Homeless Coalition Reacts to Homeless Man Found Frozen
JANUARY 3, 2013- Shocked and devastated...
That's how assistant manager at Smoker Friendly Sarah Hansen reacted when we broke the news that 63-year-old homeless man Michael Patrick Kemp's body was found frozen Thursday morning in a wooded area near the old Giant Eagle plaza in Harborcreek where she works....
"I was shocked because he was just in here yesterday and hanging out with someone else who sits in here... It's just shocking, "says Hansen.
Hansen tells us kemp would frequent the Smoker Friendly shop.... She said he lived near the railroad tracks and occasionally would stay with friends...... but he didn't seem like himself lately....
"The one lady saying he looked sick... And gray or Whitish.. He looked ill."
Now, word of kemp's death has members of the mental health association saddened and wanting to give back.
"Crying... because I didn't know what else to do... its heart wrenching," says Diana Ames.
Diana Ames, a team member at the Mental Health Association and founder of Pennsylvania Coalition to End Homelessness was once homeless herself....
She urges those who are out on the streets in this weather to get help...
"Don't stay out there.... You can't make it. You can't... Come to a warming center or over to the shelter... "
"Something else needs to be done as a community ..."
The warming center opens at
And they take anyone.
Services offered include warm meals, showers and laundry...
