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Pursuing truth toward justice

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Modesto Homelessness

Family Members Demand Answers in Gruesome Death of Unhoused Woman

July 13, 2023 By Eric Caine 76 Comments

Gallo Security with Chavez family, Beard Brook Park, 12 July, 2023

“There was no yellow tape, there was no yellow tape,” said a family member of a homeless woman who was reported to have died Saturday, July 8 at Beard Brook Park in Modesto. The speaker was the brother-in-law of Christy Chavez. He was with family members visiting the site of Christy’s death on Wednesday, July 12, four days after she had last been seen near a hillside where a man […]

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Beard Brook Park Homeless camp, Homelessness and Poverty in Stanislaus County, Homelessness in Stanislaus County, Homelessness in the San Joaquin Valley, Modesto Homelessness

Homeless: When False Narratives Fail

March 14, 2022 By Eric Caine 11 Comments

Homeless and mentally ill

For decades, there were a few stock responses to homelessness: “They don’t want help — it’s the drugs — they’re bums” were among the most popular. “They made bad choices” wasn’t far behind. Though none of these explanations holds up to thoughtful reflection, they comprised the largest part of the conventional wisdom about homeless precisely for that reason — they enabled most of us to avoid thinking about a problem […]

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Homelessness and Poverty in Stanislaus County, Homelessness in California, Homelessness in the San Joaquin Valley, Homelessness Stanislaus County, Modesto Homelessness

Homeless: Taking Back the Parks

August 3, 2021 By Eric Caine 16 Comments

Sherry Lopez June 29 2021

Little Sherry Lopez can’t go to the park. Everyone calls her “Little Sherry” because she’s the smallest Sherry they know. Little Sherry is well short of five feet tall. She’s closer to four feet tall. She’s a few years past forty years old. Little Sherry is developmentally and physically disabled. She walks haltingly and often has difficulty with simple concepts. Other than “little,” the most common word people use to […]

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Beard Brook Park, Beard Brook Village, California homelessness, Modesto Homelessness, San Joaquin Valley homelessness, Stanislaus County homelessness, Stanislaus County Low Barrier Shelter

Can New Mayor and Council Reverse Modesto’s Decline?

March 5, 2021 By Bruce Frohman 2 Comments

K Street Modesto November 2020

The new Modesto City Council, headed by Mayor Sue Zwahlen, has a lot of work to do. Since the Covid-19 pandemic began, the public has been growing less respectful of the law and of other citizens. Ever since I departed from the Modesto City Council in 2003, I’ve noticed a continuous decline in the quality of life within the community. From my narrow viewpoint, determining how fast problems are growing […]

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Crime in Modesto, Modesto Homelessness

Homeless: The Harsh Realities of Help

January 17, 2021 By Eric Caine 17 Comments

Salvation Army Berberian Shelter

“We have a disconnect with our citizens about what services are available for homeless people and how easy it is to access them,” said Modesto businessman Steven Finch recently. “People are comforted when they see large buildings and lots of staff workers dealing with homelessness, poverty, and mental illness.  They read about $22,000,000 coming to Stanislaus County for homelessness and they think, ‘That should do it; all fixed.’” In fact, […]

Filed Under: History Tagged With: Homelessness and Poverty in Stanislaus County, Homelessness in Modesto, Homelessness in the San Joaquin Valley, Modesto Homelessness

Overflow Crowd for Laura’s Law

November 17, 2016 By Eric Caine Leave a Comment

“It’s the dollars that get them,” said Douglas Dunn to an overflow crowd at Modesto’s Jana Lynn Room on North Ninth Street Wednesday night. Dunn was explaining how he and other citizen activists convinced Contra Costa County Supervisors to enact Laura’s Law, a policy that enables families to require assistance for mentally ill relatives through a court order. Nearly one-hundred people had come to hear Dunn and Randall Hagar, Director […]

Filed Under: Featured, History Tagged With: Laura's Law Stanislaus County, Modesto Homelessness, Stanislaus County homelessness

Faces of the Homeless: Rosario

November 2, 2016 By Eric Caine 5 Comments

“I like being out in the open where everybody can see I’m not doing anything wrong,” says Rosario Quintana. “I don’t do drugs or alcohol and I don’t leave a mess. I keep all my stuff packed up.” Despite her good intentions, Rosario’s presence on public streets in Modesto and Turlock has gotten her arrested at least two or three times a year during the four years she’s been homeless. […]

Filed Under: Featured, History Tagged With: Modesto Homelessness, Stanislaus County homelessness

Busting the Homeless: Wasted Dollars?

