A wide street has a motel and some tents on the side of it. Streaks of sunlight stream through sparse clouds and the silhouettes of low mountains are visible in the distance. A vehicle drives by. A blue banner pops in from the bottom left side with white text on it.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Reno, NV
Slow-building inspirational instrumentals start to play. A bald man stands between two camping tents on the sidewalk with blue tarps over them. A microwave sits on the side of an overturned shopping cart.
Cars drive past the small homeless encampment against a leaning chain link fence.
Lisa: One paycheck coming in, and you get behind so quick.
A woman and man in their sixties sit next to each other at a picnic table by some shrubs, under the shade of a canopy tent. The woman wears an oversized black graphic t-shirt and dangly pearl earrings. Her partner’s dark grey hair is white on the sides, and his sparse beard is white too. He wears a tan t-shirt with a logo over the breast and a black baseball cap sits on the table at his elbow.
Lisa: We were out on the street.
A view passes over the encampment, which is made up of mostly tents and a few tarp lean-tos. Shopping cards, mattresses, and other belongings are kept nearby and a man in a cowboy hat sits on a walker.
Kenny: It was even worse 'cause it was wintertime. It was hungry, cold, starving, wet.
Back at the picnic table, the couple interviews. A green-capped tent can be seen over the man’s shoulder.
A blue banner in the bottom left appears with large white text.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Lisa Hurst
Smaller white text is below her name.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Homeless
Lisa: Many times--what are we doing out here? How do we--how do we get out of this?
Back at the encampment, there are shelters of tarps propped up by an arrangement of random things, including shopping carts, milk crates, bicycles, and plastic lawn furniture. A tent with net walls is covered by a shining foil blanket.
Rachel: I see Lisa and Kenny, and that could be any of us.
Now a woman in her 30s stands next to a line of identical green-capped tents. She wears an orange shirt with large, stylized text on it that reads “Discover the Difference.” Smaller text on the shirt reads “Health Plan of Nevada. A UnitedHealthcare Company. A blue banner in the bottom left appears with white text.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Rachel Rosensteel
Smaller text is underneath.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Health and Social Service Coordinator,
Health Plan of Nevada
The banner folds away while she speaks.
Rachel: It's really important that we all work together with our communities and law enforcement.
Two people are seen in front of a brick wall from below the neck. On the left, a man sits on a yellow box wearing a navy t-shirt and black cargo shorts. White socks peek from the tops of his brown hiking boots which are only laced halfway. He has tattoos on his forearms and a cigarette between the fingers of his right hand. On the right, a person sits in a black wheelchair wearing a gray shirt, blue jeans, and black shoes. An empty slushie cup sits on the asphalt next to the tattooed man’s boot. A red duffel bag hangs from the back of the other person’s wheelchair with a cigarette company logo on the side of it.
Rachel: We solve this issue together.
Now Rachel walks with two police officers, one man wearing a navy long-sleeved shirt under his vest and the other man wearing a black t-shirt under his vest. They descend a hill past shrubbery as a blue banner comes down from the top left with white text.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Rachel and
Sparks Police
Department teamed
up to assist people
experiencing
homelessness like
Kenny and Lisa.
The text changes as the video changes to show Lisa and Kenny at the picnic table, smiling and talking with the officer in the black t-shirt.
ON SCREEN TEXT: They help them
access housing,
food, clothing and
health care.
A bearded man in sunglasses and a baseball cap stands in front of a green tarp shelter wearing a t-shirt and loose shorts. He has a canned drink in one hand and a cigarette in the other as he stands listening to Rachel next to a calm river. Rachel holds a blue folder, and the officers flank her.
Rachel: If that is something you guys are interested in…
Rachel now stands at the row of green-capped tents.
Rachel: We found that a lot of the individuals who were out at these camps were our members. We were able to connect our members on the spot to medical care, behavioral health services, and social services.
