‘These are humans and their lives mattered’: Memorial held for 57 who died while experiencing homelessness

Dozens gathered on Friday at the Covent Garden Market to pay their respects to the 57 people who homelessness advocates say died experiencing homelessness over the last year.

Charitable organization were also at the event to distribute food and clothing to those who need it.

The memorial was organized by the London Homeless Coalition (LHC) and while it’s the ninth such event, it is the first in person gathering since the start of pandemic according to Melissa Sheehan, a long-time homeless Londoner who says she knew many of the victims.

Sheehan says that the memorial was held virtually during the pandemic and didn’t have the same sense of community and support that comes from seeing people show up in person.

“When you come out here in person, you can feel the cold and experience a bit of what it was like for them,” says Sheehan. “In past years it rained and, maybe this makes me morbid, but I felt it was fitting because we can’t just go into our houses when the weather turns. They didn’t have that privilege.”

While the LHC reported 57 deaths since October 2021, Jason Galiano, who heads the LHC’s death notification protocol which tracks deaths in the homeless community along with partner organizations, says that keeping accurate records can be difficult.

He says that some of the organizations working with persons experiencing homelessness might not know that the protocol exists, so they aren’t passing on the information to the LHC protocol.

“The infrastructure, which is strictly volunteer by the way, just needs to be strengthened in order for us to be more knowing about the community members who are passing,” says Galiano.

Jaclyn Seeler, the co-chair of the LHC, says that they also don’t have access to public health records and that she believes the number could be even higher than their protocol reports because they’re missing information.

In August, The Forgotten 519, a coalition of frontline workers who advocate for vulnerable members of society, held a hunger strike in front of City Hall which led to talks with the city in order to find solutions to prevent more deaths.

Since then, 15 people experiencing homelessness have died according to the LHC’s protocol.

Despite this, Melissa Sheehan says she’s hopeful for meaningful change and encouraged by the number of people who showed up.

“It’s great to see the acknowledgement and the turnout increase year after year,” says Sheehan. “I hope that the conversations that come about from the acknowledgement and from the presence of those memorials can lead to more solutions.”