Homeless Woman’s Death in Modesto: An Ongoing Story

Latest

Still no answers in houseless woman's gruesome death in Modesto, California. Family demands answers.

https://www.kqed.org/news/11548018/fresno-woman-dedicates-herself-to-helping-citys-homeless

The link above will take you to the story of a woman I was lucky to have had a brief conversation with. Her name is Desiree Martinez, a Fresno woman who lives in California, and dedicates her time to the homeless population. Our newspaper, tribunodelpueblo.org,  republished an article on the death of Christine Chavez, a California houseless woman who was killed in a gruesome death.

It has now been over a month since the incident, and there are more questions than answers at this point. In my phone conversation with Desiree, she mentioned how the police are not doing their job, and have yet to interview witnesses as well as not having tested the driver of the lawnmower for drugs or alcohol in their system. Currently, there is an ongoing lawsuit with the town of Modesto, as the family waits around for answers and sees the time pass by, it is important that we continue to tell the story of just one of thousands of homeless people in California right now.

Dez wanted to make it clear that, a lot of homeless people are going through mental illness, and the world needs to focus on fixing that issue instead of criminalizing homelessness.  Not only that but there needs to be a 24/7 crisis outrage team for them, there needs to be more resources that its community based and city based.

The life of a homeless woman seemed to have little meaning to the police; unanswered questions don’t seem to bother them one bit. Pieces of Christine Chavez were left at the scene for family members to come and find; we must continue saying her name because the law enforcers are getting away with treating a person less than a dog, just because they don’t have a place to live.

Dez Martinez is a special hero, due to her being formerly houseless herself. She does more than just pass around iced water bottles on a 100-degree day; she’s the founder of We Are Not Invisible.org.  We Are Not Invisible is a 501 (c)3 non-profit organization that helps provide for the needs of those who are homeless in Fresno. This organization’s mission is to ‘rehumanize our chronically homeless and help the less fortunate’.

The We Are Not Invisible website comes with many resources to get behind Desiree’s mission. This includes donating, a list of food and supplies to send, as well as two current projects named ‘Project Safe Camp’ and ‘Pot lucks in the park’. If you’d like to read how the organization began, read the story. 

+ Articles by this author

Luz Melissa Cortes Nieto is a Gen X student majoring in Communication with a minor in Journalism. She came to the United States at the age of 7 and has always had a passion for writing and the environment. As a member of El Tribuno del Pueblo Editorial Board, she is the Climate Change Desk. She hopes to bring awareness about climate change and how we can all come together to mitigate environmental consequences.

Free to republish but please credit the People's Tribune. Visit us at www.peoplestribune.org, email peoplestribune@gmail.com, or call 773-486-3551.

The People’s Tribune brings you articles written by individuals or organizations, along with our own reporting. Bylined articles reflect the views of the authors. Unsigned articles reflect the views of the editorial board. Please credit the source when sharing: ©2024 peoplestribune.org. Please donate to help us keep bringing you voices of the movement. Click here. We’re all volunteer, no paid staff.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Featured

War No More – Veterans Reflect on the Meaning of Memorial Day

Veterans for Peace say wars will not end, – and nuclear war will not be averted – unless there is a sea-change in the thinking of the U.S. people and our political leaders.

Harvard University Stands Up to Illegal Federal Government Actions

Read letter by Harvard President Alan M. Garner, about the University's stance on the Federal government's illegal actions to force Harvard to give up the school's academic independence and academic freedom.

Trump’s Big Cruel, Deadly Policy Bill is a Healthcare Heist

Outrage is rising against Trump’s “Big Beautiful Bill” that would give massive tax breaks to the rich while slashing Medicaid, nutrition, and clean energy. Some say 14 million people could lose health coverage.

Is FREE Electricity in our Future?

Electricity should be a right, free to all.  Yet, for-profit energy companies set prices to maximize profits to shareholders, even when users can’t afford the prices and suffer shutoffs.

Let’s Rein in U.S. Military Spending Before it Destroys Us

Excessive military spending has bankrupted the country and eaten up money we need for human needs. What's more, the billionaires' reliance on war as a foreign policy instrument threatens to destroy the world.

More from the People's Tribune