Bismarck Tribune - North Dakota News - Death highlights need for shelter

Death highlights need for shelter

Jan 29, 2007 - 03:59:31 CST

FARGO (AP) - The death of a Moorhead, Minn., man whose body was found at a park here, has stepped up efforts to open a local emergency shelter for homeless people impaired by alcohol or drugs.

Oliver Eagleman, 55, was homeless and intoxicated, according to preliminary toxicology results. His body was found on Jan. 9 at Island Park.

Eagleman's family and friends said he had been turned away in the past from local homeless shelters when he showed up with alcohol on his breath.

Fargo city officials say an emergency shelter is close to becoming a reality.

"We'll open the door the minute we can," said Linda Coates, a Fargo city commissioner and emergency shelter advocate. "We're getting very close" to reaching an agreement on a suitable property.

She declined to give the address until an agreement is reached, but said it would be near a detox center.

For safety reasons, local homeless shelters won't allow guests who are under the influence of alcohol or other drugs.

That prohibition has fallen especially hard on American Indians in Fargo-Moorhead, said Sandi Berlin, who runs the Ray of Hope drop-in center and serves on Fargo's Native American Commission.

"In the past, we've had many people from the Native American community who've been turned away from shelters because of drinking," she said.

"It's not the first time," she said. "I've known people who have been lost. People just close their eyes to it."

Health statistics from North Dakota and Minnesota show that American Indians die from exposure at higher rates than the general population.

In North Dakota, death records indicate 18 American Indians died of exposure from 1980 to 2005, the most recent figures available. They comprised 9 percent of exposure deaths, nearly double their share of the population, 4.9 percent.

In Minnesota, American Indians accounted for 7 percent of exposure deaths since 1980 and 1.1 percent of the general population.

Capt. Tod Dahle of the Fargo Police Department said officers find a safe place for intoxicated homeless people when weather is a threat whenever they are aware of the problem.

"When it's critical, if it's a matter of survival, we're going to find a place for them," he said.

Still, some homeless people who are chronic alcoholics shun shelters or detox, where rules and restrictions apply, Dahle added. And in those cases, when police aren't made aware of the person's plight, tragedy can result.

"Frankly, with our climate, it's surprising it doesn't happen more often," Dahle said. "Obviously, it's a constant struggle for us."

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Comments

Gardog wrote on Jan 30, 2007 6:08 AM:

" A warm place to sleep is pretty basic, but a 'jail cell' is not the safest place, either, since it is typicaly not a cell but a bullpen with a large number of people in one enclosure. Someone who is intoxicated just becomes a potential victim for the others in the holding pen with them. We need to have a better approach than jail for those we cannot put into general shelters. It is not safe to put an intoxicated person in with other vulnerable people, such as families with children, in a typical shelter, but there has to be something other than shucking them outsice to freeze to death. "

Every Year wrote on Jan 29, 2007 11:19 PM:

" In Bismarck, there is a function put on by the homeless shelter, where regular old domicile-lovin' citizens camp out on a cold night to raise money and awareness of the homeless problem. To Oral CEO, you should participate in the camp out, before making such callous judgments. "

Where's The Compassion? wrote on Jan 29, 2007 3:33 PM:

" To: Oracle CEO wrote on January 29, 2007 2:53 PM . . . . Boy, that's what we like to see - compassion for your fellow humans here in North Dakota. Prevent Homelessness and you will be able to curtail and/or eliminate many of the vices that people abuse in order to just survive from . . . . day to day. You need to get out more often! Volunteer at the soup kitchen! "

Oracle CEO wrote on Jan 29, 2007 2:53 PM:

" 200 exposure deaths over 25 years including 18 Native Americans. Is this even in the top 50 causes of death for North Dakota? Why waste money in this area? The larger problems are smoking, over-eating/inactivity, and alcohol/drugs. We should continue to focus on the thousands that die each year because of these causes rather than the ten the die each year from exposure. "

Down and Out Neglected wrote on Jan 29, 2007 1:58 PM:

" Some government officials really "dropped the ball" on this incident. How many more people are going to die needlessly before better housing is established for the disabled and mentally challenged? Authorities cannot just "sweep them under the rug." It not a case of "out of sight, out of mind." "

dco wrote on Jan 29, 2007 12:26 PM:

" I used to live there and am surprised there arent many more cases of this..and yes the authorities should be involved in a last resort, life or death situation..all alcoholics or mentally impaired people cant be saved at once from their problems, but at least a warm place to sleep should be available "

Concerned wrote on Jan 29, 2007 8:12 AM:

" An intoxicated individual that is turned away from a shelter should be permitted to go to a jail cell. People who a shelter is nervous about should be given the option to be picked up by a policeman, if they are not able to go to the jail themselves. Why should criminals be the only ones warm and well fed. Most street people are hiding mental impairment by self medicating with alcohol. A night in a warm cell and a maybe a ride to some detox facility? If no one else is available to "check if the person can be helped" then certainly a policeman should be involved. Police should at least know of the "shelter rejection problem" when it happens. Sometimes a desperate person will break into a vehicle or building. When a policeman can prevent a problem that is good. "

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