A Glimpse of Dublin, CA’s Secret Underbelly
Entrance to the Alamo Canal behind Dublin Library
I have recently been touring Dublin with my new bike purchased from the Livermore Cyclery’s award-winning store in Dublin, CA. After traversing the Iron Horse Trail on many occasions, I decided to be adventurous and explore the Alamo Canal Trail. The trail ended just past the Dublin Library directly underneath the northside of westbound I-580. I started to walk my bike across the unpaved portion of the trail underneath I-580 to hopefully connect on the other side in Pleasanton when all of a sudden I noticed movement. What could it be?
My first thought was that Dublin had been taken over by zombies like the ones from Shaun of the Dead. I then realized that it was a homeless person stirring from his evening slumber. I was shocked not because a homeless person was sleeping there; rather, I was assured by a former mayor of Dublin a few years ago that our city only had one homeless person. Sadly, he had been shot and killed by a Dublin police officer just a few months ago. Had he risen from the dead?
Desperately thinking only happy thoughts, I quickly paced back to the paved portion of the Alamo Canal Trail in search of civilization. As my bike tore off at speeds it will likely never see again, I saw some geese scampering off to the side of the canal on my left. That gaggle of geese was definitely not from Blackhawk Plaza or Bishop Ranch. One of the geese turned around and hissed at me as my bike headed back toward Dublin Library. At first I was perplexed by why that one goose would be so angry, but the “OneDublin” sticker on his left wing explained everything.
Once Dublin and Pleasanton extend the Alamo Canal Trail, I hope the Tri-Valley Housing Opportunities Center can use some of its $1M to find Dublin’s lone Homeless Person a home.
This little misadventure reminded me just how fortunate many of us are to have a roof over our heads and more than enough money to support our families. If you feel gratitude and are in a giving mood, please consider sharing some of your abundance with groups like Open Heart Kitchen or the Alameda Food Bank.
6:02 AM on August 4th, 2011
That dude has been there for years. Just shout, “passing through” so you don’t startle him, he’s a bit jumpy. The title of your article is so dark. Are you really in such a suburban bubble as to think Dublin has only one homeless person? Although this conservative area does its best to vote down services for the leas fortunate (God forbid we attract more), I’m quite sure there are more than one homeless persons in the area, either living in cars or couch surfing. Last week I saw an entire family flying a”help”sign outside of tassajara safeway. Just because you can’t see them, or they don’t look homeless doesn’t mean they aren’t. I’m about to be homeless for two or three months until I can save enough for another deposit and first months rent, or until my land lord returns my deposit, which they have 60 days to do. I don’t have $3600 to move into a new place (rent $1600, deposit $2000). Lucky for me I can rent a storage unit and I have friends who will let me couch surf here and in nearby towns…so hello…I guess you’re meeting the other homeless person in Dublin. tell me, is ignorance bliss?
8:57 AM on August 4th, 2011
I think that it is great that you are doing articles like this. I would like to see more of Dublin in pictures and video. There was a blog called VegasRex that used do this in Las Vegas. He used to go to random places off the strip, write articles and take photos and video. Underneath Vegas, there are a maze of flood tunnels, that have hundreds of people living in them. They have decorated them and some of them look like homes underground. Stuff like this is much more interesting than official news, and it gives people a real world view of the city, rather than the glitz and glamor that home developers want everyone to see.
11:26 AM on August 4th, 2011
SLOvespa,
I am a pretty liberal guy, but come on, you are not what most would call homeless- You are looking to move into a $1600 a month place.. That is not someone who needs help financially-Perhaps you should get a 2nd job or look at other ways to earn money-
I’ve you’ve been to other countries, you may have seen real poverty.. We do not have that here, despite your passionate argument–
I have little pity for those asking for “help” with a stupid sign outside of Safeway… If you want money, if you want something, you need to work for it.. How about taking a few dollars someone gives to you and using it to buy some Windex. Offer window washing and I’ll gladly give you $5 or even $10. In the favelas of Rio you will see this. In Mexico I’ll give $5 for a stupid Chicle, because it’s about the effort of doing something, not just hoping for a handout- Just holding out your hand with a cardboard sign? No—
I already give a ton of money to projects funded by my taxes, so yeah, I’m kind of at my limit in terms of helping those that are expecting even more of a handout–
In all other countries, which have real poverty, guess what? You don’t see them all just sitting around, with cardboard signs, asking for money- That is an american thing (sadly). The poor of other countries, who have little to no public assistance programs still find a way to live. Still find a way to work for themselves and provide for themselves and there family- I’m white, and all I can say is that I RARELY see an asian or hispanic person sitting around with a sign, asking for money.. Nope, I just never see it– Same is true for Indians and Persians and others.. Call it racist, but the only people I see waiting for free handouts are indeed white or black. Go to SF, tell me I’m wrong… Yeah, if you look hard you may find someone that is not white or black, but statistically you will see 95% of those begging for free handouts are black or white–
I
1:36 PM on August 7th, 2011
Technically if you have no home you’re homeless, and thus qualify for certain services … how socialist of us — i like it. But you’re right, I’m probably not the stereotypical homeless person in need of those services. However, I think there are a lot of Americans who are only one missed mortgage payment away from homelessness. I am fortunate that I can choose to get another job.
There’s no real need to look at third world countries to see poverty. We do have poverty here. If the shanty towns of other countries look more impoverished it’s because their populations are high and dense and basic services like trash removal and running water are not easily accessible. But we do have real poverty and real hunger issues right here in the USA. Who is to say that the children of the family in front of safeway were not starving, literally? Did they have a place to stay? One man had stopped and was asking these tough questions, but there was a language barrier.
I’ve spent over 5 years in my 20s working with mentally ill adults, many of whom were homeless (thanks to Reagan’s “deinstitutionalization” bill). I’ll have to tell you that my experience with the homeless, although limited to those diagnosed with mental illness, has not a thing to do with race. In fact your statements imply that Asians and Mexicans are harder workers, which is a racist stereotype. Perhaps we should consider family support systems and cultural tendencies of these ethnicities? Who takes care of their elders and disabled at home instead of institutionalizing them?
None of this is pretty, and if I had a choice, I’d just as well look away because it’s easier and my Catholic guilt doesn’t flare up, but it’s real and it’s here, and to say “Dublin had one homeless person, but they were shot by police” just sounds ignorant, and as though we’re looking away instead of looking to help, to humanize the issue.
4:03 PM on August 7th, 2011
Hi SLOvespa – just to ensure full understanding, the comment about Dublin having one homeless person came from a previous mayor and the tone of the statement in the article was meant to be sardonic as opposed to definitive.
Thx, John Z.
6:24 AM on August 28th, 2011
Let your heart bleed somewhere else, socialist. If you feel so badly for this vagrant, have him move in with you in you.
8:46 PM on September 7th, 2011
Agreed, you nailed it
Bunch of BS. It’s the usual liberal crap, blah blah, but not in my back yard. Buy him a meal and have him move in with you, it would be a treat especially if you have young children in the house, hmm reminds me of the case in Utah where the girl disappeared after the family opened up their naive arms to a similar scum bag. Not to mention saves my tax dollars since you will be picking up the tab. Put your money where your mouth is.
10:45 PM on September 29th, 2011
If you ride your bike on the Alamo Canal Trail, you have the pleasure of passing over the top of several vagrant encampments. They’re well hidden. I don’t really seem them as “Homeless” since they’ve made these bridges into their homes. You can try calling Alameda County to have them lured into shelters — except that they don’t want to go. I think most of them love their life of complete freedom. No job, people give you stuff, and what you’re not given you just steal from cars. Not a bad life if that’s your thing.