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A dead body was located in downtown Mountain View late Tuesday morning, according to Mountain View fire officials.
Police and fire crews received a report around 10:30 a.m. on Jan. 12 of a possible dead person at 471 Castro Street near Valley View Dental Care office, according to fire spokesman Lynn Brown.
Officers determined that there were no suspicious circumstances surrounding the death, and the body was picked up by the Santa Clara County Medical Examiner-Coroner’s Office, Brown said. On Wednesday morning, a spokesperson for the coroner’s office said the identity has not yet been released, pending notification of the next-of-kin.
No additional details are being released, Brown said.
Ben Dodson, who works at a nearby office, told the Voice he believes it was a homeless man who frequently slept in that location. Dodson said he often saw an older man who would sleep in a sleeping bag in the courtyard area just outside of the dentist office, tucked away in a corner behind a tree.
Around 9:30, Dodson said he heard “upset yelling” from the area where the homeless man slept, and later found that a number of police had gathered in the courtyard area. That’s when he noticed the man in the sleeping bag was still lying there, he said.
“He was a respectful guy,” Dodson said. “We never had problems with him. We gave him his space and he gave us ours.”
Updates to the story will be posted as they become available.
Nice. Human misery and death right in the heart of downtown in such an affluent area. I guess no one noticed.
I hope this wasn’t Jeff.
Sounds like a lot of people noticed once he didn’t wake up. Lots of people sleep on the streets, do you take their pulse regularly to make sure they’re awake?
Let me know when you’re going to do some volunteer work with the homeless. You’re obviously about help and action, not just flippant blaps on a comment page.
Jeff is alive and well talked to him this morning.^
Correct, it was not Jeff. He was an older bald man who I’d often seen around the area with a shopping cart. He would sleep tucked away in the courtyard.
May he rest in peace. Everyone should help anyone down on their luck. A little compassion and genorisity goes a long way. Before being Rich or poor we are all humans.
Alcoholism is a disease, not a choice. If anyone knows of someone that needs a shower or a hot breakfast or lunch please read below. This is right here in downtown mountain view at the corner of Hope & Mercy street. It’s better to light one candle than to curse the darkness.
Hope’s Corner
A Joint Ministry of Trinity United Methodist Church and Los Altos United Methodist Church
Hope’s Corner serves a free breakfast and bag lunch and offers showers every Saturday to hungry people at the corner of Hope and Mercy streets in Mountain View.
Hope’s Corner Facebook Page
What Hope’s Corner does. People are hungry in our community. Even if employed, people earning minimum wage cannot afford both rent and food. The homeless need not only a meal but a place to feel welcomed. Hope’s Corner is addressing these needs every Saturday by serving a nutritious breakfast and providing a bag lunch for each person to take to go. A bathroom upgrade with showers was completed in late summer 2015, and Hope’s Corner now offers showers every week. Its numbers have grown from a few dozen in the beginning in 2011 to now serving more than 200 people every Saturday. Besides food and showers, Hope’s Corner provides a place for people to feel welcomed and build community. It collaborates with Second Harvest Food Bank, Community Services Agency, Peninsula Food Runners, Silicon Valley Bicycle Exchange, and others to help the people being serve connect with other available services. Click here for Hope’s Corner’s 2014 annual report.
What Hope’s Corner is. Hope’s Corner is a joint ministry of Mountain View Trinity and Los Altos United Methodist Churches. It recently received 501(c)(3) nonprofit status. The wonderful volunteers include church members, youth and adults from other service organizations, and members of the community.
How you can help.
Volunteer now
Volunteer! Volunteers are need to make Hope’s Corner happen! There are volunteer opportunities every week on Friday afternoon and Saturday morning. All ages are welcome. You can sign up for just one day or several. Ask about opportunities for groups! Read the volunteer job descriptions and then click on the Volunteer Now button to sign up.
Donate! Hope’s Corner appreciates contributions to its operating budget to support the food and showers program. Donations by check should be made out to LAUMC with “Hope’s Corner†on the memo line. You can also donate online.
Help up make a difference in our community.
Hope’s Corner photobutton_volunteer_big
Despite the people of goodwill in this country, we really have become a “throw-away” society when it comes to people down on their luck… whether low paid immigrants (legal or illegal) displaced middle-class workers, or returned vets, or women/children abandoned by the male of the “family”, or elders whose retirement savings were halved twice during GWB’s administration. IF you are not financially viable you’re just not worth tangible public resources, it seems.
The current popular Neo-fascism so embraced by our Congress etc, makes it all OK.
This “respectful” man is a sad proof of our loss of a moral compass for off-setting problems he faced. Our priorities are really “f-ed” up.
It was not Jeff, but Jeff knew him. This individual was NOT very respectful of private property, often urinating and defecating in inappropriate places. As tragic as any death is, he was an alcoholic that chose the bottle over accepting shelter. You can’t force the homeless to improve their lives if they are not willing to accept help unless it is on their terms…