Day laborer killed in San Francisco had no luck finding housing during COVID
Jacinto Noh Canché, (41) was an active day laborer (far right, smiling with mask down) pictured during a UCSF study on COVID and Latinos.
SAN FRANCISCO - A day laborer who had been trying desperately to find housing during the COVID pandemic has been found dead and police are now trying to find out who killed him and why.
The body of Jacinto Noh Canché, 41, was found on May 22 at about 3 a.m. in Rolph Park on in the 2800 block of Cesar Chavez and Potrero Avenue, according to fliers that police posted on poles in the area asking the public for help.
People who worked with Canché didn't find out about his death until just this week, according to Francisco Herrera, co-director of the San Francisco Day Labor Program and Women's Collective.
Herrera said Canché had worked all sorts of odd jobs and participated in outreach work as part of the Street Needs Assessment Committee and participated in San Francisco's historic test study of Latinos and COVID conducted by UCSF and the Latino Task Force Health Committee in April.
He was also tri-lingual and spoke Maya, Spanish and English.
He was also unsheltered at the time of his death.
"He was a real natural leader," Herrera said. "He had lost his place to live and was sleeping on the street."
Jacinto Noh Canché, 41, was found dead on May 21 on Cesar Chavez in the Portrero neighborhood, according to fliers that police posted on poles in the area asking the public for help.
Herrera said he "asked numerous times for space in the hotels for several of our day laborers and the answer was a resounding no."
It's unclear who killed Canché and what the motivation was. It's also not clear that if he had been housed, his death could have been prevented.
But Herrera said his group specifically asked for help from the San Francisco Homeless Outreach Team, or SFHOT, to house Canché and others.
No one at the homeless outreach team immediately responded on Tuesday to questions sent by email and phone about the number of hotel rooms the city provided during the pandemic.
Deborah Brouck, from San Francisco's Department of Homlessness and Supportive Services, said that during the height of the pandemic, the city provided shelter to about 3,600 of the most vulnerable people.
If anyone has information on what happened to Canché, they should call the San Francisco police at 415-575-4444 and reference case No. 210-314-249.
Lisa Fernandez is a reporter for KTVU. Email Lisa at lisa.fernandez@fox.com or call her at 510-874-0139. Or follow her on Twitter @ljfernandez