Park Handouts

Reading the Modesto Bee yesterday, 12/19, I noticed the article where "do gooders" are making things better for the homeless by providing them blankets and stuff.  "We look for the homeless in and around Modesto like downtown and Graceada Park."  (In similar terms).  So, now we are the starting point for the homeless here at Graceada and Enslen Parks.  WHEN THE DO-GOODERS START AT THOSE parks, we have an issue.  The issue is, these parks are now known to house the homeless.  The other issue is the fact that these people who are only looking to help out come to the park with these goodies.   It only enables the homeless to stay when all these goods and services are brought to them.  But of course these Do-Gooders and church groups do not LIVE in this neighborhood, so they do not GET it.  "It's not in OUR neighborhood".  If you want to provide goods and services, then get a damn "Happy Bus" or something and pick up all the homeless and take them for a ride to go GET THE blankets and free meals.  What about taking these blankets to the shelters?  These folks in Enslen Park are WANTING to be there!  They do not want to GO home.  These people have a home but it is their CHOICE to be "homeless".  They are "Renting" the park, hence, "Hotel Enslen." I have talked with them!  Take those blankets and meals to TRULY homeless folks in the shelters.  It is NOT those folks choice to be homeless.  

Update on Committee

After meeting with Mike Moridian of the LaLoma Neighborhood Association, we both decided to put the brakes on a "Homeless" Committee. This is a fight that we are not ready for yet, or prepared for. Homelessness is a major social issue that a little committee cannot fight. What we have decided to do, is to start of small. We are going after the vagrancy in our parks. That way, we do not need to use the term "homeless". We, here in Modesto, have lost some park space to the "vagrants". So, that is the plan for right now. Once this small battle is fought and won, it will lead to the issue of what Modesto is going to do with homelessness and we can THEN work on that issue. I got to run, but I will keep you updated.

Updates on committee

I will be headed to the police department tomorrow (9/18) to set up a time for the homeless committee. It should be around mid-October, but I will let all know.

A few recent observations of the Hotel is that resident Tina seems to piss off all the females residing at the park. It is a daily cat fight amongst the women. I have seen a few more incidents of pot smoking going on. This is not from the residents, but from others just coming by figuring, "Well, this is as good as any, I mean, look at the people here. It must be okay." I have noticed a lot more drinking going on as I have not seen as much police presence lately. Maybe they have just given up.

All kinds of action

So, Emilie Raguso writes in the Bee how a guy living near Enslen Park got his motorized bicycle stolen from his house. Seen the park lately? They are all looking for some sort of transportation. I bet the residents at the park had something to do with it.

So, for the past two days, there has been a a couple of "cat fights". The ladies have been hooking it up. Tina, a main resident, always seems to have some issues. She was fighting with "Nina". It got so confrontational it even made a driver stop to see if Nina was okay.

We now have a resident that owns her own motorhome now. She is the mom that has the kids that hang around in the park. You know, the kids with the idle time. She she rotates her nightly stay on Park Ave, Enslen, Morris, and Stoddard. Now the evenings are "party time".

Finally, I read that the police arrested a "vagrant" that attempted a bank robbery on Yosemite Ave the other day. The arrest took place at Enlsen and Stoddard. That is right across the street from my house! I did not see it. But, what the hell. Where am I going to go after an attempted robbery? Maybe I will blend in with the rest of the residents at Hotel Enslen. At least a real resident of the area recongnized the dude and made a call to the police.

Now I Am Pissed Off...

It's been awhile since I last blogged. There really has been no news to report on the homeless issues at Enslen Park as it is status quot. The park is still full of homeless "residents" day after day after day. There has been an addition of some kids however. Apparently there is a homeless mom and her kid(s) come and stay with her at the park. Not sure if they have homes but they are always there. A problem arose as my kids crossing the park to go to their friends house and vice-verse have been "harassed" a bit by these 13 year olds in the park. My son said it is no big deal, but it is. I could tell that they do not feel comfortable crossing the park as long as those kids are there. My son said, "they always have something to say". So I went to investigate. As I am approaching the "hotel breezeway," which is the section between the restrooms and the horseshoe pits, with my son and my friends 13-year old daughter, this kid whistles at the girl. I approached him and said "That is not necessary. If you want date, just ask her!" I told him (and an adult that was with the kid) that my kids need to be able to walk through here with NO incidents. You need to keep your mouth shut. I went over and talked with a few of the "residents" and asked who this kid was. They asked, "Why, what did he do?" I told them that when my kids and their friends cross the park here that there needs to be nothing said, no cat calls, no issues. This group of residents agreed. "Well, his mom is not here right now, but I will tell him to leave" said one of the residents. So we have the "regulars" at the park who for the most part (other that a few verbal fights every so often) try to behave, but we have some kids that have a lot of idle time who are spending their time at the park and who are disturbing others.

