Two homeless men were watching Caltrans construction workers use heavy equipment to build iron fences adjacent to Highway 99 near 7th and 9th Streets in south Modesto.
“I could probably break them bars with a two-by-four,” said one.
“Could saw through ‘em,” said the other.
Both men were longtime core members of a fluid group of close friends, trusted acquaintances and occasional newcomers that had frequented the area for years.
Knit into small “street families,” the homeless bond for the same reasons Homo sapiens have gathered for millennia: safety, economy, and camaraderie. Clans, tribes, cities and nations form for the same reasons.
Somewhere, there is probably an accounting for how much it cost to build the fences — hundreds of feet of them — though accounting for the dollars spent (mis)managing homelessness is hard to come by. Sturdy metal structures painted dark green, the fences are unobtrusive, attractive, and little-noticed, unless one has some sense of the history of the space they contain.
That history includes a recent past and ongoing presence of people living there, right there on the ground the fences surround. In Modesto, Caltrans used heavy equipment, skilled labor, many hours and days, and lots of dollars constructing the fences.
For a long time, the fences held. Once in a while an observer who knew how, when, and where to look could see some occupancy within the barred ground. In one spot, it looked as though old man Talbot* had returned to the same spot he’d inhabited prior to the fencing project.
Talbot was known for digging and then camouflaging his burrow or ditch with tree limbs, brush, tumbleweeds and whatever trash the wind might blow in. There was a suspicious pile of such detritus in the exact spot Talbot had vacated after Caltrans ran him off prior to building the fences. Since Talbot was seldom seen in any case, no one paid the pile much attention.
For months, the fences kept most people out. Then, suddenly, there were campers. A few at first, then many.
In some places, the bars of the fences had been sawed off. Caltrans came and ordered the campers out. They brought in men and equipment to sweep the ground again, ground that had been swept countless times over the years.
Passersby noted that, more and more often, the gates into the fenced areas were open and stayed open. Some said Caltrans had decided to leave the gates open to avoid more damage to the expensive iron fences. People came and went. Sometimes they camped.
After billions upon billions of dollars spent trying to manage homelessness, California still has almost 200,000 people with nowhere to go. No home, no room, no motel, no shelter, no sidewalk, no alleyway, no park bench or lawn. Nowhere.
Republicans blame Democrats, Governor Newsom blames cities, and everyone blames Governor Newsom. The “root causes” people list everything from a decline in family values to drug addiction to wealth inequality as causes of homelessness. The “rehab” people blame the homeless for “bad choices” and not wanting help. There’s rarely been a crisis that attracted so many opinions about why things aren’t working.
That’s the only thing we all agree on about managing homelessness: Things aren’t working.
There are other points of agreement on related issues. For example, everyone agrees California has a severe housing shortage. Everyone agrees large segments of the homeless population are mentally ill, disabled, elderly or cognitively challenged. Given those widely agreed upon hard facts, why do we keep blaming homeless people for homelessness? And why do we keep repeating the same failed management tactics?
More costs, fewer returns. Yes, homelessness really is a case of, “bad choices.”
*Not his real name
I read your article with great interest. As you know I have a friend of 35 years who is currently in the thick of homelessness in Modesto. She is 75, has numerous health problems, and is doing the best she can to use available resources. She is overwhelmed, but does not give up. She helps others whose problems are even worse.
Sheila:
How have you tried to help her? What “available resources” have you helped her go to? The Low Barrier shelter at the Berberian would be my first recommendation, and then the Gospel Mission. If those cannot help your friend, please call me; I have some other ideas. My phone # is the same as Lynn’s telephone of course.
It’s obvious the State of zcalifornia doesn’t care, based on their choices, and the $28$?? Billion spent over the last four years. The homeless do not need Temporary Housing, for the Night, or for 6months ,to return to the so called normalcy!!!. They need Permanent housing!!! The Tent City that was in Modesto, was great. All of the homeless, who are back on the street said they were fine ,safe,satisfied with it.
Sheila I sympathize with you and homeless friend. From what I know paper work, rules and all the other stuff could be daunting. My uneducated opinion is you almost have to have someone like Richard to take you thru the path. As far as Big Jim’s statement, the State spent a lot of money. I agree but wonder how and in what way was it spent? My guess is with little input from localities and what’s the best guess of the State people assigned to do it. Probably the Feds were the instigators for starters and probably most of Fed and State workers were just doing a job they were handed with a specific end to accomplish. The word Homeless lends itself to housing. Hop skipping and jumping over lots of all kinds of problems being ignored. The tent city wasn’t well planned and failed to take in the #’s. They were like a city full and a very few people who knew rules and ignored them. Nicest part was some really welcomed what safety it gave them. That should be a very good reason to do more. The rest of not so regular people needed much more and distance from the ones who are truly wanting the togetherness. The not so regular people need stricter locations and helpers to identify the problems or they will continue the same old way. Some may not but time and “helpers” will find them. What or whomever ever thought that long term problem could go away with short term planning was wishing . Eric and others have long grappled with this people problem and have a lot more to say than I.