HOMELESS SEE OD DEATHS UP CLOSE

Gastonia's homeless say they see the dying from unintentional drug
overdoses up close.

"Out here on the street, it's very easy to give up on life," said
43-year-old Dorothy Olsby. "People have gave up. People feel nobody's
going to reach out to help them."

Olsby and her companion, Harry Hollis, 38, say they've been together
for about three months, living on the streets all that time.

Sometimes they can find a car or abandoned building to sleep in. Other
times they revert to an area known by both police and the homeless as
"The Hole," an open field that separates East Davis Avenue from the
railroad tracks, just off Franklin Boulevard. Dozens of beer, whiskey
and wine bottles litter the makeshift shelter, just down the block
from the Greyhound bus station.

A dingy and wet mattress along with charred remains from a small
campfire offer the only signs of comfort.

Sixty people in Gaston County died from unintentional drug deaths from
1997 to 2001, only behind Mecklenburg and Guilford counties in that
time period, according to a report from the North Carolina Department
of Health and Human Services.

The report did not separate how many of those who died were
homeless.

Those who live on the street say they would not be surprised if
several in that number come from the homeless population.

Marvin Price, 55, said he gave up decades of drug and alcohol abuse in
1987, but not before losing businesses, family and friends. He too was
homeless in the 1980s, and said the number of deaths due to drug
overdoses doesn't surprise him.

"In Gastonia, drugs like cocaine, Dilaudid and morphine are more
readily available," Price said.

Price now operates Carolina Painting and Decorating on East Davis
Avenue near "The Hole" and often comes in contact with those who stay
there. On Friday, Price paid Hollis a few dollars to cut weeds
standing outside his business with a blade.

Both Hollis and Olsby said the mixture of alcohol and drugs are the
killing factors. Using cocaine, Oxycontin or huffing fumes from
gasoline or paint thinners are the most common ways the homeless get
high.

"I saw a needle out here the other night, an orange one," Olsby said.
"I told Harry not to touch it."

Hollis used a stick to push through the leaves and trash, but could
not find it.

"I guess someone took it to re-use it," Olsby said.