More on the committee

I have heard from a few folks who would like to be a part of a Homeless Committee. Adam Ashton of the Modesto Bee said he would do an article promoting the time and date and what we hope to achieve. So we are getting closer. I would imagine in the next two weeks that we can get a date and time. I will get back to you all within that time.

Blight?

Wait, the city is worried about Tangles, Bangles, and Chocolate or what ever that McHenry business' name is? Worried about a few shirts and sandwich board signs? What about the blight in our parks?

Homeless committee

Mike Moradian of the LaLoma Neighborhood Association is creating a Homeless committee and asked if anyone is interested in sitting in or helping out to let me know. We are just getting interested people at this time. People who think that they can help. It is a big chore, but my main concern is to get them out of our parks, but having a place they can go. We will keep in touch.

This is what I am talking about...

So the other day, my kids along with a couple other kids were playing a baseball game in the horse shoe pits at Enslen Park (some type of game that they have devised up similar to what we did when we were kids). They came running home and said that a homeless guy was yelling at another and threatening him with a bowling pin inside the bathroom, "Where's my F*****G beer!?" They heard a banging sound inside the bathroom and were a bit alarmed. This could have been nothing. Maybe the guys were only screwing around and they meant no harm. But my boys did not hang around to find out as they were spooked by it. My boys were at the park using it for what it was intended to be used for. However, they were scared away by the "undesirables" residing there.

Response is good.

The response has been good. This is what we needed; and that is the fact that there is a homeless problem in our community (no shock). I appreciate hearing from everyone. I have heard from community leaders, city council members, police officers, and Bee writers. Together, we have been able to report, and get results, from the beatings that took place. People are trying to come up with ideas. Eventually, we will get together and take care of this issue, hopefully.

Let the "Party" Begin!

You can see the sense of relief with the homeless now at Enslen and Elk Park. After a few days staying away, sort of, they are back in numbers. The beer is flowing. They should feel a lot better now that thugs are in custody for the beatings. I just wish they would congregate somewhere else, that's all. By 3:00 today, someone will be passed out.

Arrests ARE MADE

If you did not see the article in the Bee today, arrests have been made in the two park beatings. Thanks to Emilie Raguso of the Bee for getting it done. The story was very close to the rumors that were being swirled around. That is unusual. Getting a third hand story is often way off base of what actually happened, but not this time. These "thugs" live a block away from Enslen Park. I think I have seen these dudes around, and they don't belong in this neighborhood. Well, they won't be around for awhile.

Arrests are made possibly

On early Monday morning, there were beatings at the park. One at Enslen Park, and the other at Graceada Park. There was an assault on the canal as well as an incident at the 7-11 on McHenry and Morris. I am not sure if these are all related, but they all happened in the early morning of June 2nd. Cameras caught the action at the 7-11 and apparently some arrests were made. All that was told to me was that it was two guys, one guy who was wearing "POLICE" on the back of his shirt. Word is that he is a security guard. This may not have anything to do with the beatings; or everything to do with it. There still is NO WORD in the Modesto Bee. If I get a minute I will try to call the police and see if they will volunteer any information. Or, ALL of you can call the police as well.

No News Yet

There was no news of the beatings in the park in the Modesto Bee. Why not? The police are still not going to divulge into what exactly happened. There has been less of the homeless people in the park yesterday and today. They are more spread out and a few traversed over to Elk Park.

Oh my God: Beatings at the Park

Woke up this morning to see patrol cars all over the place. The police are not giving me all the facts as I was interested in what was happening. My Brother in Law said that a guy was beat up pretty bad early Monday morning and left for dead in the Enslen Park bathroom. A few moments later, there was another assault on possibly a homeless man at Graceada Park and he is in real bad shape.

My BIL thinks that there are some homeless bashers that are praying on the homeless by robbing them and beating them. There has been some witnesses. The homeless are wary of a silver compact car in the area that throwing stuff out the window that started with balloons and are now rocks.

