My family and I have lived across from Roeding Park in Fresno, California since July 2014 near the northwest corner of the park. Ever since that day, we have had to deal with the homeless.
The homeless around here would have tents lining the streets...but now-days, the tents are gone (a new city rule?), and everyone now sleeps on sheets and blankets on the ground.
Most of the homeless from a year ago have moved on, but a few remain...and have attracted others.
Since moving in, there have been countless instances of criminal activity, such as: arson, vandalism, drug use, littering, assault\battery, public defecation, animal abuse, trespassing\loitering on private property (such as in flowerbeds), attempted burglary, possible possession of stolen items, dogs off leashes, etc. I have lost count of how many times I have had to call the police to come out. One time, I called them four times in 24 hours...and one other time, the police visited the area three times in 12 hours.
Not all the homeless that we have encountered are bad. There are at least three that I do have respect for, because they have respected the neighborhood, and have kept their area(s) clean, and have kept quiet...to themselves. But all three have since moved on. The last one, I even complimented him for keeping the area clean. The others DO NOT have any respect for the neighborhood, it's residents, or the laws of the city.
With the dogfight incident, it was at about 7:35pm on August 7, 2015. I was returning home with my mother, after meeting her at the bus stop after she arrived home from work. When we got onto our doorstep, we noticed 2-4 men running across the street, and jumping the 4ft. tall fence into Roeding Park, and were initially heard encouraging the dogs to keep fighting...a large Pit-Bull against a small black dog, both on leashes, tied up to the fence and a nearby tree along West Avenue. In order to get the dogs separated, three of them started punching and hitting the Pit-Bull. Once separated, the three pulled the Pit-Bull 5-10 feet away and continued to give the Pit-Bull a beat-down while the fourth man removed the smaller dog. At this time, another group of homeless 30-50ft. away started yelling at the men. The Pit-Bull was secured to another fence along Olive Avenue. I was still on my porch, calling the police, who came within 10-15 minutes, and stayed around until around 9:30pm. The Pit-Bull's owner was arrested, and I gather that the Pit-Bull was taken to the S.P.C.A.. An officer that I gave a witness statement to told me that both dog owners did receive wounds from at least one of the dogs. As of this morning (August 10, 2015), the Pit-Bull owner and the dog are back at the park. The owner usually wears a San Diego Chargers ball-cap.
The District Attorney's office here in Fresno County has a new unit specialized with prosecution of animal abusers.
We residents that rent\own homes or the business owners\employees\patrons have certain rights to the land that the home or business is on. The homeless do not have any land rights. Every 1-3 weeks, a city clean-up crew along with the Fresno Police Homeless Task Force come and clean-up the area. When the city truck leaves, it is usually loaded down with homeless "property." At this time, the H.T.F. offers Social Services to the homeless...but they deny the help because they will have to give up drugs and alcohol and\or their dogs. Some want to stay homeless to avoid having to pay rent and utility bills.
On two occasions, my family and I were homeless. Granted, in 2000-02 we lived in our van or stayed in a low-budget hotel (and stayed in the same hotel April-July 2014)...but we respected our surroundings, and sadly had to give up our pet cats, as we did not want to subject them to the harsh uncertainties of being on the streets. Back in 2000-02, we stayed in a Wal-Mart parking lot at night, and ran errands during the day...and used electrical outlets at Letterman Park to cook dinner.
If the homeless around my neighborhood would respect the residents\businesses and their property, I would have more respect for them...we have been sort-of in their shoes. The three I mentioned earlier, I do have respect for them.
