Man dies of heat stroke in North Sacramento trailer park. ‘He had a kind heart’

A man died of heat stroke in his Sacramento trailer Sunday — a day the city reached 106 degrees.

Kevin Gerhardt, 58, died of multiorgan failure due to heat stroke, the Sacramento County Coroner’s Office has determined, said county spokeswoman Kim Nava.

Gerhardt was taking a nap in the bedroom of his trailer, in a North Sacramento trailer park, which he shared with his disabled brother, said Marcie DelNero, a friend. His brother checked on him and saw he’d fallen on the floor, so he called 911. He was transferred to a hospital, where he was pronounced dead.

Gerhardt, who took care of his brother James, couldn’t afford to get the air conditioning fixed in the trailer, DelNero said. The brothers were poor — using Social Security checks to cover rent, and food stamps for food. But they also had hobbies. Gerhardt especially enjoyed taking photographs.

“He had a kind heart and he took care of his brother,” said DelNero, who met the brothers at church. “He cooked for him, and took care of the bills. It’s just a sad situation all the way around. Now there’s no one to take James in.”

Gerhardt’s mother Lynne Sellers was devastated when she got the phone call about her son’s death. The two had recently rekindled their relationship — first with handwritten letters, then with phone calls.

“If I’d have known it was that hot I would have told him take the credit card and go to motel,” said Sellers, who lives in Los Angeles.

Sellers said the city and county should open more large cooling centers. The cooling center in the River District, the only in the central city, was supposed to have a capacity of 45 people. Since Thursday, more than 45 people have shown up each day, so First Step Communities has been finding ways to make room for them, the nonprofit said.

“Maybe now that someone has died, someone will pay attention a little more,” Sellers said. “Perhaps his experience and his tragedy can do something for others.”

Crystal Sanchez of the Sacramento Homeless Union said Gerhardt’s death should put increased pressure on the city to add air conditioning to city-issued trailers at Camp Resolution in North Sacramento.

“The trailers have all the basic necessities to keep the unhoused safe from the heat including refrigerators and air conditioning, yet they cannot be used due to the city’s action,” Sanchez said.

Asked if the city was going to add air conditioning to the Camp Resolution trailers, city spokeswoman Julie Hall said: “The lease agreement for Camp Resolution specifies that it is the responsibility of the lessee to ‘arrange and pay for all utilities required for operation and maintenance for the premises.’

“Alternative shelter spaces have been offered for the residents of Camp Resolution. Additionally, they have been informed about the available cooling centers at both city and county locations.”

The lessee is nonprofit Safe Ground Sacramento, run by civil rights attorney Mark Merin. He said the lease language the city cited does not mean he is the one responsible for air conditioning in the city-issued trailers.

Sanchez also said the county should resume the water delivery to camps it ended July 1, or the city should pick it up.

Homeless death on Fourth of July

A homeless man named Steven Jerome “Snoop” Easley died in his tent July 4, when temperatures hit 109 degrees in Sacramento.

The coroner has not yet determined whether the cause of Easley’s death was heat related.

People living near him said they believed heat was a factor, Sanchez said.

Easley was a longtime guest of Loaves & Fishes, the nonprofit that serves the homeless near his tent. But it closes at 2 p.m. each day, when the heat is still very dangerous.

“He was a wonderful gentleman,” said George Kohrummel of Loaves & Fishes. “Very mild mannered, very kind, considerate and always helpful. He was coming here about five to six years.”

Last week, the Coroner’s Office determined that hyperthermia/heat stroke was the cause of death for a homeless man who died Aug. 19. Efrain Hernandes is the first confirmed unhoused person to have died from heat stroke in 2023.

‘Forever traumatized’

Aside from the deaths, thousands more homeless people in the capital city are struggling as the city recovers from nine straight days in triple-digit heat, with temperatures reaching the high 90s Tuesday and forecast to reach 110 degrees Thursday.

Many people have been showing signed of heat related issues, such as confusion, delirium, combativeness, seizures, loss of consciousness, slurred speech, dizziness and vomiting, Sanchez said.

Shannon Dominguez-Stevens said that a pregnant mom, dad and 10-month old baby arrived seeking shelter to Loaves & Fishes last week, but nothing was available so they slept in a park.

Loaves & Fishes provides meals and survival supplies, but not shelter beds. The city has about 1,300 shelter beds, but there is a wait list of over 2,600 individuals and an additional 827 families, according to city data.

“We’ve seen guests nearly pass out from being out all day and more sunburnt and exhausted,” Dominguez-Stevens said. “The sad reality of this heatwave is that people will die, and if, by some miracle, people don’t, they will be forever traumatized.”