Icy death stuns former classmate

Freezing weather in Portland, Oregon, this winter took the life of Karen Batts, a 52-year-old homeless woman on Jan. 7.

This was a cold wake-up call for Kris Caldwell, a caregiver at PeaceHealth’s System Services Center in Vancouver, Washington.

By chance, he learned about the death from a radio news report and discovered that this wasn’t just some stranger. This was his classmate and friend from a Portland high school 30 years ago.

We couldn’t tell this story any more compellingly than Kris did when he submitted it. Here it is in his own words:

Humanity in the face of a tragic death
I am news junky, as one might expect of a caregiver in PeaceHealth’s Strategic Communications and Engagement department. On Jan. 9, during my commute home, I tuned in to KXL-FM news radio primarily for updates on the coming winter storm.

Thoughts of the winter cold soon gave way to deeper chill after hearing a most tragic story. A homeless woman, my age, died in a downtown Portland parking garage blocks away from the low-income housing she had been evicted from two months prior for missing an approximate $300 rent payment. Her body was found on the ground of the second floor.

The cause of death was hypothermia, one of a growing number of hypothermia related deaths in Portland this winter storm season. The coldness and harshness of this story felt so wrong and disturbing. ‘Nobody deserves to die this way,’ I thought.

The story ended with a bombshell. Her name was Karen Batts, a name shared by a friend who attended high school with me in Portland in the 80s. (Here’s a photo of Karen, as best remembered by Kris and others close to her.) 

‘How could this be?’ I thought. The stereotype I conjured from the report did not fit the Karen I thought I knew – among other factors, Karen came from a strong and loving military family. She also had a world of opportunity at her fingertips – Karen’s achievements included national honor society, cheerleader, Rose Festival Court candidate, and more.

Arriving home and still in disbelief, I checked my high school’s alumni Facebook page, which often breaks stories of alumni deaths. Nothing there.

Still curious, I contacted a well-connected classmate, Maura White, who remains active in the school’s alumni organization and formerly headed the Portland Police Activities League program. She was unaware of the news, but promised to investigate.

Minutes later, Maura replied with heart-breaking news – it was Karen … our sweet, shy and kind high school friend.

After expressing our sorrows to one another, Maura and I were determined to help give Karen’s death the dignity and compassion she deserved – something we both believed the media’s early reporting failed to do.

Within minutes, Maura sourced and posted on the school’s Facebook page an OPB News article that reported Karen’s story more fully and humanely.

The story’s headline immediately addressed the “why” that was missing from Karen’s story. Karen suffered from schizophrenia – a disease that creates even more vulnerability for women, often causing sufferers to hide and run away from loved ones and help.

The same was true of Karen. Her family attempted numerous times to help and protect her throughout her adulthood, financially and otherwise, but their attempts were often thwarted by Karen’s determination to remain alone.

Further the story explained her nudity, a late-stage response to hypothermia that makes one’s body feel hot and burning.

Within hours, the posting received an outpouring of likes, shares and heartfelt condolences. I was among those who commented, challenging the media (and KXL, specifically) by expressing disappointment in the cursory and cold tone of their reporting.

I encouraged the media to dig deeper beyond the faceless and impersonal treatment given to coverage of the homeless and vulnerable. 

To my surprise, the Facebook post, and perhaps my plea, were seen and heard.

Two days after the Facebook post, Maura contacted me to report that the following has occurred as a direct result of our efforts:  

KXL followed up and produced a warm and more in-depth story about Karen and the issues surrounding her death.

The Oregonian newspaper is following suit.

A fellow classmate is donating $1,200 in Karen’s name to the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI, which now has a fund in Karen’s name), and several others posted on the school’s Facebook page intentions to donate.

As the story continues to unfold, we are all seeing the “face” of homelessness and mental illness more clearly … and the face is not “them,” it’s “us:” Karen, a friend, a

Since submitting the story, Kris served as a pallbearer and spoke at Karen’s funeral on Jan. 18 at the invitation of her family. Media interest in Karen’s death and the issues it raised continues with extensive local and some international coverage by The Guardian newspaper in London (and elsewhere in Europe).

What a powerful testament to the positive difference one caring person can begin.

(Pictured: Kris is on the right of Karen’s brother, Alan.)