During the early morning hours of Feb. 4, a known homeless man, Jeff Bouck, 48, was found dead under the Ballard Bridge.

Emergency units arrived after a friend and camp-mate, Marvin Vick, found Bouck. Though the cause of death has not been determined, the official police report states that Bouck had poor insulation the night of his death and that no foul play was suspected. The report stated he had a single blanket covering him, and was wearing jeans, a jacket and a couple shirts.

The night of Feb. 3, temperatures were around freezing.

Vick said that Bouck was celebrating the Seahawks Super Bowl victory the night before and was drinking alcohol. Vick also said that Bouck was feeling ill for most of the night. Early the next morning, Vick noticed Bouck wasn’t at the campsite and so he went looking and found him under bridge.

“I checked his pulse and his eyes but he was gone. I couldn’t believe it. I stopped a bus and asked them to call an ambulance, but I knew it was too late. … My best friend and brother is gone,” said Vick.

Friends made a memorial for Bouck on the bridge pillar close to where he died. Graham Pruss, member of Stone Soup Group and coordinator for the City’s Safe Parking Program was a friend of Bouck’s and said that he was a kind person and was struggling to find his way. Pruss said the Bouck was looking for work but was having problems finding something consistent. Vick also said Bouck was looking for work, but that he had health problems and was disabled, which prevented him from securing jobs that he could perform.

Bouck's memorial under the Ballard Bridge. Photo by Shane Harms

Real Change reported that Bouck was a Real Change vendor and was a long- time Queen Anne and Ballard resident. He was the son of a sea captain and worked in the fishing industry most of his life. They reported that when Jeff was 41, he was purse-seining for salmon in Alaska and fell overboard, herniating two discs in his back. Disabled, Bouck was unable to fish, and became homeless.

Moreover, Vick and Pruss both said that Bouck had lost his wife, Karen, two years prior and was struggling with the loss. Vick said Bouck often had intense nightmares and used alcohol to cope with his emotional trauma.

Vick, a Gulf War veteran, said that being homeless “is a hard life” and that it’s common to turn to alcohol to cope with daily hardship and stress. Vick reported that Bouck has family in the area -- a brother and mother, and a daughter who’s attending college at Arizona State.

“He wanted to work and wanted to live in a safe place. He loved his daughter. He was a caring man, but he lost his way and wanted a way out and he was in the process of working that out up to his death. … I do know that if he had a warm place he would still be here,” said Pruss.

According to Pruss, there are shelters in the North Seattle area but not many, and so for homeless people who call Ballard home, during inclement weather, shelter space fills fast. Moreover, Pruss reported if individuals
arrive past a certain time they may be turned away. Both Pruss and Vick said that the majority of shelters are located in the downtown area, which makes them less accessible to people in North Seattle. What’s more, Vick, who considers himself a Ballard resident, said that he does not like to go downtown because of the violence and drug use, and bus fare to go downtown and back to Ballard is not always available.

Recently, the City’s One Night Count reported an increase in King County homelessness. They reported 3,117 men, women and children had no shelter during the night of the count, and that the measurement is an increase of 14 percent compared to last year.

“This year’s count is an unmistakable call to action,” said Seattle/King County Coalition on Homelessness Executive Director Alison Eisinger in the count announcement.

“As teams handed us their tally sheets, they described the people behind the numbers: a teenager sleeping in a doorway with a suitcase, a family-size tent under the roadway with a stroller parked outside, a man who proudly showed off the garden he made around his campsite. ...There is no overstating the urgent need in our own backyards.”

The count supports the city’s plan to end homelessness (Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness in King County) by 2015. According to the City of Seattle’s website, “the Ten-Year Plan to End Homelessness in King County
was set into motion in 2005 and provides a blueprint for how the region will work together to confront the issues that cause homelessness, and create housing and supportive services needed to end homelessness.”

According to a report released December of 2012, the City has reached 57 percent of their goal, funding 5,424 new units of housing. They reported helping more than 34,000 people exit homelessness, and offered a range of homeless prevention services to another 23,000 people.

“There are good programs out there and the City has come a long way, but there are still some people falling through the cracks… Jeff was a good man
and he will be missed,” said Pruss.