With storms battering Northern California, the dozens who live in tents on Bannon Island are among the most at risk.
One of us — Anita, because Erika is not that ridiculous — decided to join Woods on his treacherous voyage back across a 50-foot tributary of the swollen Sacramento River. The water is rumored to be head-deep in places, and not balancing one’s weight correctly on the makeshift raft is the fastest way to find out if the rumors are indeed true.
For Bob Erlenbusch, executive director of the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness, this is deeply troubling. While he acknowledges that exposure to the elements isn’t directly responsible for the deaths of most unhoused people — we can blame drugs and violence for that — living outdoors certainly contributes to their suffering and shortens their lifespans.
Then there is the growing need for clean-air centers, particularly in California, where climate-change-fueled wildfires send plumes of pollution into the sky.“The No. 1 health problem for people experiencing homelessness in our community is asthma,” Erlenbusch said. “So can you imagine being outside, having to breathe in the ashes from the burning fires, when it’s 105 degrees?”
Woods, who is 50, recently lost his wife, Leticia Woods, to pneumonia. They had shared a black-tarp compound on Bannon Island with a view of downtown. Former high school sweethearts who reconnected on Facebook, they had been married for more than eight years. Woods said he is still processing the reality that he is alone.
Toney stands next to his flooded bunker. His items damaged in the recent storm include a U.S. flag and a globe.The skyrocketing temperatures of the hot months prompted him to dig the bunker where he lives underground. It’s an impressive feat of engineering, with three earthen steps leading to a room deep enough that he doesn’t have to bend his 6-foot-plus frame to walk around. He added a fireplace along one wall to help with warmth during winters, which he says are growing colder.
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