Within a few short weeks of establishment of Modesto’s new low-barrier shelter in the Salvation Army Berberian building, tents began appearing along the street opposite the building, mostly occupied by former residents of MOES, the Modesto Outdoor Emergency Shelter. At first there were only a few. Now, the number of tents is growing almost daily, but not as fast as the number of homeless people in our parks, along our […]
History
RIP Mayor Carmen Sabatino
One of Carmen Sabatino’s most ardent supporters once said, without a trace of irony, “He’s right a third of the time.” At another time, a hardened journalist who had covered Sabatino and Modesto for decades said, but not for attribution, “When Carmen’s right, he’s really right.” Sabatino himself believed he was always right, and even though he wasn’t, he might have been more accurate about others than others were about […]
Homeless? The future for many is a tent
Despite concerted efforts to get people into shelters and affordable housing, homeless numbers in the west have been increasing rapidly. In Stanislaus County, the numbers haven’t worked since experiments with tent encampments ended a few weeks ago, when the Modesto Outdoor Emergency Shelter (MOES) closed down. City and county authorities decided MOES wasn’t needed after expansion of the city’s Salvation Army Berberian Shelter. The expansion added 182 beds to the […]
CASA: Advocating for Children in Foster Care
“At any given time in Stanislaus County there’s somewhere between 800 to 1,000 children in foster care,” recently lamented Steve Ashman, who serves as the Executive Director of CASA of Stanislaus County. “Children in foster care are not in foster care because of something they did, but, rather, something that’s been done to them. A lot of kids live in multiple places, and their lives are upside down,” continued Ashman. […]
Good Samaritan Locates Alan Davis, Gets Help
Back in May and June, when he was working near the county courthouse in downtown Modesto, Tony Montalbo used to keep tabs on Alan Davis, the disabled homeless man who just recently wandered away from the new shelter in the Salvation Army’s Berberian building on 9th and D Streets. “We’re buds, really,” said Montalbo Saturday. “I used to check on him and bring him some food just to make sure […]
Wheelchair-bound Amputee Back on the Streets of Modesto
Alan Davis, the homeless man who was taken to the Modesto Outdoor Emergency Shelter (MOES) in late September is back on the streets. Davis had spent a little over two months at MOES and seemed to be doing well when he was moved to the new shelter in the Salvation Army’s Berberian building on 9th and D Streets. Prior to arriving at MOES, Davis had spent many months haunting the […]
WELL: Seeds Leading to Success and Wellness
When she was a little girl of six or seven, Alana Scott asked her mom to buy a certain toy. When her mom told her she couldn’t purchase the item because it wasn’t in the budget, she then further explained that it was important not to spend more than what you brought in, and showed Alana how to balance a checkbook. From those first lessons in financial literacy, Alana’s mother […]
Homeless: “Don’t rip our community apart.”
Last Wednesday’s meeting of the Stanislaus Homeless Alliance in Modesto’s City Council Chambers made one thing perfectly clear: There is a huge disconnect between residents of Modesto’s Outdoor Emergency Shelter (MOES) and working members of the Alliance. While board members were chiefly interested in touting the features of what they have designated as a new low-barrier homeless shelter in the Salvation Army Berberian Building on Modesto’s 9th Street, representatives and […]
Blowing Leaves is Blowing my Stack!
Earlier this month, as I was driving West on Scenic Boulevard in Modesto during the lunch hour, traffic was backed up by the cemeteries bordering Scenic and Bodem. It was a warm day and many drivers had their windows down, some with freshly washed cars, as we waited for the light at Scenic and Bodem to change. It wasn’t a long wait, but it wasn’t a pleasant one either, given […]
A Dog Named Bandit (and Furends)
Before a routine outing, Misty Eckerdt, assisted by family and volunteer friends, packs 1000 pounds of dry dog food into gallon baggies. That doesn’t include the canned food, leashes, doggy jackets, toys, blankets, medicine, and a few items for cats that she and her crew load into the Ford cargo van she uses when she visits sites frequented by poor people and their pets. The van features a large photo […]