North Franklin Street is a lonely place to spend one”s last day on earth, especially just before Christmas. The news from the Fort Bragg Police Department that a 59-year-old local transient was found dead Dec. 21 behind the old Polly Cleaners building upset the street folks who wander this lonely industrial zone.
Exposure? We don”t know yet.
As of press time, there was no official word on his name or the circumstances. People inventoried the familiar faces of several dozen homeless people we see on this end of town. My business shares our warehouse space with The Glass Dharma, which produces beautiful glass drinking straws.
Next door to us is the Food Bank, then the AT&T yard and then the long-gone dry cleaners, now a warehouse. We know dozens of homeless people and often wonder where they go and how they are when the rains beat down; the Food Bank is the lifeline for far more.
I had chased two people from living on or in front of the docks of the building in the two nights before the death. I found a lump in my throat. One, a court referral who is working off his community service, had moved onto a sofa somebody dumped out in front of the Food Bank
“No, it wasn”t him, he is accounted for,” said Food Bank Executive Director Nancy Severy.
Although Hospitality House is available to the homeless, some don”t want to go alcohol- and dog-free. Others get kicked out for violating the rules there.
Homeless people can often be found sleeping in the cemetery or in nooks and crannies along South Franklin, especially in the area overlooking the south side of Pudding Creek dam.
They are ubiquitous on the street, but not so much at the Food Bank.
“Some community members have the perception that we serve only homeless; this is not the case. The homeless are only about 15 percent of our clientele. The rest have shelter and they may be seniors, families with children, couples, single people all kinds of people” said Severy.
Over the past five years, the Food Bank has made numerous revisions to help provide for the homeless. When I started this series over five years ago, I often found cans and large vegetables strewn along the Pudding Creek tracks. Now, the “Homeless Food Bag” is much focused, and we find less on the ground.
“We call them “camping bags” as they are suited to folks with little or no cooking or refrigeration facilities. These bags have things like beef jerky, pop-top canned fruit, dried fruit, peanuts, peanut butter, crackers, granola bars, and canned tuna. Homeless clients can choose a camping bag or they can choose our regular commodities bag, if they have a way to cook,” said Severy.
I went out Sunday night before Christmas to find a homeless person to interview. I found three men and one woman, all walking alone, but none wanted their name used. Many of those I see all the time are obviously paranoid. Several spout Bible verses and talk about the devil, others are certain conspirators are closing in.
An interesting notion is held by folks in other parts of town who think the homeless should just “get a job.” This is a very common truism on talk radio, too. As a person who ran a nonprofit employment program that employed the homeless and other in temporary jobs, my first question is who says this, would you hire these folks?
Only about 25 percent are even qualified to work for us, much less anyone else. Some can”t make it through more than two hours without mental health episodes, voices, or a toke. Hire them?
Homeless people need help from the Food Bank to keep food on the table and Social Services to get them into housing and get ready to work. Some don”t have the mental health to ever work, but often do find their way up the ladder with the help of the local network of assistance.
“I wish I had some graceful words to answer folks who feel that the Food Bank is enabling people who should be “pulling themselves by their bootstraps” and being self-sufficient,” said Severy.
Mendocino County and Fort Bragg both have much higher numbers of homeless people than the state average, which about 1 percent. The county average was nearly 6 percent, the Mendocino County Homeless Census found in 2005. Smaller counts since have found similar percentages. The 2011 Mendocino County Homeless Census and Survey identified a total count of 1,456 homeless persons.
How do people become homeless and hungry?
“It doesn”t seem like such a stretch to me that any of us could end up needing the help of the Food Bank. This sounds pretty trite, but “it could happen to any of us” or “there but for the grace of God…” comes to mind,” said Severy.
People in recovery and with mental health issues can be fine employees, but they need time, housing, food and a routine to succeed with work.
“Not everyone has been able to set aside a financial cushion adequate to protect us from all that life can throw our way. A major illness could wipe out our life savings. We could lose our jobs and not be able to find another one right away in this tough economic climate. Or, honestly, we could make simply poor life choices. I know that I sure as heck hope someone will be there to help me if/when I need it. Recovery, recuperation, getting one”s ducks back in a row, whatever it all takes time. In the meanwhile, people have to eat. I don”t know that any of us is qualified to judge who is worthy of help and who is not,” said Severy.
Season of Sharing
Since the 1996 holiday season, the Advocate-News and The Mendocino Beacon have raised roughly $284,000 through the “Season of Sharing fundraiser.
“The Food Bank addresses the most basic problem facing hundreds of individuals and families hunger,” said Publisher Sharon DiMauro. ” The goal is to give the Food Bank money it can use year-round, not just during the holidays.”
Checks should be written out to The Mendocino County Community Foundation (CRMC), who administers the fundraiser free of charge as a courtesy to the newspapers.
Mail them to the Advocate-News at P.O. Box 1188, Fort Bragg, CA 95437 or bring them to the newspaper office, located at 450 N. Franklin St., Fort Bragg, just north of City Hall.
The fundraiser runs through Dec. 31. The names of all donors who contribute through the newspapers will be printed each week, unless they request to remain anonymous. If you have any questions, please call us at 964-5642.
This week”s donations come from .
This week”s donors are Susan Larkin and James Ehlers, Alice Einhorn, Craig Blencowe, Susan Holli, Frank DiMauro, Tom and Julee Estes and Jen Estes, Coast Women”s Poker Club, Bruce and Roslyn Moore, Margaret and Karl Kramp for Jim and Sharon DiMauro, D”Ann Finley and one anonymous. The new total is $4,441.
