2009: Homeless deaths going down in San Francisco
Another indication that the city has made progress in dealing with the homeless: the number of homeless people dying on our streets is down significantly since Gavin Newsom became mayor in 2004, when an average of 100 homeless people were dying every year on the streets of San Francisco. Since the city no longer publishes an annual count of these deaths, I've been doing my own tally based on the city's Homeless Death Forms. The 15 deaths in 2009 is the lowest total since I've been following the issue, but, alas, the total jumped up to 41 in 2010. Nevertheless, the city's outreach to the homeless has clearly made a difference.
2009: 15 deaths
Name of Deceased: Brandi PaceDate of Death: August 28, 2009
Place of Death: Outside, open area
Circumstances of Death: Drug-related
Birthdate: Feb. 20, 1981
Sex: Female
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Loren Carver
Date of Death: October 5, 2009
Place of Death: Outside
Circumstances of Death: Mult. Rx’s
Birthdate: October 28, 1953
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Rafael Quiroz
Date of Death: Sept. 17, 2009
Place of Death: SF General
Circumstances of Death: Apparent Heroin Overdose
Birthdate: April 8, 1963
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White Hispanic
Name of Deceased: Christopher Feasel
Date of Death: Oct. 17, 2009
Place of Death: 949 Presidio
Circumstances of Death: Unknown
Birthdate: April 16, 1972
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Maria Krueger
Date of Death: Oct. 24, 2009
Place of Death: 1326 Phelps
Circumstances of Death: Poss Drug Relat
Birthdate: Feb. 19, 1967
Sex: Female
Race/Ethnicity: White Hispanic
Name of Deceased: Robert Brown
Date of Death: Nov. 14, 2009
Place of Death: Outside, Cesar Chavez
Circumstances of Death: Unknown
Birthdate: June 20, 1951
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Black
Name of Deceased: Dace Garreau
Date of Death: Nov. 15, 2009
Place of Death: McAllister Street
Circumstances of Death: Possible OD
Birthdate: Nov. 23, 1988
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Native American/Black
Name of Deceased: Felix Salutregui
Date of Death: Nov. 15, 2009
Place of Death: SFGH
Circumstances of Death: Fall
Birthdate: July 12, 1935
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: John Doe
Date of Death: Aug. 20, 2009
Place of Death: Sewage overflow chamber
Circumstances of Death: Floater
Birthdate: Unknown
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Unknown
Name of Deceased: John Doe
Date of Death: Nov. 12,2009
Place of Death: SF General
Circumstances of Death: Aspiration
Birthdate: Unknown
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: John Doe
Date of Death: Nov. 17, 2009
Place of Death: Outside
Circumstances of Death: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White Hispanic
Name of Deceased: Brett Schoewe
Date of Death: Dec. 12, 2009
Place of Death: 44 5th Street
Circumstances of Death: Poss drug OD
Birthdate: Sept. 18, 1965
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: John Kimball
Date of Death: Dec. 13, 2009
Place of Death: Sidewalk, Powell Street
Circumstances of Death: Unknown
Birthdate: Oct. 3, 1951
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Jane Doe
Date of Death: Dec. 23, 2009
Place of Death: 8th Avenue and Fulton
Circumstances of Death: Unknown
Birthdate: Unknown
Sex: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Unknown
Name of Deceased: Jimmy Jones
Date of Death: Dec. 23, 2009
Place of Death: Stark Alley
Circumstances of Death: Found in Alley
Birthdate: Jan. 31, 1954
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
2010: 41 deaths
Name of Deceased: Catherine Hinton
Date of Death: Jan. 7, 2010
Place of Death: SF General
Circumstances of Death: Drug Related
Birthdate: May 19, 1958
Sex: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Black
Name of Deceased: Michael Lewis
Date of Death: Jan. 10, 2010
Place of Death: SF General
Circumstances of Death: Hypothermia
Birthdate: May 28, 1963
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Beatrice Powers
Date of Death: Jan. 14, 2010
Place of Death: St. Francis Hospital
Circumstances of Death: Unknown
Birthdate: Sept. 19, 1961
Sex: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Black
Name of Deceased: Ramona Funes
Date of Death: Jan. 17, 2010
Place of Death: Outside
Circumstances of Death: Natural vs. Drug
Birthdate: March 26, 1937
Sex: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Asian Filipino
Name of Deceased: Jane Doe
Date of Death: Feb. 13, 2010
Place of Death: Van Dyke Ave.
