Housing and Homeless Services

Emergency Shelter Policies

Eligibility

Our Place

• Women and families seeking shelter at Our Place must be currently experiencing homelessness and want to end their homelessness as quickly as possible.
• Women and families seeking shelter at Our Place must be willing to treat all others with respect and not engage in any theft, destruction of property, or violence towards staff or others seeking shelter at Our Place.
• Unaccompanied minors seeking shelter will be referred to the appropriate resource.
• Adults seeking shelter at Our Place must be ambulatory enough to get in and out of their bed on their own and independently take care of activities of daily living, such as feeding themselves, hygiene, and bathroom needs.
• Women and families seeking shelter at Our Place do not need to be citizens of the United States, nor do they have to have any documented immigration status, to be eligible for Our Place services.
• One of the goals of Our Place is to minimize the barriers that prevent people from accessing services. This means Our Place will serve people who are actively using drugs and/or alcohol; who have no income; and who may not be medication or treatment compliant. However, no drugs or alcohol are allowed on campus and no selling or giving away drugs or alcohol is allowed.
• People previously served at Our Place, that have been released from the program or excluded from the premises due to violence towards staff or others on campus, or due to selling or giving away drugs at Our Place, will not be permitted to be at Our Place per the sit out timeframes.
• Convicted sexual offenders are not allowed at Our Place.
• Families are screened for a history of domestic violence, and the offending parent may be asked to seek shelter elsewhere.

Cares Campus - Emergency Shelter and Services

• Nevada Cares Campus participants must be currently experiencing homelessness and want to end their homelessness as quickly as possible.
• Nevada Cares Campus clients must be willing to treat all other clients with respect and not engage in any theft, destruction of property, or violence towards staff or other Nevada Cares Campus clients.
• Nevada Cares Campus clients must be at least 18 years of age. Unaccompanied minors seeking shelter will be referred to the appropriate resource.
• Nevada Cares Campus clients must be ambulatory enough to get in and out of their bed on their own and independently take care of activities of daily living, such as feeding themselves, hygiene, and bathroom needs.
• Nevada Cares Campus clients do not need to be citizens of the United States, nor do they have to have any documented immigration status, to be eligible for Nevada Cares Campus services.
• One of the goals of the Nevada Cares Campus is to minimize the barriers that prevent people from accessing services. This means Nevada Cares Campus will serve people who are actively using drugs and/or alcohol; who have no income; and who may not be medication or treatment compliant. However, no drugs or alcohol are allowed on campus and no selling or giving away drugs or alcohol is allowed.
• Previous Nevada Cares Campus clients that have been released from the program or excluded from the premises due to violence towards staff or other Nevada Cares Campus clients, or due to selling or giving away drugs at Nevada Cares Campus, will not be permitted to be at the Nevada Cares Campus per the sit out timeframes.
• The Nevada Cares Campus Resource Center is open for day use services for anyone seeking restrooms, showers, laundry, or a meal during day use hours and 24 hours per day during inclement weather and winter months.

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Rules and Sit Outs

All clients at the Washoe County emergency shelters (Nevada Cares Campus and Our Place) are expected to make progress in pursuing permanent housing options to the best of their abilities. Washoe County emergency shelters are not a permanent housing destination, rather they are a temporary location to engage in services to facilitate moving to permanent housing. Regular communication between clients, case managers, and service providers is a key component to moving clients toward stability and placement in permanent housing.
Clients assigned a bed at the emergency shelter or a pod at Safe Camp must meet with a case manager within seven (7) calendar days from admission to the shelter. Within seven (7) calendar days of the initial meeting with their assigned case manager, a housing plan must be developed. After development of a housing plan, clients must meet with their case managers multiple times every 30 days. Progress must be made every 30 days towards their goals outlined in their plan.
Clients will be required to leave the program for two days under the following criteria:

• If a client does not make progress towards their housing plan every 30 days;
• If a client is provided three (3) adequate housing opportunities and the client denies those options for any reason; or
• If specific housing is selected by the client and they are accepted but deny the opportunity for any reason.

Upon re-admission to the emergency shelter, the client must re-evaluate their housing goals with their case manager.

If a Washoe County emergency shelter client stays away from the campus for more than 24 hours, staff will presume that the client has made alternative housing arrangements. In such a case, staff will pack the participant’s belongings, the assigned bed will no longer be held available for them, and the client will be discharged from the program. Under these circumstances, possessions will be held for seven (7) days and then disposed of if not collected by the client. A site supervisor may approve necessary stays away from the emergency shelter provided the client requests the stay prior to the time away and has a valid reason for the stay (medical procedure, etc.). Extenuating circumstances such as medical emergencies, hospital stays, and other unanticipated emergencies keeping a client from staying onsite will be taken into consideration when making decisions regarding a client being discharged from the program.

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Grievances and Appeals  

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