• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer

The Valley Citizen

Nature, Environment, History & Politics

The Valley Citizen

  • Arts
  • Education
  • Environment
  • History
  • Nature
  • Politics
  • Wit
  • About
  • RSS Icon

Who Favors Rousting Modesto's Homeless?

February 13, 2016 By Eric Caine 1 Comment

Moving out
Moving On

Whether by coincidence or design, the Modesto Police Department (MPD) waited until after the February 2 election to roust illegal “campers,” otherwise known as people without homes, from Beard Brook Park last Thursday.

The sweep, the second within a few months, forced people to take down tents, gather what belongings they could carry, and leave the park, at least temporarily. Even during the sweep, city workers were making mock bets on how long it would be before the first tents were back up.

The “bets” were one more sign that the sweep policy, like most every other local attempt to address problems associated with homelessness, is based on ineffective city and county ordinances. But when one of our most common memes about homeless people is that they come here to take advantage of our generous and compassionate residents, it hardly makes sense to point out the cruelty and futility of our default harassment policies.

In defense of the police actions, one public official cited problems with trash, crime, and prostitution as reasons for the roust. If people didn’t know the context of his comments, they might have thought he was talking about south Ninth Street, Highway 132 west of the freeway, or neighborhoods around Modesto High School.

Those places, of course, are subject to lower standards of enforcement. And that’s the key to understanding one of the critical factors of homelessness: Without four walls and a roof, you are in far greater jeopardy from the same infraction than someone with even the most humble home.

Even a moment’s thought enables most anyone to conclude that when you are dealing with crime and trash, neither will go away just because the perpetrators have been forced to relocate. Modesto officials seem to think the leaf blower approach to homelessness will end the problem when in fact all it does it spread it around.

Homeless dog
Homeless Dog

Rousting the homeless isn’t just ineffective, it’s also cruel. A large percentage of homeless people are mentally ill. Others are physically disabled. Harassing them instead of helping them violates every humane standard of Western civilization.

Some will say that most homeless people have brought their problems on themselves through drug use. There’s no question that drug use is rampant among the homeless population, but now that addiction has become a growing epidemic in the white middle class, it’s no longer viewed as a moral failing; instead, it’s finally being seen as a health problem resulting from despair, lack of opportunity, easy access to legal prescription drugs, and a host of other causal factors.

So if Modesto does indeed feature a disproportionate number of generous and compassionate residents, why do we persist in cruelty toward people in need? The answer is simple: We no longer hold government accountable. Our politicians have managed to avoid the problems of homelessness by looking the other way while sick and disabled people with nowhere to go are chased from place to place by police officers who would much rather be chasing dangerous criminals than illegal campers.

The remedy is accountability. Every Modesto voter should ask his or her city councilperson to support or oppose rousting the homeless. Voters should also ask the new mayor to take a public stand on homelessness. Modesto has acres of vacant lots and dozens of vacant buildings. If it can afford to house visiting Amgen participants, it can certainly afford portable toilets and space for tents for people in need.

Filed Under: Featured, History Tagged With: Homelessness Modesto

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Debra says

    February 14, 2016 at 1:34 am

    Modesto is typically on the top 10 least desirable places to live by Forbes magazine. It is partly due to the visibility of the”vagrants” living on the Tuolumne River in the Park. Most of those vagrants have been living there for years with no interest in recovering from homelessness. I have cleaned up 100’s of discarded drug needles left in that park & watched as the prostitutes turn tricks visible from the road. It is difficult to ignore. I am thrilled with having our parks being used by the people that planned & paid for them. There is a big difference between a vagrant & a homeless person needing & wanting help & support!

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Note: Some comments may be held for moderation.

Primary Sidebar

Off The Wire

A South Texan?s Wild, Life-affirming Quest to Break a National Birding Record
A South Texan’s Wild, Life-affirming Quest to Break a National Birding Record
When she began her year-long bird-spotting adventure, Tiffany Kersten was lost and lonely. She ended up achieving a major milestone and finding her way.
www.texasmonthly.com
Ron Johnson tried to hand fake elector info to Mike Pence on Jan. 6, panel reveals
Ron Johnson tried to hand fake elector info to Mike Pence on Jan. 6, panel reveals
A top aide said the Wisconsin Republican senator wanted to give Pence the list of pro-Trump electors as he prepared to certify the 2020 election.
www.politico.com
Raffensperger says he wishes Fox News carried every Jan. 6 hearing
Raffensperger says he wishes Fox News carried every Jan. 6 hearing
“I think it would have helped our party heal, given [people] more facts.”
www.axios.com
'Not safe anymore': Portland confronts the limits of its support for homeless services
‘Not safe anymore’: Portland confronts the limits of its support for homeless services
Homeless encampments now spill well beyond Portland’s downtown core, dividing a city that has invested liberally in support services.
www.latimes.com
Republicans Will Do It Again
Republicans Will Do It Again
They have not been chastened by the revelations of the January 6 committee.
nymag.com
Birdman
Birdman
Bird Brother: A Falconer’s Journey and the Healing Power of Wildlife
www.earthisland.org
The Potato Roll Empire Bankrolling Christian Nationalist Doug Mastriano
The Potato Roll Empire Bankrolling Christian Nationalist Doug Mastriano
The Martins were bit players in politics, until they put Doug Mastriano one step away from becoming Pennsylvania’s next governor.
nymag.com
Roger Stone and Michael Flynn under fire over rallies ‘distorting Christianity’
Roger Stone and Michael Flynn under fire over rallies ‘distorting Christianity’
Prominent Christian leaders accuse Trump allies of spreading misinformation about election and Covid, while distorting Christian teachings at ReAwaken America events
www.theguardian.com
Major water cutbacks loom as shrinking Colorado River nears 'moment of reckoning'
Major water cutbacks loom as shrinking Colorado River nears ‘moment of reckoning’
As the Colorado River water shortage worsens, major cutbacks are needed to reduce most perilous risks, a federal official tells senators.
www.latimes.com
Trump Scammed Supporters Out of $250 Million for Nonexistent Fraud Fund
Trump Scammed Supporters Out of $250 Million for Nonexistent Fraud Fund
Supporters who thought they were donating to “election integrity” instead saw some of their money funneled to Trump hotels
www.rollingstone.com
Police Arrested 31 White Supremacists Crammed Into a U-Haul With a Detailed Riot Plan
Police Arrested 31 White Supremacists Crammed Into a U-Haul With a Detailed Riot Plan
Members of the Patriot Front were allegedly planning to disrupt a pride parade in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.
www.vice.com
Dishonor, Trump’s and His Party’s, Is the Real January 6th Takeaway
Dishonor, Trump’s and His Party’s, Is the Real January 6th Takeaway
Liz Cheney, defying the G.O.P., offered a searing indictment of the former President at Thursday’s hearing.
www.newyorker.com
Trumpworld Lied To Your Face About The Election
Trumpworld Lied To Your Face About The Election
In the fall and winter of 2020, former President Trump’s top lieutenants…
talkingpointsmemo.com

Find us on Facebook

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

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Footer

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

Email us at:
thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Subscribe for Free

* indicates required

Search

• Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2022 The Valley Citizen

Dedicated to the memory of John Michael Flint. Contact us at thevalleycitizen@sbcglobal.net

Editor and publisher: Eric Caine

Website customization and maintenance by Susan Henley Design