Circumstances of Death: RV Fire
Birthdate: Unknown
Sex: Female
Race/Ethnicity: Unknown
Name of Deceased: Jesus Villarreal
Date of Death: Feb. 13, 2010
Place of Death: St. Francis Emergency
Circumstances of Death: Poss Hypthermia
Birthdate: July 7, 1945
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White Hispanic
Name of Deceased: Nicholas Chaykovsky
Date of Death: Feb. 18, 2010
Place of Death: SFGH
Circumstances of Death: Suicide, Firearm
Birthdate: March 20, 1948
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Eric Poole
Date of Death: Feb. 19, 2010
Place of Death: Van Dyke
Circumstances of Death: Poss Drugs
Birthdate: Nov. 10, 1951
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Black
Name of Deceased: Anthowne Kelly
Date of Death: Feb. 27, 2010
Place of Death: I80 at 4th Street
Circumstances of Death: Hit & Run
Birthdate: Nov. 10, 1989
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Black
Name of Deceased: Darby Childress
Date of Death: March 1, 2010
Place of Death: Columbus @ Green St.
Circumstances of Death: Found on Street
Birthdate: Nov. 13, 1955
Sex: Female
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Patrick Sullivan
Date of Death: March 14, 2010
Place of Death: IFO Marina Middle School
Circumstances of Death:
Birthdate: Dec. 24, 1950
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Gary Bjune
Date of Death: March 15, 2010
Place of Death: St. Lukes
Circumstances of Death: App. Natural
Birthdate: July 1, 1965
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: George Schaeffer
Date of Death: March 19, 2010
Place of Death: SFGH ER
Circumstances of Death: Auto vs. Ped
Birthdate: Oct. 26, 1956
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Charles McCue
Date of Death: March 20, 2010
Place of Death: In front of 3368 19th
Circumstances of Death:
Birthdate: Sept. 19, 1958
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Norman Calande
Date of Death: April 4, 2010
Place of Death: Open lot
Circumstances of Death:
Birthdate: Nov. 13, 1943
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Gregorio Dejesus
Date of Death: April 30, 2010
Place of Death: Homeless Encampment
Circumstances of Death: Decomposed
Birthdate: Sept. 9, 1977
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Chris Patnode
Date of Death: May 1, 2010
Place of Death: St. Francis Hospital
Circumstances of Death:
Birthdate: Feb. 8, 1962
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Robert Bruns
Date of Death: May 10, 2010
Place of Death: IFO 720 LaPlaya
Circumstances of Death: In Public View
Birthdate: Aug. 3, 1943
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Thomas Ritchie
Date of Death: May 15, 2010
Place of Death: 684 Ellis Street
Circumstances of Death: Poss OD
Birthdate: Aug. 2, 1967
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: John Doe
Date of Death: May 16, 2010
Place of Death: In Car IFO 850 La Playa
Circumstances of Death: Decomposed
Birthdate: Dec. 26, 1960
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Anthony Bouttie
Date of Death: May 17, 2010
Place of Death: 525 Fifth Street
Circumstances of Death:
Birthdate: Dec. 12, 1949
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Black
Name of Deceased: Gregory Melancon
Date of Death: June 1, 2010
Place of Death: IFO 121 7th Street
Circumstances of Death: Found Down
Birthdate: July 19, 1954
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Alvaro Aguilera
Date of Death: July 1, 2010
Place of Death: Sidewalk
Circumstances of Death:
Birthdate: Feb. 13, 1954
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Paul Schneider
Date of Death: June 18, 2010
Place of Death: St. Francis Hospital
Circumstances of Death:
Birthdate: Dec. 29, 1963
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Jane Doe
Date of Death: July 16, 2010
Place of Death: Parking Lot 2361 Lombard
Circumstances of Death: Jump vs Fall
Birthdate:
Sex: Female
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Sean Markoya
Date of Death: July 21, 2010
Place of Death: 1040 Folsom
Circumstances of Death: Poss. Drug Related
Birthdate: May 10, 1979
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: James Strouse
Date of Death: July 23, 2010
Place of Death: 373 Ellis
Circumstances of Death:
Birthdate: April 20, 1961
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Joseph Swim
Date of Death: July 27, 2010
Place of Death: SW Corner of Baker
Circumstances of Death: Stabbing
