The drug related deaths of two people living in a motor home last month has focused attention on the proliferation of homeless people living in vehicles on Ballard Streets.

The bodies of Sarah Gregory, 24, and Richie Owens, 33, were found in a 1976 Dodge Motor home on December 16. The vehicle was parked on Northwest 49th Street near 14th Avenue Northwest.

The address listed in the official police report for Gregory was the same as that of the Ballard Food Bank. The food bank has about 600 people who use the agency's address to receive mail. Owens' listed address was in Roseville, CA.

According to the police report, an unidentified man told police he had been using heroin with Gregory for three days and that day had purchased a quarter gram of heroin they both then used.

The man then went to visit another motor home parked nearby and when he returned at 5pm, offered Gregory something to eat, but could not wake her. After he called 911, the Seattle Fire Department arrived and pronounced Gregory dead. Seattle Police Department homicide detectives were called, and discovered the body of Owens in the same motor home in a bed in the cab.

The police report noted that the motor home was heated with propane, however the propane had run out around midnight, 12-hours earlier.

Sean Whitcomb, Seattle Police spokesperson, said the case is a death investigation being looked into by the King County Medical Examiner's office but is not a criminal investigation.

It has been common knowledge that a colony of trailers and vans had been accumulating in the industrial area near the Ballard Bridge and the median strip of 14th Avenue Northwest but can stretch as far east as 8thAvenue Northwest and from Northwest Ballard Way to Northwest 52nd Street

Tim McKenzie, operations manager for the Ballard Food Bank says some clients ask for propane, an indication that they need the fuel to cook or to provide heat in campers. Some ask for money to buy car batteries so they can move their campers and avoid having them towed away.

Seattle Police Officer Larry Jackson patrols the Ballard area and is a member of the Seattle Police Department's Community Police Team. He said the department has had an ongoing problem with derelict vehicles in the area and there have been complaints about them being parked on the streets.

"If it's in an area with no parking 2 a.m. to 5 a.m. signs, we can tow them away after leaving a 72-hour notice. They will just move it down the street. We try to get them to move along. We've been battling this for a while," said Jackson.

The problem area for parked vehicles used by the homeless includes 14th Avenue Northwest and streets between Ballard and Fremont, according to Jackson.

Dan Freeman, owner of Dr. Dan's Alternative Fuels located at 912 N.W. 50th St., said he had no problem with the RV's parked in the area unless the people who live in them are littering, causing a nuisance or doing unsafe activities.

Terry Storms, president of Seattle Envelope and the McCallum Print Group, both located at 4700 9th Avenue Northwest said the RVs have been an issue for his companies. He suspects there has been drug dealing from one van which was parked near a window at Seattle Envelope's sales offices.

Frank Henderson, a plant manager for McCallum Print Group said there have been people drinking in between RVs and getting rowdy. Some have built fires on the street. Henderson said he was told by the city that fires are legal as long as they are for cooking.

When these homeless individuals use stoves to cook and make a mess, that's when people start complaining..

In 2004, a grassroots committee of concerned people was formed for a brief period to look into ways to develop housing for the homeless in Ballard. The committee put together a survey to assess the homeless situation.

The group canvassed 76 clients of the food bank and several feeding programs in the area. Seventeen people said they were living in their cars and six said they were living in RVs. Twenty-eight others said they were living outside.

When asked why they came to Ballard, ten respondents said the area was safer and eight said the community was more tolerant of them. Seven replied that Ballard was their "home."

Bill, a Ballard Food Bank client who only provided his first name, has lived in a car for over a year. He once worked in the demolition field, until he injured a leg.

If someone has a car with mechanical problems, has no job or money, he or she can't adhere to the 72-hour parking rule Bill argues.

"If you get a ticket, you have to pay. If you get too many, they tow you away with all your possessions," Bill said.

Bill tries to stay away from the people who are causing problems. "Some people litter, they move on and it looks bad," he said.

Being homeless, Bill says he often gets a bad rap. "Some people think just because you live in a car, you do drugs or are a bum," he said.

"One lady complained I don't belong here. It's none of her business. I park on a public street, they don't own the street. They go out of their way to make it hard, it's hard enough," said Bill.