On Thursday, Dec. 21, the bell will toll for all those who have perished on the streets of Portland in the 2006. The event always occurs on the winter solstice, symbolically the longest night of the year — an ironic harbinger of the unpredictable winter to come for those who survive.
On that evening, at 6 p.m., people will gather at Outside In for the Homeless Memorial Service, an event to remember those who have died homeless, and those who still struggle with homelessness. Everyone is welcome.
“Nobody should have to die on the streets,” said Keith Vann, coordinator for the Homeless Memorial Service. “Nobody who is waiting for housing should have to face the consequence of possibly dying on the street because of exposure, because of lack of service. That is something that as a community we should insist never happen.”
The one-hour service will feature a fire ceremony by Fuego, along with speakers from the community and personal remembrances. The event has been organized locally by Janus Youth Programs, Potluck in the Park, Outside In, Sisters of the Road and Street Roots, and is part of a national day of remembrance organized by the National Care for the Homeless Council and the National Coalition for the Homeless. Cities across the country will be conducting similar candlelight memorials on the same night.
“It’s important for people not only to acknowledge the individuals who have paid the ultimate price,” said Vann, who has his own experience with homelessness. “But also for us as a community to acknowledge the number of people who are on the street and use that as an indicator of how far we need to go to resolve the problem.”
Exact numbers on who have died on the streets isn’t known. The Multnomah County medical examiners office doesn’t record those statistics. What is known is that many organizations have lost members who were homeless, and the street community at large has lost friends. This summer, Street Roots lost a friend and vendor, Paul Ballway, who struggled to cope with depression in his final months. The downtown community is still mourning the loss of Anita Floyd, the friendly face with the fiery red hair at Sixth and Alder. She died from complications after a massive heart attack, and her memory was honored with bouquets of flowers and cards from those who missed her friendly smile.
“Mortality rates for homeless people are three times the rate for others, and life expectancy is around 50 years — about what it was for everyone in 1900,” said John Lozier, executive director of the National Health Care for the Homeless Council. “These high death rates point to the terrible conditions of homelessness, and to serious problems of healthcare access in America,” Lozier said.
“In addition to the ongoing, unnecessary deaths from disease and exposure, a wave of cruel and senseless murders of homeless people is emerging throughout the country,” said Michael Stoops, acting executive director of the National Coalition for the Homeless. “Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day is in part a call for America to come to our senses, and to treat homeless people with kindness rather than unprovoked beatings.”
In Portland, Christopher Darryl John Carter was found murdered on the sidewalk near Southwest 12th Avenue and Alder Street. In recent weeks, several campers reported waking up to attackers beating them with chains and knives.
“They were going to set fire to my camp. They were going to set fire to it while I was in my sleeping bag,” said Jack Heathcock, who was attacked in late November. “I don’t get afraid of anything, but that was one messed up situation. I expected them to kill me.”
The Dec. 21 event is one of two memorials that draw people together to remember. A similar, interfaith ceremony is held in the spring at The Downtown Chapel.
“It’s important for people to acknowledge and attend and to take back the remembrances of those who passed,” Vann said. “And also remember the loss to the community that these people are no longer able to contribute. It’s about our role as a community to ensure that that not happen.”
During the winter months, the city opens up overflow shelter space to accommodate the increase in people seeking a warm, safe place to sleep. Historically, that was facilitated through the Estate Hotel, which could accommodate 85 to 100 more people during inclement weather. But the Estate Hotel is undergoing renovation, and not in use for shelter.
Inclement weather emergency shelter — which is used to house people who cannot get into traditional shelters: couples, families, people with animals and carts, or people who don’t have tuberculosis cards — is now down to 30 beds at Harbor Light and The Royal Palm. Liora Berry, a homeless program coordinator with Portland’s Bureau of Housing and Community Development, said ideally they would have additional space for 150 to 200 people, but she hasn’t found many options available. Berry is hoping organizations with facilities and capacity to handle additional people overnight will come forward and take in people during the winter months.
Although the number of people served by Portland and Multnomah County has increased, capacity still falls far behind demand. In a one-night count of people who requested shelter on Jan. 26, 2005, more than 1,000 were turned away — a 54 percent increase over March 14, 2004, according to Portland’s report to the 2005 Conference of Mayors. Families with a total of 800 members were unable to be accommodated in city shelters, up 60 percent from the previous year.
Through events such as the Homeless Persons’ Memorial, Vann believes people can begin to put a human face on the statistics and lead people to implement solutions.
“As in past years, people will leave with the recognition that these weren’t just faceless individuals who passed away,” Vann said. “These are people with creativity, with drive, with hopes; they were real people who passed. That’s the misconception that we’d like to correct: It’s not just a homeless person that died, it’s a human being, a person, a neighbor.”