Birthdate: Jan. 5, 1977
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Thomas Harley
Date of Death: July 29, 2010
Place of Death: IFO 89 Rizal
Circumstances of Death: IPV
Birthdate: May 26, 1952
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Thomas Marinez
Date of Death: July 31, 2010
Place of Death: Parking Lot @ 1501 Lom
Circumstances of Death: App. Jump
Birthdate: July 20, 1957
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Michael Ponder
Date of Death: Aug. 28, 2010
Place of Death: North Side of Kezar Stadium
Circumstances of Death: PC 187
Birthdate: Nov. 16, 1956
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Amy Mustain
Date of Death: Sept. 14, 2010
Place of Death: 2032 Mission Street
Circumstances of Death: Unknown
Birthdate: Dec. 16, 1972
Sex: Female
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Thomas Race
Date of Death: Oct. 12, 2010
Place of Death: SF General Hospital
Circumstances of Death: Indigent
Birthdate: Nov. 24, 1947
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Black
Name of Deceased: Walter Bulger
Date of Death: Oct. 4, 2010
Place of Death: SF General
Circumstances of Death: Indigent
Birthdate: July 8, 1943
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Eric Robertson
Date of Death: Nov. 10, 2010
Place of Death: Fulton & Great Highway
Circumstances of Death: App. Natural
Birthdate: June 3, 1965
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: John Doe
Date of Death: Nov. 14, 2010
Place of Death: Approx. 50 feet south of Midd
Circumstances of Death: Found in bushes
Birthdate:
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Eugene Abernathy
Date of Death: Nov. 20, 2010
Place of Death: IFO 2128 Mission Street
Circumstances of Death: GSW PC 187
Birthdate: Oct. 27, 1950
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Black
Name of Deceased: Larry Hunt
Date of Death: Nov. 22, 2010
Place of Death: Cyril Magnin at Market
Circumstances of Death: Found Dead Outside
Birthdate: May 25, 1944
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Martin Mullaney
Date of Death: Nov. 23, 2010
Place of Death: IFO Public Restrooms
Circumstances of Death: Public View
Birthdate: April 1, 1960
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: Jessie Wright
Date of Death: Nov. 29, 2010
Place of Death: IFO 520 Montgomery St.
Circumstances of Death: App. Natural
Birthdate: March 2, 1949
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Other
Name of Deceased: Richard Hines
Date of Death: Nov. 29, 2010
Place of Death: Lombard Plaza Motel
Circumstances of Death: Solitary
Birthdate: Aug. 2, 1945
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: White
Name of Deceased: John Doe
Date of Death: Dec. 17, 2010
Place of Death: St. Francis Hospital
Circumstances of Death: Natural Death
Birthdate: Unknown
Sex: Male
Race/Ethnicity: Asian
Labels: Homeless Deaths, Homelessness
posted by Rob Anderson @ 10:53 AM
17 comments
17 Comments:
"Homeless deaths going down in San Francisco"
I am sure if we try hard we can get the deaths to go up again.
What an inane comment.
Thanks for blogging the list of deaths, Rob. It puts a human face on the deaths of people that many of us, myself included, often see as a bit sub-human and try to ignore. It's a reminder that for all of their obvious and non-obvious issues, these are human beings, with names, families, etc. We should work to bring the number of untimely deaths down further.
Daviator, if you've been following this blog, all Rob wants is these people to take the city up on a 1 way ticket to somewhere else. Now, he states that they come here because the services here are much better than they are elsewhere - so he wants them to go away to where quite frankly they are more likely to die. Nice fella that Rob.
What Daviator is learning is how nasty people who disagree with me can be. Anonyomous is probably just another "progressive" bike zealot.
As a matter of record, I started writing about SF's homeless problem---mostly in letters to the editor---before I started writing about our Bike Nut Problem. I've never written or even thought that homeless people in SF "come here because the services here are much better than they are elsewhere." But, like on the bike/traffic issue, my critics aren't very honest and/or they aren't very good readers. I suspect that they hate what I write so much that it makes it hard for them to read this blog.
