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Jan. 24th, 2004 09:29 amVery sad story in this morning's Herald. I knew this woman well. Slipped her small gifts of cash and habanero jellybeans from time to time. She slept under the wharf in the summertime.
RECALLING A TOUGH LIFE
Close friends mourn sudden death of homeless woman
Fatima Poulin lived a tough life. She had spent 16 years on the streets of Monterey and several more as a child growing up in poverty in Morocco.
Poulin, 47, died Jan. 15 outside a restaurant on Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey.
She was buried in San Carlos Cemetery on Friday after a short service. Her friend Manuel Alvarado spent part of his life savings to pay for her proper burial. Fifteen people attended.
"She had a very special burial," said Linda Forkash, who works for Shelter Outreach Plus, which assists homeless people in Monterey County. Forkash had worked with Poulin over the past five years.
Many of those in attendance were friends of Poulin's who lived on the street.
"She was a beautiful woman," said Donald Preston Christenson, who was Poulin's longtime boyfriend.
Christenson had been with Poulin the night she died, when both were sleeping behind the Kentucky Fried Chicken on Lighthouse Avenue. Christenson had tried to wake up Poulin in the morning to collect cans for recycling. He couldn't find her pulse.
Soon, Monterey police officers and coroner's officials arrived.
Although toxicology reports won't be available for several more weeks, Poulin's cause of death appears to have resulted from natural causes.
Forkash said Poulin had an enlarged heart and that alcoholism might have contributed to her death.
"She suffered too much on the streets," said longtime friend Alvarado. "She was a good woman.
Poulin had immigrated to the United States from Morocco with her husband, Alvarado said.
Her friends said he was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army or Navy.
Alvarado said their marriage most likely soured, and he had left her.
"I found her in the streets. She didn't have any family," Alvarado said.
He thought of her as a daughter.
"She doesn't have anybody so I buried her in my family plot," Alvarado said.
He had seen her just days before she died and she seemed healthy, he said, but she wasn't living a healthy lifestyle.
"She used to drink and hang around with the wrong people," he said. She had been arrested several times for public intoxication.
Forkash said Poulin most likely had a drinking problem when she moved onto the streets 16 years ago, but otherwise, there may not have been a turning point that led her there.
"Generally it isn't something that happens overnight," Forkash said. "It is a gradual series of events that take place in one's life."
Poulin's friends aren't sure how long she was married or when she moved to California, but they said she had done well on her own after her husband left.
She worked various jobs including waiting tables, housekeeping and cooking for various restaurants and people on the Peninsula.
"She was an excellent cook and a wonderful person," said Kalisa Moore, owner of Kalisa's La Ida Cafe on Cannery Row.
Moore said that Poulin had worked for her about 15 years ago. Moore had been helping Poulin with handouts or money when she came by.
"I made her swear she can't take the money for drinking," Moore said. "We tried to talk her into doing things for herself."
Poulin went through stretches of sobriety, doing odd jobs, but those periods wouldn't last, her friends said. She went a month or two without a drink and then fall back into the hole.
Recently she entered a transitional housing program for women. Poulin had been talking to Forkash because she wanted to be off the streets.
"It was a glorious day," Forkash said. "We showered her up and gave her clean clothes."
Poulin lasted eight days, then left.
"She said there was too much noise and the communal living was more than she can handle," Forkash said.
Forkash said it isn't unusual for people to weave in and out of sobriety. And sometimes it takes more than one trip into a transitional housing facility to put someone on the right path.
"She probably would have gone back in. She was burnt out on the streets," Forkash said.
On colder nights Poulin would call Alvarado, and sometimes he would put her up in a motel.
And sometimes when Poulin needed items or support she would come to his apartment and clean up or gather supplies.
"She used to help a lot of people," Alvarado said. "She used to help me when I was sick."
Poulin ran errands for Alvarado. She cleaned his house and went grocery shopping for him.
"She was a good worker," said John Bright, who had known Poulin almost 20 years. "She was always a nice person."
Moore said it could have been hopelessness that led to Poulin's decisions. Moore and others had suggested she return to Morocco, she said, but Poulin wasn't sure what she would tell her family.
Instead Poulin made a family in Monterey with people such as Bright, Moore and Alvarado.
