Dewayne Pomeroy

Dewayne Pomeroy was a street smart kid that lived in Seattle during the 1980s. His story was told in the documentary "Streetwise". He panhandled, or "spare changed" as he called it, to eat each day. With a mom who abandoned him, and a father in jail, Dewayne bounced around from abandoned house to sleeping on the streets during his time in Seattle. During filming of 'StreetWise", he committed suicide while in a juvenile jail, just before being released. The filmmakers stated they didn't think Dewayne could take being back on the streets. Only four people attended his funeral, including two people that were guards from the jail, there to watch his father. His father sat by his coffin and apologized to him before he was buried. Their stories were later made into the movie "American Heart", with Edward Furlong playing Dewayne's part.