Homeless Coalition sought help for man who committed suicide during eviction

A representative with the Homeless Coalition of El Paso told ABC-7 it sought help for the man who barricaded himself inside a home during an eviction notice Wednesday morning.

The house is located near the intersection of Graham Court and Raynolds Street in Central El Paso. El Paso County sheriff’s deputies and deputy constables responded to the home on the 1500 block of Carlyle around 9:00 am.

An El Paso County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman told ABC-7 constables were serving a notice of eviction, when the constables made contact with the man. Officials say the man pulled out a firearm and cconstables requested a SWAT team. The standoff ended after a couple of hours when the man killed himself.

Camille Castillo with the El Paso Coalition for the Homeless tells ABC-7 she was contacted during the hours-long standoff. In El Paso, constables serve formal eviction notices. Castillo says the El Paso County General Assistance program has partnered with constables to provide informational brochures about where emergency shelters and rapid re-housing programs are located and how one can qualify to get into one of those programs.

“I got a call yesterday from an El Paso County Sheriff’s Office deputy, and informing me that there was an eviction that was taking place and so he wanted to know if there was any options for this individual that was going under this unfortunate eviction process,” Castillo said.

Castillo says after speaking with the deputy, she immediately contacted the Rescue Mission.

“I called the Rescue Mission let him know this person’s age, male, there’s no family involved, the demographic information, they said absolutely have them come in,” Castillo said, “and then I called the El Paso County General Assistance office, and asked if they could work with this individual to help them get rapidly re-housed and they said absolutely, so I called the deputy back giving him this information. “

Castillo says the deputy told her the information was no longer needed. Several hours later, she learned why.

“I was informed a few hours later that the individual did commit suicide and so we really want the community to know, we understand it’s a horrible situation, stressful situation, whether it’s a family or individual, and that there’s light at the end of the tunnel,” Castillo said.

It’s still unclear why the man committed suicide. El Paso County Constables have yet to release information on the man’s identity and why he was being evicted.

“When we receive those phone calls, they’re in desperation they’re stressed, it’s a horrific situation where they’ve been living in their apartment or home and they’re for whatever reason, they’re being evicted and they’re in desperation mode. When you mention an emergency shelter to them, they panic,” Castillo said.

She adds regardless of the situation, there’s always help available.

“There is a solution to this, there is a light at the end of the tunnel, and just to not give up and just to call and find out what’s available for them for their own situation.”

If you’re looking for a place to stay or are interested in learning more about the shelters and programs under the El Paso Coalition for the Homeless, click HERE.