Tim Ragsdale: Facilitating park vagrants ruins property values, quality of life
Re “Modesto faces balance between hunger, order in park feedings” (Page 1A, Aug. 16): Modesto’s parks weren’t built to house the mentally ill, drug addicts, recently released criminals, homeless or other vagrants. They were built to provide a break in the urban blight and a safe and well maintained outdoor space that everyone can enjoy. Providing food to vagrants occupying our parks is a contributing factor in Modesto’s quality of life decline.
Vagrants are occupying our parks and their occupation brings with it criminal activity, trash, drug paraphernalia, questionable dogs and human waste. This creates an unsafe and unhealthy environment for everyone else. Delivering food to them enables their occupation, which discourages everyone else from using the park. Their occupation diminishes property values and degrades the quality of life as it relates to availability of parks.
Delivering food to vagrants occupying our parks must stop in order to stop the occupation and make our parks safe and attractive for use by families. That will improve Modesto’s quality of life.
Tim Ragsdale, Modesto
This story was originally published August 28, 2015 at 11:56 AM with the headline "Tim Ragsdale: Facilitating park vagrants ruins property values, quality of life."