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.