Letters to the Editor
Kudos!
Kudos, indeed high praise, to Truckee High’s POWER* Club for its well-organized, compelling public demonstration to raise awareness about critical issues surrounding women’s rights, reproductive health, and equality. In addition to applauding POWER’s focus on women’s issues, I want to shine a spotlight on the students’ understanding that, in a healthy democracy, they have both the opportunity and the obligation to be politically engaged.
As the younger generations flex their civic engagement muscles, we elders may wonder what our role(s) should be. My “take” is that young change-makers do not want older folks to “step aside” but, instead, to “step beside.” I submit this letter of appreciation to let young people know that I, along with many others, applaud their determination to right what is wrong by, in the late John Lewis’s words, “making good trouble.” Thank you Truckee High’s young women for modeling what it is to be thoughtful, courageously engaged citizens working to make the world more just, inclusive and equitable.
Albert Adams, Ed.D.
*People Organized for Women’s Empowerment and Respect
Support for Homeless People in Truckee is Not About Housing. It’s About Community Values.
Nevada County’s recent efforts to create Permanent Supportive Housing for homeless people in our community has been met with a baffling and disturbing amount of backlash and misinformation. Incorrectly described as a “homeless shelter” by erroneous flyers circulating around town, the proposed “Hope Ridge House” is actually providing “housing to residents, meaning that people have leases and will pay rent. This also means that most people will live here for many years and will be invested in having a positive living environment” (Nevada County). Nevada County’s proposal aims to support long-standing members of the Truckee community who have been disproportionately affected by our town’s housing crisis and high cost of living.
The need for programs such as the proposed Hope Ridge House is well understood. The recently released Tahoe Truckee Regional Homeless Action Plan estimates that, “an average of 87 households [use] homeless services each year, [with] 50% need[ing] this intensive support, meaning 44 households require Permanent Supportive Housing.” Permanent Supportive Housing will not singularly solve this, but community resistance to these programs exacerbates many of Truckee’s core issues.
One of the most common oppositional sentiments to housing initiatives in mountain towns is the “not in my backyard” mindset. However, homes– with very few exceptions– exist in neighborhoods; expecting the most vulnerable members of our community to be excluded from these residential areas is both irrational and devoid of empathy.
Nevada County District 5 Supervisor Hardy Bullock described the Hope Ridge house as “a residential home for people in our community who are experiencing homelessness or are near homelessness and who want to help themselves, giving them a place to live and the support and tools to become better” (Post). Residents will live with an on-site house manager and be connected to services that empower them to improve their lives (Nevada County).
These programs work. The Permanent Supportive Housing Model has led to an increase in quality of life for people all over the country (Housing Study). Watch the video about the Brown Bear Studios, a 14-unit permanent supportive housing facility in Kings Beach that opened in December 2024 and you will see the ways in which supportive housing housing models transform the lives of long-time members of our community.
I have lived in Truckee my entire life. I work as a highschool teacher and have only been able to afford to live here as an adult thanks to Town of Truckee housing programs such as Placemate. I have always understood this town to be composed of people who care for one another and the place we inhabit. The negative reaction from certain factions of the community about housing for those facing homelessness renders a different image; I do not want to exist in a community that willingly turns its back on those who need support.
Housing needs are an epidemic in California; our state experiences the highest number of homeless people in the Country (2024 Report). It is unreasonable to expect the Tahoe-Truckee community is excused from participating in this statewide challenge. We all need to play a role. The solutions to homelessness have to begin in our own backyard.
Cited sources: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1OiujcaSI1KzeXAcLAn5qR27w3haxYD0utAgT409UIzg/edit?usp=sharing
Louis Norris
Truckee
Support Local Journalism


Support Local Journalism
Readers around Lake Tahoe, Truckee, and beyond make the Sierra Sun's work possible. Your financial contribution supports our efforts to deliver quality, locally relevant journalism.
Now more than ever, your support is critical to help us keep our community informed about the evolving coronavirus pandemic and the impact it is having locally. Every contribution, however large or small, will make a difference.
Your donation will help us continue to cover COVID-19 and our other vital local news.