"She was a good girl but she had a rough life," Alvarado said. "She was nobody, but to God she was something."
RECALLING A TOUGH LIFE
Close friends mourn sudden death of homeless woman
Fatima Poulin lived a tough life. She had spent 16 years on the streets of Monterey and several more as a child growing up in poverty in Morocco.
Poulin, 47, died Jan. 15 outside a restaurant on Lighthouse Avenue in Monterey.
She was buried in San Carlos Cemetery on Friday after a short service. Her friend Manuel Alvarado spent part of his life savings to pay for her proper burial. Fifteen people attended.
"She had a very special burial," said Linda Forkash, who works for Shelter Outreach Plus, which assists homeless people in Monterey County. Forkash had worked with Poulin over the past five years.
Many of those in attendance were friends of Poulin's who lived on the street.
"She was a beautiful woman," said Donald Preston Christenson, who was Poulin's longtime boyfriend.
Christenson had been with Poulin the night she died, when both were sleeping behind the Kentucky Fried Chicken on Lighthouse Avenue. Christenson had tried to wake up Poulin in the morning to collect cans for recycling. He couldn't find her pulse.
Soon, Monterey police officers and coroner's officials arrived.
Although toxicology reports won't be available for several more weeks, Poulin's cause of death appears to have resulted from natural causes.
Forkash said Poulin had an enlarged heart and that alcoholism might have contributed to her death.
"She suffered too much on the streets," said longtime friend Alvarado. "She was a good woman.
Poulin had immigrated to the United States from Morocco with her husband, Alvarado said.
Her friends said he was a lieutenant in the U.S. Army or Navy.
Alvarado said their marriage most likely soured, and he had left her.
"I found her in the streets. She didn't have any family," Alvarado said.
He thought of her as a daughter.
"She doesn't have anybody so I buried her in my family plot," Alvarado said.
He had seen her just days before she died and she seemed healthy, he said, but she wasn't living a healthy lifestyle.
"She used to drink and hang around with the wrong people," he said. She had been arrested several times for public intoxication.
Forkash said Poulin most likely had a drinking problem when she moved onto the streets 16 years ago, but otherwise, there may not have been a turning point that led her there.
"Generally it isn't something that happens overnight," Forkash said. "It is a gradual series of events that take place in one's life."
Poulin's friends aren't sure how long she was married or when she moved to California, but they said she had done well on her own after her husband left.
She worked various jobs including waiting tables, housekeeping and cooking for various restaurants and people on the Peninsula.
"She was an excellent cook and a wonderful person," said Kalisa Moore, owner of Kalisa's La Ida Cafe on Cannery Row.
Moore said that Poulin had worked for her about 15 years ago. Moore had been helping Poulin with handouts or money when she came by.
"I made her swear she can't take the money for drinking," Moore said. "We tried to talk her into doing things for herself."
Poulin went through stretches of sobriety, doing odd jobs, but those periods wouldn't last, her friends said. She went a month or two without a drink and then fall back into the hole.
Recently she entered a transitional housing program for women. Poulin had been talking to Forkash because she wanted to be off the streets.
"It was a glorious day," Forkash said. "We showered her up and gave her clean clothes."
Poulin lasted eight days, then left.
"She said there was too much noise and the communal living was more than she can handle," Forkash said.
Forkash said it isn't unusual for people to weave in and out of sobriety. And sometimes it takes more than one trip into a transitional housing facility to put someone on the right path.
"She probably would have gone back in. She was burnt out on the streets," Forkash said.
On colder nights Poulin would call Alvarado, and sometimes he would put her up in a motel.
And sometimes when Poulin needed items or support she would come to his apartment and clean up or gather supplies.
"She used to help a lot of people," Alvarado said. "She used to help me when I was sick."
Poulin ran errands for Alvarado. She cleaned his house and went grocery shopping for him.
"She was a good worker," said John Bright, who had known Poulin almost 20 years. "She was always a nice person."
Moore said it could have been hopelessness that led to Poulin's decisions. Moore and others had suggested she return to Morocco, she said, but Poulin wasn't sure what she would tell her family.
Instead Poulin made a family in Monterey with people such as Bright, Moore and Alvarado.
"She was a good girl but she had a rough life," Alvarado said. "She was nobody, but to God she was something."
