The dead body of a man believed to be homeless was found on Saturday afternoon in a ravine behind a Charlottesville residence in the city’s Greenbrier neighborhood.
The skeletal remains were identified by the medical examiner on Monday as 66-year-old Ben Franklin Staton. If reports that Staton was unhoused are true, he marks the fourth homeless death in the Charlottesville area this year.
Charlottesville police are investigating the incident, though a cause of death has yet to be determined. Police said there were no signs of trauma or foul play.
The city police and fire department responded to a call from the 2200 block of Banbury Street after 3 p.m. on Saturday. The caller said human remains had been found behind their residence. After finding no evidence of “a larger crime scene in the immediate area,” the first responders removed the body from the ravine and transported it to the office of the medical examiner, according to police.
“The last known contact with Mr. Staton reportedly occurred on September 13, 2024,” police said in a statement issued Tuesday. “Mr. Staton is believed to have recently become unhoused.”
Staton was one of the roughly 200 homeless people within Charlottesville city limits. The homeless face a mortality rate 3.5 times the rate for those with a roof over their head.
The Haven, a day shelter in downtown Charlottesville, said Staton is likely the fourth homeless person in the area to die this year. Last year, the Haven recorded nine homeless deaths.
“The stress of homelessness exacerbates a person’s preexisting health conditions and significantly increases their risk of dying,” Owen Brennan, the Haven’s interim executive director, told The Daily Progress. “Studies have shown that the life expectancy of someone experiencing homelessness reduces someone’s average life expectancy to 50 years.”
The average life expectancy for the average American is 78 years.
Charlottesville’s unhoused population has been on the rise, increasing by roughly 25% between 2018 and 2023, according to the Blue Ridge Area Coalition for the Homeless, which coordinates and leads collaborative efforts to address homelessness in the area.
“There’s a vicious cycle between physical health and homelessness,” said Brennan. “Health issues will affect a person’s ability to work, and depending on their support network, can often lead to housing instability and then homelessness.”
Source: www.dailyprogress.com
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