Authorities have identified the two homeless men who died near downtown Monterey two weeks ago as Trevor Hanson, 38, and Jonathan Richards, 56, of Monterey.
The men were found early in the morning in a dirt lot across Trader Joe's in Monterey by a pedestrian who called paramedics for help. Although a cause of death has yet to be determined, police suspect they died due to the cold weather the night before.
Police say the men were offered "resources" the night before, but declined to be helped. A couple days after the men died, the City of Monterey unanimously voted to allocate $28,252 to homeless support services, with an emphasis on creating an emergency warming shelter.
A Weekly cover story also looked into the political will power and money needed to house the homeless throughout the county, a problem that has become more pressing in Salinas and Monterey.