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 […]
Homelessness in Modesto
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
How a Wheelchair-bound Amputee came to the Streets of Modesto
The story of how a wheel-chair bound amputee ended up on the streets of Modesto for over a year is slowly emerging. Alan Davis, whose right leg was amputated at Sutter Hospital in Sacramento sometime in April of 2018, was sent to the Modesto Specialty Hospital in May of that same year, when there was no space for him in Sacramento rehab facilities. Davis arrived at the Modesto hospital on […]
Homeless: “You’re not going to like this.”
Julia Orlando came to town Friday. Orlando is the Director of Bergen County’s Housing, Health, and Human Services Center. She achieved nationwide fame in 2017, when the New Jersey County became the first officially recognized county in the United States to end chronic homelessness, defined as including people “who have experienced homelessness for at least one year or repeatedly while struggling with a disabling condition.” With decades of experience developing […]
Homeless: Alan Davis Gets a Shower
Frank Ploof, who coordinates services at the Modesto Outdoor Emergency Shelter (MOES), probably wasn’t thinking about fate or destiny as he was pushing Alan Davis uphill last Wednesday, but he could have been. Ploof was pushing Davis toward a rendezvous with his own brainchild. At least that’s the story according to Dean Dodd, the high-energy force behind the Cleansing Hope Shower Shuttle, a rolling marvel of a brilliantly-executed but simple […]
Homeless: Alan Davis Checks In
Alan Davis, the homeless man who haunted downtown Modesto and over the years was befriended by passing strangers who handed him food and money, has found a temporary home at the Modesto Outdoor Emergency Shelter (MOES). Davis checked into the shelter Tuesday morning, after a volunteer found him sleeping on the corner of 18th and G streets in Modesto. Frank Ploof, a coordinator of activities and outreach for MOES, was […]
Homeless: The Kindness of Strangers
Homeless outreach worker Randy Limburg came across Alan Davis a couple of weeks ago. Davis was frequenting downtown Modesto in an area roughly from the old Modesto Bee building, at 1325 H Street, to five points at J Street and Downey Avenue, near Ralston Towers. Davis said he was fifty-four years old and had been on the streets for a few months after waking up from surgery at Memorial Hospital. […]
Edging toward homelessness: “A human catastrophe of historic dimensions…”
In a sweeping survey of housing needs in the San Joaquin Valley, the California Housing Partnership and the California Coalition for Rural Housing have concluded that the Valley needs 137,254 more affordable homes. Among the most troubling findings was that many hard-working Valley citizens live on the edge of homelessness because housing costs consume up to 70% of their incomes. Minimum wage earners are especially burdened. Of the eight Valley […]