October 30, 2016 By Eric Caine Leave a Comment

Call him Martin. He’s a homeless man and meth user. In the last year, he’s been in jail four times and in the hospital twice. His jail time has ranged from a few days to several weeks. His last hospital stay was almost six weeks. Then there’s the Oakdale man who’s periodically arrested for misdemeanors related to homelessness. He’s often driven to the county jail in Modesto, held a few […]

Filed Under: Featured, History Tagged With: Homelessness in Stanislaus County, Modesto homeless, Modesto Homelessness

“Let homeless people camp,” says Councilmember Ah You

October 12, 2016 By Eric Caine 10 Comments

Most everyone was encouraged when the Modesto City Council approved $250,000 toward establishing a services and shelter center for our growing population of homeless people. The first stage will include temporary winter shelters (in the form of modified garden sheds) for forty people as part of Stanislaus County’s Focus on Prevention project to end homelessness. Ultimately, city and county officials intend to establish a one-stop service center where people experiencing […]

Filed Under: Featured, Politics Tagged With: Homelessness in Stanislaus County, Homelessness Modesto, Modesto Homelessness

Homeless: The Cruel Futility of Sweeps

March 12, 2016 By Eric Caine 1 Comment

Most homeless people spend almost all their time in public places. The chief reason is simple: There’s nowhere else to go. Yes, there are shelters at night, but they’re often full in bad weather. Pets and couples aren’t allowed (couples are split up). You take in and out only what you can carry. There’s no privacy. There’s enforced religion. The shelters close during the day. Homeless people in public places […]

Filed Under: Featured, History Tagged With: Modesto homeless, Modesto Homelessness

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Off The Wire

?Monster Fracks? Are Getting Far Bigger. And Far Thirstier.
“Monster Fracks” Are Getting Far Bigger. And Far Thirstier.
A Times analysis shows that increasingly complex oil and gas wells now require astonishing volumes of water to fracture the bedrock and release fossil fuels, threatening America’s fragile aquifers.
www.nytimes.com
Newsom urges SCOTUS to consider encampment ruling that has 'paralyzed' California cities
Newsom urges SCOTUS to consider encampment ruling that has ‘paralyzed’ California cities
The Democratic governor’s intervention lays down a mark in a legal dispute with potentially profound implications for one of California’s most pressing issues.
www.politico.com
Clarence Thomas Secretly Participated in Koch Network Donor Events
Clarence Thomas Secretly Participated in Koch Network Donor Events
Thomas has attended at least two Koch donor summits, putting him in the extraordinary position of having helped a political network that has brought multiple cases before the Supreme Court.
www.propublica.org
How hungry is California? Millions struggle to eat well in an abundant state
How hungry is California? Millions struggle to eat well in an abundant state
How bad is hunger in California? A lot depends on your access to food aid, which expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic but now is being reduced.
calmatters.org
Sacramento DA sues city over homeless encampments
Sacramento DA sues city over homeless encampments
Sacramento County had nearly 9,300 homeless people in 2022, based on data from the annual Point in Time count. That was up 67% from 2019. Roughly three-quarters of the county’s homeless population….
www.mercurynews.com
At Last, a Real Possibility to Avoid Catastrophic Climate Change
At Last, a Real Possibility to Avoid Catastrophic Climate Change
After decades of minimal action, Congress passed the largest and most comprehensive piece of climate legislation in U.S. history. Will we make the most of this opportunity?
www.audubon.org
How the fentanyl crisis' fourth wave has hit every corner of the US
How the fentanyl crisis’ fourth wave has hit every corner of the US
The epidemic’s staggering scale and infiltration of communities is laid bare in a new study.
www.bbc.com
Can licensed tent villages ease California's homelessness epidemic? This nonprofit thinks so
Can licensed tent villages ease California’s homelessness epidemic? This nonprofit thinks so
Taking people off the street and into tents is a new twist on homeless shelter being explored by the San Francisco-based Urban Alchemy in two tent villages operating in Los Angeles and Culver City.
www.latimes.com
Mississippi has problems, but it's handling homelessness better than L.A.
Mississippi has problems, but it’s handling homelessness better than L.A.
The public tends to blame homelessness on poverty, drug use, crime or even warm weather. But other cities don’t have L.A. levels of street homelessness because they have more available housing.
www.latimes.com
Neo-Nazis March Through Florida Park
Neo-Nazis March Through Florida Park
The demonstrators raised “Heil Hitler” salutes and waved flags with swastikas.
www.thedailybeast.com
Families have high hopes for Gavin Newsom's CARE Courts. Providers want to lower expectations
Families have high hopes for Gavin Newsom’s CARE Courts. Providers want to lower expectations
Gov. Gavin Newsom?s experiment to push Californians with mental illness off the streets and into treatment, CARE Court, starts soon.
calmatters.org
Pope says 'backward' U.S. conservatives have replaced faith with ideology
Pope says ‘backward’ U.S. conservatives have replaced faith with ideology
Pope Francis has blasted the “backwardness” of some conservatives in the U.S. Catholic Church. He says they have replaced faith with ideology and that a correct understanding of Catholic doctrine allows for change over time.
apnews.com

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

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

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

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