RENO, Nevada, Oct. 1, 2008
In Casinos' Shadows, Life In Tent City
CBS Evening News: In Reno, Nevada, Nearly 200 People Call A Tent City Home - And They're Not Alone
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Play CBS Video Video The Other America Although more Americans are pessimistic about the economy, for a small, but growing number of people, the economy has already hit rock bottom. Seth Doane takes a look at a place known as "Tent City."
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In the shadow of Reno, Nevada's casinos live 170 people in a city-guarded tent city. (CBS)
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Interactive Living In Poverty A state-by-state look at U.S. Census Bureau data on income and poverty levels.
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60 Minutes Fighting In A Hornet's Nest U.S. military tell Lara Logan more resources are needed to win in Afghanistan.
CBS News correspondent Seth Doane asked one tent city resident, Gena Mercer: "Did you ever imagine you'd wind up living in a place like this?"
"Oh no, I imagined myself being in a tent for a vacation," she said.
Nevada's unemployment rate is at a 23-year high. In Reno, the number of jobless jumped 60 percent in the last year. Now for 170 people, the tent city is home.
"I know that God is going to take care of me but … but … some days it's very scary," says a resident named Mona.
Whether it's the blaring train or the blazing sun, life is not easy there for the mix of chronically homeless, and those newly so - like Michael Moore and his partner Marian Schamp.
"I mean, we worked all our life. We shouldn't be, at our age, having to sleep in the dirt," said Schamp.
Just last Christmas, they lived in a rented house in Portland, until Moore lost the job he'd had for three years at a gas station. They moved to Reno in search of work.
Moore's resume says he's a veteran with a GED and experience working a forklift in warehouses. But there are just not jobs out there for him.
"Not right now," he said.
"Looking" means taking long walks. Today, Moore hopes a scrap yard may offer work.
"I don't have any openings right now," a boss at a scrap metal yard told Moore.
Those words echo through the tent city.
This is not just happening in Reno. Across the country, tent cities have either popped up or expanded in places like Seattle, Portland, Fresno, Columbus, and Chattanooga.Read more from Seth Doane at Couric & Co. Blog
The problem got so bad in Reno, city officials decided to organize the tent city - and run it.
The city provided fencing, brought in security and fresh water temporarily, until they can move the people into housing or shelters.
But the more difficult fix for people like the Moores is finding work. They know they'll have to do that themselves.
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Michelle Obama tells how her role as the First Lady has changed her perspective.
One covered the tent city that had arisen in the Inland Empire in Southern California: http://cohsf.org/streetsheet/2008/02/01/suburbanizing-homelessness-ontarios-tent-city-provides-relief-not-solutions/#more-437
The other was an opinion piece looking at what we as a nation should keep in mind as we move forward in dealing with this economic crisis that we are in: http://cohsf.org/streetsheet/category/around-the-country/ (The Economy VS. Human Rights)
These came just after a reporter from Reuters covered tent cities for the first time and was accused of misinforming the public for "assuming" this phenomenon was caused by he mortgage crisis.
All of this coverage should be a red flag to the fact that looking at and finding root causes of the situations of those who are the poorest among us and are struggling the most is the best way to stop any economic crisis before it occurs.