The Karma Box Project began as a community initiative that allowed people to give non-perishable food, hygiene products, toiletries, and other useful items to those in need by way of “pantry boxes” placed throughout local municipalities. In our first year of operation, the community turned out their support in amazing numbers.

But we sure have grown…….

The Karma Box Project hugely garnered immediate support from the City of Reno, the City of Sparks, and Washoe County. From there we began direct outreach along the Truckee River to maintain the quality and safety of the river banks. Born from this concept was The River Stewards program which enabled us to more accurately focus our vision of outreach to the human needs and suffering present in the region.

As we demonstrated our success and vision the City of Reno and City of Sparks offered us the opportunity to work more directly in the camps as boots on the ground. Our staff began to identify individuals on the streets and more directly understand their needs and goals to no longer be housed on the streets.

The more we worked in the camps the more we realized that an almost universal need was the concept of a safe place to camp, a Safe Camp. Working in partnership with Washoe County alongside construction of the Cares Campus we proudly bid for and won a contract to operate the newly minted Safe Camp.

Today at Safe Camp we offer a housing-focused low-barrier emergency shelter targeting at-risk individuals. Since opening in May of 2021, we have operated at or near capacity, allowing us to transition our vision into our newest programs: GRIT (Grow. Refine. Integrate. Thrive.) and the Veterans Karma Krib.