- A homeless man was mistakenly dumped into a sanitation truck while seeking warmth in a dumpster.
- The incident occurred downtown near Lefty's and Ruth Sokolof Theater.
- A neighbor witnessed the event and spoke about the rescue.
- Non-profits are working to provide resources and support for homeless individuals in the area.
BROADCAST TRANSCRIPT:
Thursday morning homeless person was mistakenly dumped into a garbage truck while seeking warmth in a dumpster. KMTV neighborhood reporter spoke to a neighbor who witnessed the incident and connected with local non-profits providing resources to our homeless neighbors.
Watch Hannah's story:
The dumpster is in the parking lot of Kevin Perlic’s apartment, Lefty's, and Ruth Sokolof Theater.
"It's like this sort of a a tragic metaphor that turned into reality of you know we've got our homeless people seemingly thrown away and in this case, it was exactly what happened" said Perlic.
Perlic works from home and said he heard the driver of the truck banging on the side of the vehicle. When he looked outside, he saw firefighters working to rescue a person.
"Two guys [firefighters] went down into the into the garbage truck. And at that point there was a stretcher on top of the garbage truck, so then at that point I knew somebody was inside there, in about 15 minutes they, they hoisted him out and got him into the ambulance," said Perlic.
According to an Omaha Professional Fire Fighters Association Facebook post the person survived but was injured. KMTV contacted the City of Omaha's Homeless Service Coordinator Tamara Dwyer, to see how often this happens.
"That kind of situation doesn't happen often. I don't know that it's happened to my memory since I've been working, here in Omaha Home Services for about the past 12 years," said Dwyer.
Dwyer said her office does street work, checking on individuals and working to get them in shelters or connect them with relatives.
"Get connected to the, the homeless service, you know, system, the continuum of care partners and stay connected with, with someone with a case manager, whoever it is, you know, make sure that you stay in contact with them," said Dwyer.
Dwyer says the city’s homeless services have not been in contact the individual who was injured in the dumpster.
Heartland Family Services Peer Center in Council Bluffs is another resource for individuals struggling with the cold. Their facility on Broadway offers mental health, housing, and medical services.
"Oftentimes what happens is people will come in to get out of the cold and then they end up staying and getting in services and, and getting the proper support that they need," said Scott Zimmerman.
It is open to anyone who needs it Monday through Thursday from 10 am - 3 pm.
"There has been more than one time that somebody shows up at our front door before we're open and they're crying because they're so cold and they have been outside all night and. Yeah, there's people who show up with black fingers from frostbite and toes, some of our friends have lost fingers and toes," said Mikayla Davy.
The Peer Center also provides items for our unhoused neighbors, they need:
· Gloves and hats
· Coats and socks
· Sleeping bags
· Blankets
· Tarps
These items can be dropped off at 3415 W. Broadway in Council Bluffs.
