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Public commenter recounts severe injury to unhoused man, urges county task force on homelessness response
Summary
A resident and homelessness advocate described a High Ridge case in which an unhoused man lost seven fingers after exposure and delayed care, and she asked Jefferson County Council to create a task force or workshop to coordinate emergency responses for people experiencing homelessness.
Tara Lang told the council about a recent case in High Ridge in which an unhoused man was found injured and later lost seven fingers down to the first knuckle after successive hospital visits. Lang said volunteers, St. Vincent de Paul and parishioners arranged motel stays, transport and supplies, but that the case showed a reactive rather than coordinated system of care for people without housing.
Lang described the immediate volunteer response: motel stays arranged for roughly three weeks, volunteers transporting the man to appointments and supplying clothing and adaptive items (loops on backpacks, drawstring pants, slip-on shoes) to help his independence. She said the man was treated at three separate hospitals for surgeries and wound care and remains unhoused in the High Ridge area.
Lang asked the council to create a dedicated task force, committee or workshop to bring stakeholders together to address gaps in emergency shelter and medical response for people experiencing homelessness. She emphasized that the problem affects not only chronically unhoused people but also households one paycheck away from homelessness. Lang left a written newsletter with the clerk for the council’s review.
The council accepted Lang’s comments for the record; the transcript shows no formal commitment from the council to create a task force during the meeting.
