twitter and Ben Margiott KRNV on Facebook.