Annual memorial honors Whatcom County residents who died without a home
About 100 people attended a memorial Saturday in Bellingham for those who died homeless last year in Whatcom County, part of a nationwide event held on the winter solstice every year.
As the names of the deceasedd were recited, participants lit candles in remembrance and struggled to keep them lit amid steady rain and blustery winds on the plaza in front of City Hall.
Participants sang the Youngbloods’ classic “Get Together” and offered prayers for their friends and loved ones.
A total of 81 people died who were homeless for at least some of last year, Opportunity Council spokeswoman Emily Martens told The Bellingham Herald.
That figure is down from 2023, when 84 people died on the streets, according to previous Herald reporting.
Halfway through 2024, however, Whatcom County officials reported that 56 people had died without a home, and they feared a continuing surge in deaths among unhoused people.
According to Homeless Death Count, a group that documents deaths among people experiencing homelessness, at least 20 people experiencing homelessness die every single day in the U.S. The average homeless person’s life expectancy is about 20 years shorter than the national average.
In an August report, the Whatcom County Department of Health and Community Services found that the overall state of homelessness in Whatcom County remained about the same from 2023 to 2024.
