Homeless Man Dies at Sherman Oaks Library

On Sunday, August 28, my family and I were driving by the Sherman Oaks Branch Library when we noticed a LAPD unit and the coroner’s truck parked on Moorpark.  A quick beat later, we saw a white sheet covering a body with a Police Officer standing watch right by the library entrance.

It’s one thing to see dead bodies covered in sheets on television or in the movies, and quite another to view one in real time. In a strange way, this came as no large surprise because I had already been alerted on Friday that there was a sick and/or injured elderly man making a home for himself at the library after hours.  I have a friend who sends diligent and heartfelt emails to local authorities and community members when one of the Sherman Oaks’ homeless is in trouble.

My friend takes early morning walks and comes across many of the homeless we all see. Not too long ago, My friend tried to get help for another homeless man by contacting the Los Angeles Police Department, the General Services Police and our Neighbor Prosecutor, a Deputy City Attorney.  That’s when we learned the reality of how the City “treats” the homeless.  They can’t intervene unless a homeless person is ill, hurt or mentally unstable. Then the person can be taken by the authorities for care and consultation, and held a minimal amount of time. For the most part, help comes when the homeless voluntarily seek assistance.  Yes, there also has been controversy about the homeless from downtown being “relocated” from Skid Row to suburban areas which is unsettling to all. It has happened here in Sherman Oaks too.

However, as a longtime Sherman Oaks resident, I have gotten to recognize a few who have lived in our community for years – perhaps, eking out a “living” thanks to the recycling center located at the Ralph’s at Hazeltine and Ventura. 

During the time SOHA was meeting with Ralph’s representatives about the planned new store, we addressed the recycling center and the negative concerns many community members feel about it. In fact, I know that a former Los Angeles Police Department Senior Lead Officer felt that facility was a crime magnet for our community.  Ralph’s informed us that the recycling center will return once construction is finished.  It is supposed to be placed somewhere inside the new three story structure. That’s all we could learn.  For now.

Meanwhile, I drove by the library the following Monday. I saw the entrance way filled with children carrying books with their mothers’ close at hand.  I recollected the image of that sheet-covered body.  I hoped that poor soul was being missed by someone somewhere.