Memorial honors those who died as homeless deaths surge in Whatcom
Whatcom County residents who died without permanent shelter more than doubled last year by any measure, part of a growing national trend of both deaths and efforts to collect better data surrounding homeless mortality.
A total of 64 people classified as homeless died in 2022, according to numbers collected by the Opportunity Council.
That includes seven people who were listed simply as “unknown,” as a list of names was recited aloud at a memorial held outside City Hall on Wednesday night, Jan. 4.
“We all began this life in innocence and wonder,” Opportunity Council volunteer Rob Vollkommer said during the event, which had been postponed from Dec. 21 because of a snowstorm that gripped Western Washington and prompted the city to staff its emergency shelters.
Some 832 people were without permanent shelter in Whatcom County during the Point in Time count that was conducted on Feb. 24, 2022.
That figure was down slightly from 2021, when 859 people were homeless, the most since the nationwide homeless census began in 2008.
Homeless people have about 20 years lower life expectancy than those who have housing, Vollkommer told a crowd of about 50 people who attended the candle-light memorial.
Mayor’s proclamation
At Wednesday’s memorial, Mayor Seth Fleetwood read a proclamation recognizing Dec. 21, the winter solstice and the longest night of the year, as National Homeless Person Memorial Day.
“People without homes have a lot to offer our community and this loss of life is a loss to us all,” Fleetwood said, holding a candle and reading from his proclamation.
Counting method
Teri Bryant, director of the Opportunity Council’s Whatcom Homeless Service Center, told The Bellingham Herald that the 64 names were collected by members of the Homeless Outreach Team and from family members of those who died.
Not everyone on the list was technically homeless, but all had been homeless recently, Bryant said in a voicemail.
“We continue to acknowledge those folks who pass even after we’ve been able to serve them,” Bryant said.
“It’s heartbreaking, frankly, when that happens, but it is not unusual, unfortunately. So not every single name is a person who passed while unsheltered. Many were staying at Base Camp for example, and many were in their own housing when they passed after a prolonged period of homelessness,” she said.
Official records
That aligns with records collected by the Whatcom County Medical Examiner’s Office, which reported 47 unhoused people who died through Dec. 30, 2022, said Deborah D. Hollis, the chief investigator and operations manager.
That total was 20 in 2021, according to the medical examiner’s annual report.
Cause and manner of each person’s death was not listed, so it was unknown if they had died of exposure, a medical condition, overdose or another reason.
Surge in deaths
It’s part of a surge of deaths homeless people across the United States, blamed in part on extreme weather, economic hardship and the opioid epidemic.
In Los Angeles, which has one of the nation’s largest homeless populations, deaths increased 76% from 2014 to 2018, according to Kaiser Health News report.
A 2020 report from the National Health Care for the Homeless Council said that the U.S. government doesn’t collect data on homeless deaths, so it studied records from several states and cities.
“Across most examined communities, homeless deaths have substantially increased over the past five to 10 years,” the report said.
It spotlighted recent efforts in Philadelphia, which worked to add “supportive” housing, increase low-barrier shelter beds, expand space in mental health and addiction treatment centers, and distribute free naloxone to combat opioid overdoses — all steps that have been advanced in Whatcom County.
This story was originally published January 8, 2023 at 5:00 AM.
