People living in cars, motor homes are pushed from Modesto street. What’s the solution?
After the authorities arrived, Gina Andrade and her boyfriend were among the last homeless people to move their vehicles from Daly Avenue in southeast Modesto.
The homeless couple had acquired an old recreational vehicle in December and settled into a space alongside the street surrounded by industrial sites.
For almost two months, it was their home.
Andrade, 51, said people living in cars and motor homes were stretched the entire length of the 1,500-foot street, off Yosemite Avenue. This week, a Stanislaus County Sheriff’s Department community resources unit notified people their vehicles were parked illegally and they had to leave.
“Because of the businesses complaining, we can no longer stay,” Andrade said Wednesday.
Andrade was distressed because their 1993 Airstream Land Yacht was broken down and $1,000 worth of parts had failed to restore spark to the engine.
As the Sheriff’s Department enforced the parking laws in this unincorporated area of Modesto, a deputy told Andrade the disabled and illegally parked motor home would be towed away Wednesday.
Andrade said most of the homeless people drove away to find other places where they might stay hidden in retail parking lots or on railroad easements. The deputy suggested she stay in a shelter, but Andrade, who also has a working car, doubted there was space available.
Andrade said she’s on the waiting list for about every program in Stanislaus County.
Law enforcement cleared Daly Avenue this week in local authorities’ continuing effort to relocate homeless camps.
Andrade’s boyfriend, Jason, estimated that 10 to 15 vehicles were scattered to different places.
Sgt. Luke Schwartz, a sheriff’s spokesman, said a community resources unit chalked tires and came back to order the people in vehicles to move elsewhere.
“They can’t be parked there forever,” Schwartz said. The people were expected to move their vehicles within 72 hours in accordance with the Vehicle Code, he said.
The community resources unit may respond to complaints from business owners concerned about illegally parked campers and signs of blight. After the vehicles departed, debris and discarded items were left strewn along Daly Avenue.
Schwartz said the community resources unit works hand-in-hand with the county Community Services Agency to refer the homeless to social services.
Modesto considers safe parking program
City of Modesto officials are aware of people living in cars and beat-up campers and are considering a safe parking program.
The City Council has not approved the details but, starting later this year, 25 parking spaces could be provided next to the Salvation Army shelter at Ninth and D streets.
Major Harold Laubach of the Salvation Army Modesto Citadel said other counties like Santa Cruz, where he last served, have the same experience with people sleeping in cars, pickups and old campers.
The people may have economic reasons, or some have extenuating circumstances such as mental health or behavioral issues that prevent them from sleeping in shelters, Laubach said.
He added that parents and children may sleep overnight in vehicles because kids are not allowed in adult shelters and family shelters have limited space.
If the plans are approved, the 25 parking spaces will have fencing, garbage containers, portable toilets, security officers and cameras.
The rules won’t allow people to camp in tents or make major vehicle repairs in the parking lot, Laubach said. City staff members have said the vehicles in the overnight parking area would need to be registered and would leave during the day.
Referrals to social services
Salvation Army staff will provide casework services such as referrals to employment, housing or other social services.
The Modesto City Council was expected to consider the safe parking pilot program in April, but it’s now unclear if the proposal will go to the council that month, a spokesperson said. At this time, there is no serious consideration being given to a second safe parking location, the spokesperson said in an email.
Laubach agreed that Andrade would not likely find a shelter bed right now at the Salvation Army, because the county’s COVID-19 quarantine protocols are restricting intake of new people.
Andrade said she’s a former resident of the temporary “tent city” for Modesto’s homeless, which was closed in late 2019. She and her 50-year-old boyfriend, Jason, slept in a tent at the reservoir before buying the 1993 Airstream Land Yacht for $6,500.
Thursday, the 33-foot recreational vehicle was still there on Daly Avenue. Jason said he would try one more time to get the engine running but he expected to see the tow truck and deputy anytime.
Jason, who has Triple-A service, said he would like to have it towed to a mechanic’s shop but was concerned the RV was too large to park at a shop. If they could park the RV on a piece of property, Jason said he could start working again as a welder.
He suggested the former tent city site near the Tuolumne River would be good for safely parking motor homes used by people who can’t afford permanent housing.
“Hopefully, I can get it started,” Jason said.
He and Andrade would be living in the car again if they could not find the answer.
This story was originally published February 4, 2022 at 6:30 AM.
