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Tag: Homelessness in California

Gruesome Death of Unhoused Woman may have Saved a Life

Even though she was at a public meeting, Lynelle Solomon couldn’t hold back tears. Solomon was listening to public comments at a meeting of the Modesto City Council on July 11 when she heard a homeless advocate describe a grisly death by mowing machine at a park near Modesto’s Airport District, where Solomon has done […]

Homeless Crisis Deepens with Summer Heat

As I waited for a downtown Modesto bus one day in late April I saw a woman pushing a shopping cart jammed with her belongings.  The woman was still young and athletic-looking, but weather-worn from living on the streets. Nonetheless, she carried herself with a weary gracefulness as she wheeled her cart up off the […]

Homeless Advocates Lobby for Safe Ground

“They walk on the sidewalk next to us, not behind us or under us. They are our community.” — Lynelle Loeb Solomon  They meet every two weeks on a leafy street dappled in sunlight, at the offices of the Modesto Peace/Life Center. Some of them are retired, although you would never guess that by looking […]

Derek Castle: Is Citizenship the Answer for Homelessness?

When Derek Castle and his wife moved across the street from Modesto’s Graceada Park four years ago, the prime attraction was their two granddaughters. Their son and his family lived nearby. Along with the Gallo Theatre for the Arts, Graceada Park has long been considered one of Modesto’s crown jewels. As Castle got to know […]

Homeless: The Drug Fallacy Rises (Again)

The state of Hawaii ranks sixth in the nation in homelessness per capita and dead last in drug use and addiction per capita. Ordinarily, such data would be of minor interest. Within the context of a recent widely published OP/ED by Yolo County District Attorney Jeff Reisig and several other purported authorities, however, it’s highly […]

Modesto City Manager Errs on Homelessness

Modesto City Manager Joe Lopez might have second thoughts after citing Chico as an example of cities that have tried safe sleeping sites for homeless people and then found they “didn’t work.” Lopez made the remark in a May 24 meeting with members of the Modesto Citizens Action Group (MoCag). He may not have realized […]

Can’t Solve Homelessness? Follow the Money

For people on the ground among the homeless in California, there’s no mystery why homeless numbers continue to increase despite the expenditure of billions of dollars. The problem is a complete lack of comprehension among federal, state, and local leaders about the true nature of homelessness. Rather than a case of widespread drug abuse, epidemic […]

Modesto May Make Newsom Right about Cities and Homelessness

California Governor Gavin Newsom has been justly criticized for his policies on homelessness, especially his reliance on sweeps as the chief tactic for managing California’s growing homeless population. Many of the sweeps chase homeless people from freeway margins and underpasses into cities, with the result that Newsom has continued to blame the state’s mayors for […]

No Drugs, Good Job — Still no Housing

California’s housing crisis shows no signs of ending soon as more and more people find themselves unable to rent or buy housing of any kind, even when they have work and good incomes. Dennis Lewis is only one of thousands of people who turned their lives around, went to work, then suffered a sudden reversal […]

Modesto Attorney Rips Local Authorities on Failures to Manage Homelessness

“The citizens of Modesto are infinitely weary of our seemingly intractable homeless problems and the apparent inability or unwillingness of our leaders to do much about it. The enormous amounts of money being thrown at homelessness have created interest groups who are seemingly more adept at grant writing than finding real solutions, and whose self-interest […]