Authorities don’t know how long a homeless man in Central Long Beach had been dead when someone called 911 Sunday evening, but when first-responders arrived, they found him lifeless on a couch that had been left on the sidewalk.
The man had been seen around the area recently. One person told a VoiceWaves reporter that the man had been “drinking in the sun” earlier in the day. Another person said the man slept on the couch the night before, according to VoiceWaves.
He was 64-year-old Michael Eugene Bartlett, said Sarah Ardalani of the coroner’s office. Bartlett was homeless and died from natural causes, according to authorities.
But in Long Beach, where it’s not uncommon in some areas to see people sleeping on the sidewalk or a grassy patch, the very public death raises a question: What’s the line between respecting the privacy of someone experiencing homelessness and looking out for their well-being? What should you do when you think someone living on the street might need medical help?
“Call [911] just like if it was you or me,” suggested Steve Be Cotte, outreach manager for the Downtown Long Beach Alliance and president of the Long Beach Area Coalition for the Homeless.
Be Cotte said if someone looks unresponsive, and they are wearing many layers of clothing during warmer weather, try to rouse them by saying, “Hello, are you OK?”
“It’s so important, especially in the heat,” he said, noting that other underlying issues like alcoholism can be heightened by extreme heat. It reached the 90s in Long Beach the day Bartlett was found dead.
Tourist guides employed by the downtown alliance—often seen riding Segways through the city center—sometimes have to call paramedics after approaching a homeless person, according to Be Cotte. A significant number of times those incidents were serious enough to warrant help, he said.
LBFD’s New HEART Team Aims to Help Curb Homelessness One Call at a Time
Authorities receive over 5,000 911 calls every year for these types of scenarios, said Joel Davis, one half of the city’s homeless outreach firefighter-paramedic team whose job it is to approach homeless people, whether or not someone calls it in.
Incidents like the one on Sunday are extremely rare, Davis said. Most often, the person is just sleeping.
“If an individual is concerned for the well-being of another, we suggest contacting 911 and allowing fire or police to assess the situation,” Davis said.
Asking people whether they are OK from a position that doesn’t infringe on their personal space or seem threatening is also acceptable, according to Davis.
When the HEART Team approaches people experiencing homelessness, they first assess the person for medical issues and then for mental health.
The team then attempts to offer assistance and get the person connected with the city’s Multi-Service Center or directly link him or her to places that provide services like rehab or mental health care.
“If the individual refuses, then we make a point to follow up again on another day in the hope that they will be ready at some point,” Davis said.
Ten Years In, Long Beach’s Quality of Life Team Continues Mission to Help the Homeless
The city recently announced new plans to address homelessness in the next fiscal year budget by beefing up the HEART Team and adding four new police officers assigned to quality-of-life issues. Those officers also conduct outreach with the city’s homeless population.
Those positions are funded through the 2016 local sales tax measure. The city is also expected to receive funding from a countywide measure voters approved in 2017.
Michael Lozano of VoiceWaves contributed to this report. VoiceWaves is a Long Beach youth-led journalism and media-training project. The youth, ages 16-24, are learning to report, write, and create digital journalism content. To learn more, visit Voicewaves.org