When the Cold Weather Becomes Deadly
The frigid weather will continue today, tomorrow, and perhaps into Thursday. And if you're in the Denver area, expect another smattering of snow. Today's high temperature will hit about 12 degrees but will feel more like -14 when blasts of wind whip through the streets (via The Denver Post).
For Colorado's homeless walking the streets, these are brutal---even deadly---times. Police in Colorado Springs are investigating two overnight deaths, including one of an elderly man found lying outside a suburban home covered in snow, notes the Gazette.
Over the years, the Springs has put in place various get-tough measures for the homeless, including a recent no-camping law that would have displaced scores of people living along creeks, parks, and other public places. But the Colorado Springs City Council has shelved the idea, calling it unworkable for the moment, writes the Gazette.
Chief Richard Myers offers a sobering assessment of the city's efforts to address homelessness in the criminal justice system thus far: "As with most of the homeless-related strategies that rise to the level of ordinances, they are really all simply treating symptoms of a larger problem, one that we as a community have yet to deal with effectively, realistically."
Comments
Submitted by ohwilleke (not verified) on Tue, 2009-12-08 14:18.
From the Gazette story, one is left with the impression that the elderly man slipped or was shoveling snow or some such outside his own home, rather than homeless, although the facts are vague. Suburbs aren't known for wandering vagrants.
The second death, a body found in a dumpster, could be a homeless person seeking shelter who froze, but could also be the disposal of the body of someone who was murdered or OD'd on drugs.
