This content was originally published by the Longmont Observer and is licensed under a Creative Commons license.
I am writing to you today in reference to the September 12 article titled The Face of Homelessness, written by Christi Yoder.
Many of you have contacted me asking me questions about contacting Katharine Roger's family, so I felt it was important to ease your minds and hearts.
When the article was written, Longmont Public Safety knew that Katharine had two estranged sons and had attempted to contact them. Otherwise, they were unaware of any additional family.
Since the article published, Katharine's sister Kathleen contacted Public Safety Chief Mike Butler. Here is the email that she sent to him:
Dear Public Safety Chief, Mr. Mike Butler:I recently read the article in the Longmont Observer dated Sept. 12th, 2018, "The Face of Homelessness". Katherine Rogers was my sister and she did have a family. It is with great sadness that my family and I found out that she passed away on September 5th, homeless. It was devastating to find out she was found outside of an abandoned building on Main St.Katie does have a family here in Illinois. She was the youngest of 8 children. Through the years we lost contact with her but often thought of her. Early on we tried to help her get back on her feet especially since she then had two young sons. Unfortunately, she did not want the help we were offering and wanted to do things her way.I know that there will be many unanswered questions about how she spent the last years of her life and that is something we will have to live with. There are many regrets and we can't change the past. There will be a lot of "what ifs"........................ We all know that Katie deserved better.I don't have the answers to the issues you are dealing with, but I do know that I would have wanted to be put back in contact with her. Maybe through some kind of counseling or talking to someone she would have agreed to let us help her.Sincerely,Kathleen Pirkle
The pain of losing a loved one is a burden I wish upon no one. My heart goes out to Katharine's family and friends during this time of loss. However, I was glad to hear from Chief Butler that Katharine will be remembered and that her family will be hosting a memorial service for her in the days to come.