So we have to be aware. This is some of the problems we encounter at our parks. As much as I hate the homeless in the park, it is not fair that these atrocities are happening to them. I will be back with more information.

Beautiful

Just a snap shot of the regular tenants at the Hotel Enslen. Is there any maid service?

Eventfull day at the park

There was a lot of action at the park yesterday. There was a fight and at one point, there was an ambulance, police, and animal control all at the park. Apparently, "Bird" with the hat, who is a regular "tenant" has a dog, and the dog bites. You can see that the dog took a chunk out of one of the "tenant's" calf (you can see a bit of blood). So he did not take kindly to it and they started fighting. These guys Bird and the victim are drinking buddies. So, the whole population was upset at Bird and his dog and they let Bird know. One lady was swinging a bat at Bird. So, the police were called and calm was restored. The dog was taken away. Soon after it all calmed down, another "tenant" went after Bird, but the police were not too far behind on this episode. This is just an example of the problems at the "Hotel Enslen".

Cans anybody?

Here, you see my brother-in-law (standing) with his buddy and all their recycables. This is almost a daily routine which really pisses me off. But what am I to do? He is family. He does work around my house when he is not collecting cans. So, these bags of recycables are either in the park, or right out of my backyard.

Panning for gold

I have my own little homeless enclave in my own back yard. See, my brother-in-law stays in our garage. If he didn't, he would be one of the homeless at Enslen Park across the street. He has "Compulsive Hoarding" which is a disease, or a condition, whatever. So, my back yard looks like crap essentially. My BIL (brother-in-law) helps out the homeless with their recyclables. Here is a picture of his buddy panning for gold! Yes, he brought down some "dirt" from the foothills and he is looking for gold! Yup, all this in my back yard!

"Is he gone?"

So, Officer Habermehl shows up on his motorcycle to check out if there has been any drinking at the Hotel Enslen. Of course not! Because the "tenants" can not get busted for possession of alcohol. Before the law was innacted making drinking in the park a misdemeanor, it was only a citation if they were in possession. So, now it is a misdemeanor, but the Officers have to actaully see them drinking. That is a big help. Anyways, once Habermehl leaves, they look around, ok, he is gone, lets drink!

Welcome

Welcome to the Hotel Enslen blog. The purpose of this blog sight is to share what I see everyday across the street from my home which is the homeless problem at beautiful Enslen Park in downtown Modesto.

Homelessness is national issue and there are no concrete answers. Hopefully, on a local level, something can be done to help the situation. I certainly do not have the answers, but maybe you can help.

What I see on a daily basis is sometimes appalling. The group of homeless people that come to Enslen Park are basically harmless. Other than the constant drinking, they do not bother people that are trying to share the park. However, because I see this, I know this. How about the family that is looking for a picnic spot? Nope! They will move on to another spot. Sorry, those tables are taken.

The invasion of the homeless started about 3 summers ago. They were camping out at night, doing drugs, selling drugs, and drinking heavily. After a few phone calls to the Modesto PD as well as some community meetings, action was taken by the city. Trees were trimmed at their base so the police could see vagrancy, and signs were posted saying that drinking was illegal unless a permit was issued to them. OK, we were fine. Then last summer, they started coming back. The majority of the homeless were spending time at adjoining Graceada Park, the crown jewel of all of Modesto Parks. Then the majority of the homeless moved over to Enslen Park and little Elk Park on Morris and Enslen Street. After some work with the city, Elk Park was finally barricaded off with a couple of cement posts with a cable that blocked the parking lot. A little history as Elk Park is adjacent to the canal and back in the ol' days, it was a favorite swimming hole, so there is a parking lot. Before, I was not comfortable having my kids walk to Enslen School through that parking lot as there were MANY homeless people and cars parked there doing what, I do not want to know. There is no need for that parking lot to be open. Thank you to the city. Elk Park is now used for it's intended purposes.

Since the "closing" of Elk Park, Enslen Park is now the "Hotel of choice". What I witness on a daily basis is the homeless going through their "treasures" as it is an open flea market of sorts. I see constant drinking, fighting, sleeping, (or passed out), foul language, and it is a freeway for all the bikes and their carts full of crap.

Back in March, when youth baseball started, my son would have practice at the park. So, I would perch myself on the stands and I would notice all of the broken King Cobra bottles of beer along with stripped wiring and just a whole bunch of trash under the stands. Sweet.