Two large gifts totaling $12 million have pushed the effort to build and open Reno’s Jerry Smith Community Wellness Center over the top. Operated by Northern Nevada HOPES, the center will bring adult primary care, mental health care, substance abuse care and case management to thousands who need it.
The $36 million capital campaign to build the center from scratch included an unsolicited $6 million gift from national donor MacKenzie Scott and a $5.9 gift from the William N. Pennington Foundation. Funding from other philanthropists, the community and the federal American Rescue Plan Act also contribute to the center’s opening, planned for May 6.
At about 43,000 square feet, the Smith wellness center is on East Fourth Street near the Nevada Cares Campus, a Washoe County facility that provides services to the homeless.
Trudy Larson, vice president of the Northern Nevada HOPES board of directors, called the area a “medical health desert,” which means that health and wellness resources haven’t traditionally been available, especially for a vulnerable population.“It’s a well-known area for folks who may be having problems in their lives, complicated lives, unhoused, a lot of social issues that we see in people who may live in that area or wander through that area,” Larson said. “This is access right where they live, and same-day appointments make it possible for them to walk right in and receive care when they really need it.”