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New: Fund Established to Help Homeless Victim of Train Collision
On Monday October 7th, Shelly Jones, age 27, and her boyfriend Sean Stallmayer, age 29, were in a car in West Berkeley waiting for a train to go by when they witnessed the unthinkable—a man on the tracks.
As they and other witnesses watched, the man was hit by the oncoming train. He survived, but was covered in blood and horribly injured, including a severed leg. Shelly and Sean were quick to act.
“Another girl called 911 but nobody went towards the guy, so we went and Sean put a tourniquet on him,” said Shelley.
The victim, Mark Schwartz, a homeless man and local modern day beat poet who ran for Mayor of Berkeley in 2012, was taken to surgery and is currently still at the hospital recovering.
But on-the-spot assistance was not enough for the young couple.
“We started contacting organizations because we just want to make sure he gets what he needs,” says Shelley. “After seeing what we saw, we feel connected to him.”
At the couple’s request, Building Opportunities for Self-Sufficiency (BOSS) has set up a fund to collect donations for the victim. 100% of funds will be held to help pay for health care, hospice, and other recovery costs. BOSS is a local nonprofit organization that provides shelter and housing, health and mental health care, job search assistance, and other services to homeless individuals and families across Alameda County (www.self-sufficiency.org).
To donate, send a check made out to ‘BOSS’ to: BOSS, Attn: Mark’s Fund, 2065 Kittredge St., Ste. E, Berkeley CA 94704 or donate online at http://www.self-sufficiency.
