By EMMA FLETCHER-FRAZER, Skagit Valley Herald, Mount Vernon, Wash. The Tribune Content Agency
MOUNT VERNON - About 60 community members gathered at Skagit Riverwalk Park on the winter solstice Saturday night to mourn the homeless who died in 2024.
The event, called the Longest Night Memorial, was the second annual iteration.
"It's to honor the people who passed away, and also bring awareness and put a face to the names," said organizer Lise Bennett of Tierra Nueva, a group that does street outreach and officiates memorials.
"It's recognizing them as individuals, and honoring them, and also acknowledging that they're gone."
Tierra Nueva, Radius Church and Skagit County Public Health organized the event.
The Longest Night used to be held by Coalition to End Homelessness, but it dropped off at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Radius Church Outreach Director Valerie McCormack.
McCormack, who had previously been unhoused after her daughter had been diagnosed with cancer and her son died, said she is passionate about breaking the stigma about being homeless.
There's a variety of ways that people end up homeless, she said.
"Everybody has a story," said McCormack. "There's a reason why people end up out there. And even if they are out there from substances or mental health (I want people) to see them as a person. They're somebody's child."
Nineteen Skagit County residents died last year while homeless.
On Saturday, hot cocoa and coffee kept those gathered warm as they held candles next to a memory board of those who died. Organizers read prayers, poems and the names of those who died.
The event was a space to mourn without judgment, to have hope, and to advocate, said McCormack.
"Let today be a day of mourning and reflection, but let tomorrow be a day of action," McCormack read at the event.
"There are a lot of organizations working together trying really, really hard to get homes for people," McCormack told the Skagit Valley Herald.
Those remembered included Robert Auldridge, Tiana Marshall, April Lanzi, Tanner Brown, Jasmine Hernandez, Christopher, Gaynther, Ernesto Chavez, David Lamar, Benjamin Bury, John Kriss, Steven Butler, Edser Quiros, Tessa Hawk, Curtis V, Desmond, Merleta, Ruben Leyva and Mach'ka Marie Ueker.
Those gathered also remembered service provider Erin Birman, an outreach worker in east Skagit County who died Aug. 9.
The community members set off down the pedestrian river walk in a march to remember those lost before regathering for music and a closing prayer.
The event was good but somber, said Bennett.
"A lot of the people (who died) I knew," said Bennett. "They weren't just names, they're people that we've walked alongside."
Bennett said she sees families often feeling shame while mourning those lost from drug overdoses or while they were homeless.
"They're not quite sure how to honor the person, and separate it from that shame," said Bennett. "And so that's what we're really trying to do - is honor the people."