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Tues. 22nd Vigil for homeless man who froze to death
by Kvn
Tuesday, Mar. 15, 2005 at 10:19 AM
~ ~ ~ VIGIL FOR THE HOMELESS ~ ~ ~ Greater Worcester Friends of the Homeless Vigil, Front of City Hall 7pm, Tuesday, March 22nd Robert C. Patricks, 46, was found dead Wednesday morning in the garage of St. John’s Church on Temple Street.
. . -------- T&G Article --- Tuesday, March 15, 2005 ---------- Vigil to focus on homeless Man’s death stirs call for aid By Martin Luttrell TELEGRAM & GAZETTE STAFF WORCESTER WORCESTER— Friends of a homeless man who died sleeping in a church garage last week say there are not enough services for the homeless, and they plan to hold a vigil in front of City Hall a week from today to remember him and raise awareness of the need for services. Robert C. Patricks, 46, was found dead Wednesday morning in the garage of St. John’s Church on Temple Street. The state medical examiner has not determined a cause of death, police said. William McNeil, president of Greater Worcester Friends of the Homeless, said he is organizing a vigil to coincide with the City Council’s 7 p.m. meeting. He expects a number of the city’s homeless and representatives of local organizations to attend. “I have a number of organizations I’ll call,” he said. “There are a lot of supporters on the street. The timing may be a problem,” he said, because the People in Peril shelter on Main Street requires its residents to be inside by 8 p.m. or risk not being allowed in. He said he had tried in vain to get assistance for Mr. Patricks and Joseph E. Hickey in October when he learned that they were sleeping in a garage without heat or plumbing. Mr. McNeil said he spoke with Rev. John F. Madden, pastor of the church, but nothing was done to improve conditions there. Rev. Madden could not be reached by telephone yesterday. Mr. McNeil said he also spoke with someone in the city’s Department of Code Enforcement a couple of weeks before Mr. Patricks died and was told that office would look into it. “I told her it was unsanitary,” he said. “She said she would do something.” Neither City Manager Michael V. O’Brien nor Jill C. Dagilis, commissioner of code enforcement, could be reached by telephone for comment yesterday. He said that Wednesday, the day after a major snowstorm, he learned from another homeless person of Mr. Patricks’ death. Both Mr. Patricks and Mr. Hickey used to live at the PIP shelter, but stopped staying there because of concern for their safety, Mr. McNeil said. Carlos Cunningham, executive director of the shelter, said that since he began his duties there a number of security improvements have been made at the shelter to weed out those who might prey on others. Security monitors have been installed inside and outside the building, and clients are held to so-called behavior contracts that include consequences for unacceptable behavior, he said. “We’re trying to change the mindset,” he said. “We want people to know there’s hope, that this is a better place, a safe place to get back on their feet.” Mr. McNeil, who uses his diner, Bill’s Place, to feed the homeless and as a makeshift shelter when the weather is severe, said both Mr. Patricks and Mr. Hickey have come to his weekly feeding program for the homeless. He said plans he was working on with the Salvation Army for a shelter at its Main Street property fell through. “The city needs another shelter,” he said. “A dry one,” he said, meaning a shelter that does not accept clients who are using drugs or alcohol. The PIP takes people who are using drugs or alcohol. Martin Luttrell can be reached by e-mail at mluttrell@telegram.com.
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