A homeless man said he was forced to camp outside an Orange County shelter because it denied him help.
Eugene Guzzo said the Coalition for the Homeless turned him away because it couldn't accommodate his medical condition.
Guzzo said he spent weeks camping outside the shelter's gates.
“Nothing is going right,” Guzzo said.
Guzzo is an amputee and a dishonorably discharged veteran, who found himself homeless when his mobile home was condemned.
Guzzo said he checked into the Coalition for the Homeless with his longtime girlfriend, Yvonne Tritch, but his stay was shortened because of his medical needs.
“They just put him out from here because he couldn't take care of himself,” Tritch said.
“He was living here before, but they won't let him stay because of what he does,” said Coalition for the Homeless volunteer Ronald Nathan.
“What does he do?” asked reporter Janine Reyes.
“He uses the bathroom on himself,” said Nathan.
“Unfortunately, our case that we're looking at is one that has fallen through the cracks,” Coalition for the Homeless employee Brent Trotter said.
Jennifer Campos, who feeds the homeless, told Channel 9 that she was very upset to learn of Guzzo’s story.
“I mean, it's unacceptable to have him sitting here like this, and this is the place that's supposed to help him,” said Campos.
Channel 9 called the Coalition for the Homeless. Staff members sent a nurse practitioner and emergency crews, who took Guzzo to the hospital.
“Would this have happened if we wouldn't have come out here today?" Reyes asked. "Because he says a month he was out there."
“Yeah, I can't speak to the time frame. Ultimately, that help would have gotten there,” Trotter said.
The coalition said staff members will closely monitor Guzzo.
Cox Media Group
