By Vernice Yeung / California Watch
Across California, there are hundreds of neighborhoods like Parklawn - poor, dense communities that lack basic public services and have been the victim of years of government neglect. Photo by David Bacon.
Nearly every day, Modesto Junior College student Arleen Hernandez battles an aging septic tank that backs up into her toilet and shower, bringing with it "bits of paper and chunks of mold."
When her parents moved to Parklawn in 1986, they didn't realize the extent to which their new neighborhood, an island of Stanislaus County land within the city of Modesto, lacks basic public services. Parklawn is not connected to nearby city sewer lines, which means Hernandez and her neighbors flush their sewage into overloaded septic tanks.
There is only one short strip of sidewalk along the southern edge of the community and not enough storm drains. During heavy rains, children dodge traffic in flooded streets on their way to school in the neighborhood that locals call "No Man's Land."