Another 33 people died “without fixed abode” in OC in April 2025. Their names are:
Tiffany NAIDOO who died on April 1st in Mission Viejo
Arnold CAMPOS, JR. who died on April 1st in Santa Ana
Enrique RYAN who died on April 2nd in Fountain Valley
Hoang DO who died on April 3rd in Santa Ana
Gregory POOL who died on April 4th in Anaheim
Jamie SLOVICK who died on April 4th in Orange
John DOE who died on April 5th in Anaheim
Amber BRIAN who died on April 5th in Anaheim
Demarco BELL who died on April 6th in Santa Ana
Roger JOHNSON who died on April 7th in Anaheim
Luis OLIVAS JR. who died on April 8th in Orange
Jaime DURAN who died on April 9th in Orange
Hannah KEESLER who died on April 9th in Costa Mesa
Kellan SENN who died on April 10th in Fountain Valley
Jose DIAZ who died on April 10th in Santa Ana
Arturo CARRASCO HERNANDEZ who died on April 12th in Orange
Christian GARCIA who died on April 13th in Anaheim
Todd WILKINS who died on April 16th in Huntington Beach
Jon ASHJIAN who died on April 16th in Costa Mesa
Mallory LABOSSIERE who died on April 16th in Tustin
Griselda RODRIGUEZ who died on April 18th in Santa Ana
David LAWSON who died on April 19th in Costa Mesa
Mark MILLER who died on April 19th in Huntington Beach
Jose NARANJO-CORTEZ who died on April 20th in Fullerton
Miguel NUNEZ-ORTIZ who died on April 20th in Santa Ana
Alexander CARMONA who died on April 27th in Santa Ana
Veronica BROOKS who died on April 27th in Costa Mesa
Domina BEERS who died on April 27th in Orange
Jonathan BELTRAN who died on April 28th in Fullerton
Juan MORALES who died on April 29th in Fountain Valley
Frank MARTINEZ who died on April 29th in Fountain Valley
Magdaleno REYES COLLAZO who died on April 30th in Anaheim
Additionally, three others died in months previous but whose record of death became available only now. They are:
Richard LUNARDO who died on February 25th in Tustin
Travis SIMPSON who died on March 15th in Fountain Valley
Jose SANCHEZ who died on March 17th in Santa Ana
All told, for the first four months of the year, the number of deaths, 122, remains the lowest since 2020, when the number by this time of year was 100. Most would attribute the decrease in homeless deaths in the last two years to the decrease in fentanyl related deaths, largely resulting from both the wide distribution of the Narcan antidote as well as (perhaps) the reduction of fentanyl laced drugs on the street.
That said, we still do not know definitively as to why we’ve seen a reduction of homelessness deaths since the beginning of 2024.
However, in 2021, the County empaneled a Homeless Death Review Commission headed by the OC Sheriff to annually review the homelessness death tolls for trends. Next year’s report, due to be out in the winter of 2026, will analyze the trends in 2024. We will then be able to understand more clearly as to why homeless deaths have decreased substantially in the County since the beginning of 2024, a trend that has been continuing to this day.
Clouds of concern on the horizon continue to be actions taking place in far away Washington D.C. While as best as I can ascertain, most homelessness related programs haven’t yet taken a big hit in the cost-cutting measures of the Dept of Government Efficiency (DOGE) nor promise to be greatly affected by the “Big Beautiful Bill” passing through Congress, one definite concern would be the proposal to put a “work requirement” on those persons receiving Medicaid.
I say this because while I’ve been continually surprised at the number of people experiencing homelessness who still manage to hold onto jobs, for many, their very state of homelessness makes them increasingly unemployable, especially after losing their automobiles as well.
Why? Well, (1) it is monumentally challenging to keep oneself clean, and keep one’s clothes clean while one is living and sleeping on the streets, and (2) one of the fundamental functions of a home is that it is there, at home, where one keeps one’s stuff. Without a home, and especially after one’s lost one’s vehicle as well, one must either protect one’s remaining belongings oneself or depend on the goodwill or another person experiencing homelessness to do this for oneself while one is off at work.
So, making proof of employment a requirement for continuing to be eligible for Medicaid is really a death sentence to those who find themselves homeless.
It’s that, or the proposed Medicaid requirement will force hospitals and other emergency medical facilities to either make life and death decisions at the admissions desk based on the person’s ability to pay or force these facilities to try to recoup their losses by charging people who have the ability to pay more to make-up the difference.
So there is no “moral case” for denying people medical assistance when they need it, just like there is no “moral case” for keeping people living on our streets when they’ve lost their homes. Both make the poor suffer and diminish the quality of life for us all.
Fr. Dennis Kriz, OSM, Pastor St. Philip Benizi Catholic Church, Fullerton.
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