A piece of orange string is tied at the corner of the green tarp. The bearded man stands in front of a standing golf bag filled with golf clubs and putters. An open water jug sits on the ground next to him among other belongings under the tarp.
Ritchie: Our leadership understands that there is a need throughout the community.
Now a bald white man with a silvery five o’clock shadow and aviator sunglasses stands in front of an iron fence. He wears a gray t-shirt with a black diamond-shaped logo embroidered over the breast and black text embroidered beneath it that reads “Health Plan of Nevada. A UnitedHealthcare Company.”
A blue banner rolls in from the bottom left with white text on it.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Ritchie Duplechien
Smaller text is underneath.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Director of Medicaid Outreach & Market Growth,
Health Plan of Nevada
Ritchie: Each state that we're in, we get to focus on the communities directly. And so they put us out here to go out into the field to not only build relationships, but to understand what the barriers are.
Next to the river, Rachel hands the bearded man a business card as the officers look on. He already holds some white papers.
Back with Ritchie.
Ritchie: So we have to figure that out. We bring that message back up to the leadership, and then we're able to implement different programs.
Now Rachel stands at an open fenced gate to a green building talking to Kenny and Lisa, who stand inside the doorway. A green hose lies on the cement inside the entrance and a white shelf is on the outside of the building. A travel mug sits on the shelf next to a cellphone that is plugged into an outdoor outlet just above the shelf.
Rachel: Oh, yeah, the showers…
Back at the picnic table with Lisa and Kenny.
Lisa: Things started changing when I met Rachel and the Hope Team in February. She took down our information, and within a week, we had our phones. And it just kept going up. Steps up, steps up.
A blue banner with white text descends in the top left corner over the row of new green-capped tents.
ON SCREEN TEXT: With Rachel’s help,
Kenny and Lisa
have temporary
housing at a safe
camp.
The text changes as the image goes to Lisa and Kenny walking hand in hand, past the green building toward some tents.
ON SCREEN TEXT: They have daily
access to food,
water, utilities and
transportation.
An open tent flaps in the wind. A packed bag can be seen just inside. Lisa and Kenny stand next to their tent with a lime green cap over the black fabric.
Rachel: Providing these services is not just about getting them help right now, it's about keeping them healthy and improving their quality of life.
More green-capped tents sit in pairs along a fence.
Kenny and Lisa laugh and talk with the officer in the t-shirt at the picnic table.
Rachel stands next to the row of green-capped tents in her orange t-shirt.
Rachel: If you look at the bigger picture, they are educated on their health conditions, they are educated on the healthcare system. They know how to call their doctor and schedule an appointment.
A still image shows a smiling Kenny and Lisa hugging in front of the pairs of tents. Kenny wears his black baseball cap and holds a pair of sunglasses.
Lisa: To the Hope Team and to Rachel, I give them my thanks, 100%, just like they've given us 100%.
At the picnic table with Kenny and Lisa, a blue banner comes in from the bottom left with white text.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Kenny Catan
Smaller white text is underneath.
ON SCREEN TEXT: Reno, NV
Kenny fights back tears as he speaks.
Kenny: It's good to know there's people out there that really care and that treat you the right way. Not just saying one thing, you know, see a little bit. They put their hearts and their time into it, and it's awesome.
Now Kenny and Lisa walk hand in hand from the tents and past the green building.
Kenny: We're really fortunate.
A white background unfurls over the screen with blue text on it.
ON SCREEN TEXT: After this story was filmed, Kenny and Lisa
moved into an apartment. They now dedicate
their time to helping others who may be
struggling to find the support
and resources they need.
The text fades out and, in its place, the blue diamond logo fades in above black text.
ON SCREEN TEXT: HEALTH PLAN OF NEVADA
A UnitedHealthcare Company
The text fades out and a trio of blue lines dip into a logo of overlapping Us in the center of the screen. The logo fades into blue text.
ON SCREEN TEXT: United
Healthcare
The screen fades to black as the music fades out.