I assume that people who end up homeless here come to SF for a lot of reasons, but they surely do keep coming. Anon's "one-way ticket to somewhere else" is a reference to my partiality to the city's Homeward Bound Program, which provides the homeless with a bus ticket to "somewhere" else---their hometown or wherever there's someone on the other end to receive them and give them shelter. It's strictly a voluntary program, and those running the program make sure of that before they put them on the bus.
Anon's assumption is that that program is somehow heartless and inhumane, even though it has resulted in getting 5,376 homeless people off our streets at a minimal cost. Does Anon think we should either let them continue to live on our streets and in our parks? Or should we set them all up in an apartment and provide them with food stamps and General Assistance? He/she doesn't say, but the implication is that there's some obvious better solution. Funny that he/she neglects to provide us with that alternative.
My history with the homeless issue in SF: When I moved back to the city from San Diego in 1995, I was shocked to see how many homeless people were living on the streets. I had lived in SF off and on since 1961, and homelessness had never been anywhere near as bad as it was then.
Even more shocking was how the city's progressive political community seemed to accept the reality of more than 100 homeless people dying on our streets with equanimity. Their response? Instead of advocating a serious attempt to get people off the streets, they supported Food Not Bombs and the Biotic Baking Brigade, the pie-throwers! It was all political theater and a half-assed Marxist theory, the implication being that there was nothing much we could do about the problem, that it was inherent in our wicked capitalist system.
Newsom proved that they were wrong, and they've been sullen and resentful ever since, which is why I'm the only blogger in the city who writes about the issue regularly. It's no coincidence that you didn't see any coverage of the homeless count in the Bay Guardian, the SF Weekly, or Fog City, etc.
When Gavin Newsom came along with Care Not Cash in 2002, they freaked out and accused him of waging war on the poor. As my post on the homeless count indicates, Gavin Newsom did the city a huge favor by initiating practical, humane programs to deal with what at the time was a serious and growing problems on the streets of the city. Those programs---Care Not Cash, Homeward Bound, Project Homeless Connect, etc.---have continued to serve the homeless and the city well.
The homeless issue was the beginning of my political education on the realities of politics in San Francisco. I asked myself, If progressives can be so wrong about such an important issue, what else are they wrong about? The answer: just about everything, including the bike fantasy and traffic, planning and development.
Hence, the nasty, anonymous sniping I often get in the comments on this blog.
thanks for putting a face on the plight of these poor, unfortunate, often forgotten, people.
"Anon's assumption is that that program is somehow heartless and inhumane, even though it has resulted in getting 5,376 homeless people off our streets at a minimal cost."
This encapuslates Rob Anderson in a nutshell. He scolds someone for calling this program heartless and humane, and suffixes it with a statement that should normally contradict Anon's assumption. But getting 5,376 homeless people off OUR streets does not imply we get them off ALL streets. All it implies is that we made it someone else's problem. The merits of that can be debated, but don't correlate sending them somewhere else with being an advocate for the homeless.
Rob doesn't care about helping the homeless - except that he wants to help them get the hell out of San Francisco.
Spin away Rob.
Hard to believe you're that stupid, but it's what I've come to expect from San Francisco progressives when discussing other issues, like the bike fantasy and high-speed rail.
So we're supposed to take life-long responsibility for every homeless person we find in our city? You must be one of the progressives who negotiates labor contracts with the unions: gather up tax revenues in big bails and throw it off the back of the train, preferably a high-speed train.
If we put a homeless person on the bus to a destination where he/she will be met by someone to help them---determining that beforehand is an important part of the program---that's somehow inhumane? Letting them continue to live on our streets can be death sentence, which you apparently agree is unacceptable. But we are supposed to commit to keeping every homeless person who ends up in SF off "all streets" everywhere?
That's so dumb I bet if you ran that plan by the DCCC even they would have some doubts about it.
I think it's unacceptable to allow people to die on our streets, and sending them back home or to some other friendly destination on the bus seems like one good way to avoid that.
The city has already accepted responsibility for housng and caring for thousands of homeless people. How many more should we do that for and where are we going to get the money to do it? Typical prog self-righteousness with fiscal obliviousness.
