By Thursday, news that Richard “Channon” Myers had been murdered on the mean streets of Modesto had swept through the local homeless community. Known for his long “trains” of scavenged treasures — some would say “junk” — Channon was beloved among the homeless for his good nature. “Channon was a beautiful person,” said Kim, a woman who frequents Graceada and Enslen Parks, two places Channon often pulled in to rest […]
Homelessness and Poverty in Stanislaus County
Homelessness has Closed our Minds and Curdled our Hearts
“Despite enormous funding for homeless programs, and despite the fact that there are many individual successes, overall the system to date has not reduced homelessness.” Stanislaus County Civil Grand Jury, June 2022 Voluminous evidence shows that most people experiencing homelessness suffer from forces beyond their control. Despite this evidence, far too little has been done to alleviate their plight. The vast majority of American citizens help people in need whenever […]
Gavin Newsom: End this Cruelty Now
It’s bad enough that homeless sweeps throughout the state do little more than add to the stress and misery of the poorest among us. Even worse, California Governor Gavin Newsom has taken to bragging about them, especially the sweeps conducted by Caltrans along the state’s highways. One of the most wasteful expenditures of money the state has ever known, sweeps have become a kind of relocation roulette that bounces the […]
Homeless: The Accountability Papers #3
“Given the significant dollars spent to address homelessness, this lack of accountability is problematic and can undermine the public’s confidence in our public agencies.” Stanislaus County Civil Grand Jury, June, 2022 It was only last year that Stanislaus County added “accountability” to its plan for reducing regional homelessness. The new measure was intended to hold homeless people more accountable for being homeless. Released this June, in yet another of too […]
Caltrans: Sweeping your Tax Dollars Away
We’re still waiting for a report from Caltrans on how much it costs to sweep the average homeless camp along one of California’s freeways. We do know that last November, Caltrans estimated it would spend $36 million on homeless camp cleanups in this year alone. Caltrans workers assigned to the sweeps, highway patrol officers who provide security during the sweeps, and neighboring businesses and residents all know that when homeless […]
Homeless: Word from the Camps
Word from the camps is you can’t get the black* anywhere. It’s fentanyl or nothing. People are dropping almost every day. “You lookin’ for Cash Money? Cash is dead. He overdosed last year. Fentanyl. Yeah, don’t believe Cash was much over 40 years old, maybe younger. People are dropping. Dropping everywhere.” “Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than […]
Valley Heat Batters Homeless People
Frank Ploof didn’t know it at the time, but while he was offloading cases of water at a homeless camp in triple digit heat, Little Sherry Lopez was half a mile away, slowly growing more disoriented as she tried to escape the battering rays of the sun. Ploof, who’s known Sherry since she began camping in Beard Brook Park almost four years ago, had finished distributing cases of bottled water […]
Stanislaus County: Where Government Fails the People
When incumbent Stanislaus County Supervisor Terry Withrow brags about his leadership, he likes to compare the county to the City of Modesto. That’s what he did during an interview with the Modesto Bee when he said, “Look at how the city is doing and ask if you want that kind of leadership for the county.” Withrow is running for office against Tony Madrigal, a current Modesto City Councilmember. Withrow was […]
Raise Taxes? City Residents are Already Taxed Twice
Ever since the Dick Lang administration of the 1990’s, Modesto City Government has been perpetually broke. Subsequent city leaders have had very little discretionary money with which to operate. The present city council is considering whether to ask voters to approve a special sales tax within Modesto to alleviate ongoing budget shortfalls. To decide whether approval of a new sales tax increase is warranted, voters need to understand how Modesto […]
Homeless: The Cruel Realities of People in Need
When Steve Finch and Frank Ploof founded Stanislaus Homeless Advocacy and Resource Enterprise* (SHARE) early last year, Ploof had already had almost ten years’ experience working to help people experiencing homelessness. Finch was new to the task, but thought his experience with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA), an organization that assists abused and needy children, would provide a model he and Ploof could apply to needy homeless people. The CASA […]