Talk at the Day Center today focused on the death of a homeless man who was a periodic guest at the Center. His body was found in the desert by some of the people we serve, who reported it to police. The sparse story in the paper said only that the man had been attending a "party" in the desert over the weekend and police considered his death a homicide.
Some party.
There was a lot more information circulating here, including a graphic description of the body and some other details attributed to the police that were probably not from their investigation but may prove true anyway. What is true is the victim had trouble with alcohol that caused him to lose his family, his home and his livelihood. He died near the last place he worked, where he was fired for being drunk on the job.
One man has already been arrested in connection with his death.
David didn't really stand out at the Center. Though I know a lot of guests by name and would probably recognize his face, I can't place him. I wish I could. One of few things we can do reliably when we volunteer is to see each person who passes through our doors as an individual human being — the opposite of what the homeless typically encounter on the street.
But at noon, we close, and the streets never do.
