• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice

The Valley Citizen

Pursuing truth toward justice
  • Arts
  • Education
  • Environment
  • History
  • Nature
  • Politics
  • Wit
  • About

Homeless: Stanislaus County Workers Bring Christmas Spirit

December 22, 2018 By Eric Caine 3 Comments

County outreach worker Jimmy Yarnal (purple shirt)

A bevy of Stanislaus County service workers, many wearing purple T-shirts emblazoned with the motto, “Together We Rise,” brought food and comfort to the homeless encampment at Beard Brook Park Saturday, just three days before Christmas.

Working off the clock, many of the workers are part of the county’s outreach effort and know village residents by name. They helped distribute pizza, pillows, blankets and Christmas cheer to the hundreds of people who have crowded into Beard Brook Park since the City of Modesto designated it a permitted location for camping.

Recent gray skies and rain gave way to sunshine and brought uplifted spirits to the camp now known as “Beard Brook Village.” Residents of the village had been disappointed when the city announced campfires would no longer be permitted due to problems with too much smoke. The fires had been the only way people had of providing themselves heat, warm food, and coffee.

Saturday’s sunshine was welcome and so were the warm food and drinks. County workers were joined by members of El Buen Samaritano Church of Modesto and the Second Harvest/Starbucks Food Bank,  as well as volunteers who routinely help  whenever they can.

In addition to mounds of food, drinks, and toys for children of the homeless, volunteers distributed blankets, pillows, and warm clothing. Beginning with a few tents and some thirty or forty people, the village population has burgeoned to about four-hundred residents,* most of whom are living in tents on the steep slope along the park’s west side.

City and county authorities plan to move the camp a few hundred yards west to a location with flatter ground so that winter rains aren’t as much of a problem for the tent dwellers. Under current conditions, heavy rains create mudslides, the wind topples tents, and people in the village are in constant danger of slipping and sliding on the wet mud that forms on the slope.

Authorities also hope to provide sturdier tents for those who need them. Many campers have only flimsy tents that collapse or blow down in a storm. Ideally, the new village will serve as a low-barrier shelter for people who would otherwise be living in local parks, camping along rivers, and sleeping behind buildings downtown.

Award-winning Modesto Police Sergeant Mike Hammond, who patrols the village frequently, says residents have for the most part done a good job policing themselves, though there are always people who ignore even the simplest rules. “One of my biggest jobs is rumor control,” said Hammond recently. He added with a laugh, “And some of the biggest rumors are about me.”

Hammond works closely with camp coordinator Frank Ploof. Both men have years of experience working with homeless people and manage to combine necessary discipline with compassion for people in need. Some residents of the village have already moved on to more permanent housing; with county workers located in the park itself, it will be much easier to evaluate people’s needs and direct them to the appropriate services.

Meanwhile, generous giving by local churches, charities and individuals brings the true spirit of Christmas to hundreds of people who, but for the comfort of a tent on a hillside, would be on the streets or hiding in a park or alley, waiting for the next order to move along.

*an earlier post cited almost six-hundred residents

 

 

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Beard Brook Park, Beard Brook Village, Homelessness in Modesto, Homelessness in Stanislaus County

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Shonnia says

    December 22, 2018 at 8:54 pm

    Thank you everyone For your Christmas Cheer I couldn’t make it out of my tent but am thankful. Merry Christmas

    Reply
  2. Jimmy Yarnal says

    December 22, 2018 at 9:08 pm

    Great story Eric,
    Thank you
    I appreciate everything you do
    I hope your health gets better
    Your friend jimmy Yarnall

    Reply
  3. Leng Power says

    December 23, 2018 at 1:54 pm

    Thank you for sharing this wonderful story Eric.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Note: Some comments may be held for moderation.

Primary Sidebar

Off The Wire

California faces catastrophic flood dangers ? and a need to invest billions in protection
California faces catastrophic flood dangers and a need to invest billions in protection
A new state plan for the Central Valley calls for spending as much as $30 billion over 30 years to prepare for the dangers.
www.latimes.com
Oakland will get millions for the ?inhumane? crisis at one huge homeless encampment. Officials say it?s not enough
Oakland will get millions for the “inhumane” crisis at one huge homeless encampment. Officials say it’s not enough
Gavin Newsom’s administration has awarded Oakland a $4.7 million grant to come up with…
www.sfchronicle.com
Alaska?s Fisheries Are Collapsing. This Congresswoman Is Taking on the Industry She Says Is to Blame.
Alaska’s Fisheries Are Collapsing. This Congresswoman Is Taking on the Industry She Says Is to Blame.
Mary Peltola won her election by campaigning on a platform to save the state’s prized fisheries. A powerful fishing lobby is standing in her way.
www.politico.com
Jimmy Carter's final foe: A parasitic worm that preyed on millions in Africa and Asia
Jimmy Carter’s final foe: A parasitic worm that preyed on millions in Africa and Asia
One of former President Carter’s biggest hopes is wiping out an infectious parasitic disease that’s plagued humans for millennia. How close is he?
www.latimes.com
Climate Extremes Threaten California?s Central Valley Songbirds - Eos
Climate Extremes Threaten California’s Central Valley Songbirds – Eos
A “nestbox highway” in California’s Central Valley is guiding songbirds to safe nesting sites and giving scientists a peek at fledgling success in a changing climate.
eos.org
Alaska Republican touts benefits of children being abused to death
Alaska Republican touts benefits of children being abused to death
Republican David Eastman suggested the death of child abuse victims could be a “cost savings” to wider society.
www.newsweek.com
Editorial: Newsom's drought order amid wet winter threatens iconic California species
Editorial: Newsom’s drought order amid wet winter threatens iconic California species
Gov. Gavin Newsom has effectively ended environmental regulations protecting California rivers and migratory fish by extending drought-year waivers.
www.latimes.com
Two-thirds of McPherson Square homeless remain on street, D.C. says
Two-thirds of McPherson Square homeless remain on street, D.C. says
As of Thursday, just two of the more than 70 residents of McPherson Square had been placed in permanent D.C. housing.
www.washingtonpost.com
More Building Won?t Make Housing Affordable
More Building Won’t Make Housing Affordable
America’s housing crisis has reached unfathomable proportions. But new construction isn’t enough to solve it.
newrepublic.com
Why YIMBYs are about to sue the daylights out of cities across the Bay Area
Why YIMBYs are about to sue the daylights out of cities across the Bay Area
Housing advocates are about to deliver a message to the Bay Area: Comply with state…
www.sfchronicle.com
At the heart of Colorado River crisis, the mighty 'Law of the River' holds sway
At the heart of Colorado River crisis, the mighty ‘Law of the River’ holds sway
At the heart of tensions over water allotments from the Colorado River is a complex set of agreements and decrees known as the ‘Law of the River.’
www.latimes.com
Biden restores roadless protection to the Tongass, North America's largest rainforest
Biden restores roadless protection to the Tongass, North America’s largest rainforest
The Tongass National Forest in Alaska, a focus of political battles over old-growth logging and road-building in forests for decades, has received new protection from the Biden administration.
theconversation.com

Find us on Facebook

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Footer

The Valley Citizen
PO Box 156
Downtown Bear Postal
1509 K Street
Modesto, CA 95354

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Subscribe for Free

* indicates required

Search

• Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2023 The Valley Citizen

Dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint. Contact us at thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Editor and publisher: Eric Caine

Website customization and maintenance by Susan Henley Design