If you have been on Highway 59 and Santa Fe you might have noticed Merced’s “tent row” homeless encampment.
Over the last few months the homeless encampment has continued to grow – creating a harsh reality of Merced’s homeless problem.
Just this month a dumpster was put in front of the homeless encampment. According to one transient in the area, it seemed to be working. He tells Merced Daily, “There was an entire row of trash on one side, picked up, and put in the dumpster.” The man also told Merced Daily he was issued a citation and to go to another area a few feet away.
Merced County’s neighbors, Stanislaus County and Modesto, have found a temporary solution allowing hundreds of transients including, a few children, to move to a nearby park where they have port-a-potties, dumpsters, and outreach and engagement team located around the clock. The public calls that area “Tent City.”
However, The Merced County Rescue Mission could be creating some solutions. In December 2018, the Mission’s $240,000 purchase of 5 acres of county land on MLK Way/ Highway 59 could possibly house several  homeless people.