I think the Homeward Bound program is about as compassionate AND practical as you can get. It gets people back with family or loved ones who actually CARE about that person and may be in a position to help them more than a zillion "I'm-only-paid-to-care" social workers ever could.
Yes, I'm sure that in some cases, those people simply end up homeless somewhere else, that's inevitable. I don't have a problem with that, there's no reason we need to be the mecca for all the country's homeless and foot all of their bills.
I don't think there's anything compassionate about policies that intentionally enable people to continue to harm themselves and to live on the streets. We need to help those who are able to regain self-sufficiency do so, and help those who cannot in other ways appropriate to their situation (in other words, it varies by individual.)
I'm a proud liberal, but can't understand the so-called Progressives who think it's somehow compassionate to put free cash in the hands of people whose very situation proves that they can't make wise decisions about how to spend it. Many, if not most, of our homeless have addictions to alcohol or drugs. Putting cash in their hands simply makes us the enablers that allow them to continue to feed their addictions. A little tough love is warranted to actually HELP these people (some of them need a lot of help, money being the least of it) and sending them back to people who care about them, voluntarily, is a very positive thing.
I think the Homeward Bound program is about as compassionate AND practical as you can get. It gets people back with family or loved ones who actually CARE about that person and may be in a position to help them more than a zillion "I'm-only-paid-to-care" social workers ever could.
--> so what you are saying is that "Care not Cash" simply puts the homeless into the hands of people who could give a shit whether they live or die?
--> so what you are saying is that "Care not Cash" simply puts the homeless into the hands of people who could give a shit whether they live or die?
No, i'm not saying that the people whose jobs it is to serve the homeless population are uncaring. Quite the opposite, for the most part. But at the end of the day, their options for getting people into services are limited - and the city workers go home at 5 pm, for the most part. Family is a 24/7 thing, not a 9 to 5 job.
Some of the homeless probably need to be in a treatment facility of some kind, but putting people in a facility that can help them, against their will, isn't something the city can (or probably should) easily do.
Homeward Bound isn't a solution to our homeless issues, but it's a valuable tool in the arsenal.
Absolutely right. Even good people can't do their best if the policy and the program are flawed. Gavin Newsom, against united "progressive" opposition in SF---with the important exception of Angela Alioto!---has put the city in a much better position to deal with homelessness, which evidently is now a chronic national problem afflicting every city in the country.
Thank you for posting the homeless deaths. I found out my one time best friends who disappeared back to the streets died in 2008 from a fight. His name was Steve "Stone" Yarger. One of the nicest people you could ever meet. I miss him... Love You Stone! Stay cool up there! See you when I get there. BN 09/11/2011
A friend was searching through some old books and found a note from Brett Schoewe. I did a search and tragically realized he was listed on the deaths in 2009. I first hoped it was not him, but confirmed the birthdate. By any chance do you have any additional information on the case. Such as where he was buried, and so on.
I get the Homeless Death forms from the Department of Public Health. Contact them for more information.
Brandi pace was my best friend and she DID NOT die out on the streets imbecile. I brought her inside cause I knew her health was not very well at the time. I wanted her to rest and eat and when I woke up in the middle of the night to check on her she was cold. I hate seeing people write about things they observe from the warm safe confines of their desk. It makes me wonder about how many other inconsistencies there are in this article. You make it seem as if someone just happened upon Brandi in the night which couldn't be farther from the truth. She died from pneumonia that she refused to go to the hospital for. Her whole body swelled up as her system shut down. So no it was no overdose or she didn't die of drugs in some alley somewhere......ass
As noted in the above comment, I get this information from the SF Department of Public Health.
I was trying to verify my husband's niece Maria Krueger's date of death, and so was googling her name and the year I thought she had died, 2009. I found your piece about deaths going down in San Francisco:
https://district5diary.blogspot.com/2011/06/homeless-deaths-going-down-in-san.html
Thank you for the piece. Knowing that her life and death has been acknowledged somewhere means a lot, even in a small way. And your work bringing attention to the issue of homelessness is very much appreciated.
Maria was a troubled young person, loved by her family, who had a gorgeous, smart daughter whom I just spent the weekend with.
Keep up your good work on behalf of the homeless and disenfranchised of our country.
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