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Fundraising is utter ‘Nunsense’ for Little Sisters of the Poor Scranton

<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8211; After years of living in the woods, things were finally looking up for Kurt Swan. The 49-year-old had a solid roof over his head, and was able to contribute to the rent. It seemed his luck had changed.</p><p>Then, the people he was staying with were evicted after using his rent money to buy drugs. So Swan returned to the streets.</p><p>Two weeks later, a passerby found Swan&#8217;s body behind the Kmart Shopping Plaza in Edwardsville, not far from where he&#8217;d once lived in a makeshift camp in Kirby Park along the banks of the Susquehanna River.</p><p><a href="https://www.timesleader.com/news/560154/update-state-police-say-man-found-dead-behind-edwardsville-kmart-died-of-stab-wounds" target="_blank">Pennsylvania State Police on Tuesday announced Swan&#8217;s death is being investigated as a homicide</a>, after a pathologist concluded he died from multiple stab wounds.</p><p>Speaking to the Times Leader Wednesday, Swan&#8217;s friends called his death &#8220;a tragedy.&#8221;</p><p>Swan, they said, shared his survival tips for homeless living, showing his friends how he learned to keep warm. He came to their defense when they found themselves in physical danger, protecting them in fights. He made them laugh.</p><p>Eating at a table in the crowded St. Vincent de Paul Soup Kitchen on Jackson Street, which Swan often visited, Chris Youngster described his friend as peaceful and personable. Youngster said he was appalled at the thought of someone harming Swan, saying his friend never had problems with anyone.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s not enough nice things I can say about him,&#8221; Youngster said, breaking into a wide smile at the thought of his friend. &#8220;He would bend over backwards to help anyone.&#8221;</p><p>Sarah Kapochus, who works at the Dollar Tree in Edwardsville where Swan was often seen, said he had a constant companion in the form of a small, white dog named Peanut. Although Swan&#8217;s friends said Peanut ran away prior to his death, they all talked about how much Swan loved her.</p><p>&#8220;(Peanut) was his baby,&#8221; Kapochus said. &#8220;He took better care of her than himself.&#8221;</p><p>Youngster, who was previously homeless himself, went on to say those in the homeless community have to look out for each other because they &#8220;can&#8217;t count on anyone else.&#8221; Youngster said he was beaten up a few years back, and knows of others who also have been attacked. In response to the violence he and Swan experienced, he insisted more should be done to aid the homeless.</p><p>Others agreed.</p><p>&#8220;(Public officials) try, but they could do more,&#8221; said Stu Glazer, a homeless veteran sitting on the steps of the Luzerne Bank building on Public Square.</p><p>Glazer said after 45 days in a shelter, a homeless person must leave that shelter for 60 days before being allowed to return. Bedding in the shelters, he said, is limited to cots, with gym mats pushed into service when shelters get crowded.</p><p>Another of Swan&#8217;s friends, who asked not to be named, said Swan literally saved his life on at least one occasion. Gazing into the distance as he spoke to a reporter, he recalled a time when he was homeless and a group of people were about to assault him when Swan stepped in to protect him. He said he had only learned of Swan&#8217;s death a few minutes before.</p><p>Swan &#8220;wouldn&#8217;t hurt a fly,&#8221; he said, rubbing his face in disbelief.</p><p>At his seat inside the noisy soup kitchen, Youngster absently pushed his lunch around his plate, shaking his head as he spoke of his slain friend.</p><p>&#8220;The world lost a special person,&#8221; he said. &#8220;I&#8217;m going to miss him a lot.&#8221;</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Chris Youngster remembers Kurt Swan as a great guy to whom he could always go for help. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_TTL063016KurtSwan1-4.jpg</photo0><caption0>Chris Youngster remembers Kurt Swan as a great guy to whom he could always go for help. </caption0><photoCredit0>Aimee Dilger | Times Leader </photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_thumbnail_13438838_1229233167100795_8325573991899549884_n-1-1-4.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Kurt Swan, seen holding his dog, Peanut, is remembered fondly by friends. Swan&#8217;s body was discovered Saturday behind the Kmart in Edwardsville, and police say his death has been ruled a homicide. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/06/web1_thumbnail_13438838_1229233167100795_8325573991899549884_n-1-1-4.jpg</photo1><caption1>Kurt Swan, seen holding his dog, Peanut, is remembered fondly by friends. Swan&#8217;s body was discovered Saturday behind the Kmart in Edwardsville, and police say his death has been ruled a homicide. </caption1><photoCredit1>Submitted photo </photoCredit1></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><subheadMeta>Friends recall homeless homicidevictim Kurt Swan as a &#8216;special man&#8217;</subheadMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Alyssa Mursch</p><p>news@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p>Pennsylvania State Police have asked anyone with information about Kurt Swan&#8217;s death to call the Wyoming Barracks at 570-697-2000.</p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach intern Alyssa Mursch at 570-991-6652.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Friends remember homeless man found slain behind Edwardsville Kmart