Memorial puts “human face” on tragic losses

In 2013, 40 people died on the streets of Edmonton. Their lives were commemorated in the ninth annual Edmonton Homeless Memorial held on May 23.

“We provide the people of the community with the opportunity to celebrate, grieve, and remember those people,” said John Acheson, a trustee with the Catholic School Board and MC of the event for a number of years. He is also chair of the organizing committee.

The memorial is a way “to put a human face on homelessness,” said Jim Gurnett, with the Edmonton Coalition on Housing and Homelessness. “Every year we are reminded that there continues to be a major crisis around homelessness in the city.”

Gurnett started the Homeless Memorial when colleagues in Toronto told him what they were doing.

Last year 29 men and 11 women died, directly or indirectly as the result of not having a home.

“I think all of us as citizens have to come together and understand that while we live in the midst of so much, there are people who struggle and there are people who don’t have,” said Premier David Hancock, who was one of a number of politicians to attend the memorial. “That belongs to the whole community. We all have to take responsibility for it.”

Information about the number of deaths comes mostly from agencies, with lists cross-checked to ensure no one is counted twice.

“We count carefully, trying to be conservative, not alarmist,” said Gurnett. “(We) only count those with chronic homelessness as a major feature in their lives.”

Gurnett says that the number of people remembered has gone up over the years. The first year 28 people were counted, while in the last few years the number has hovered around 40.

While it is unclear how many of those deaths are Aboriginal, the ceremony, which took place at the Homeless Memorial Statue just north of City Hall, included Aboriginal cultural elements as Elder Jerry Wood drummed and sang as participants pinned small ribbons to a board in memory of their departed loved ones.
The statue was created three years ago and includes many panels that were made by people who have experienced homelessness. Initially the memorial was held indoors during the winter at Boyle Street Community Services, but changed to an outdoor service when the Homeless Memorial Statue was created.

 “I think for most people you have to take time to grieve, to say goodbye in a special way. The coalition felt that people who lost relatives on the street really did not have the opportunity to grieve and celebrate the life of the person who has died,” said Acheson. He notes that the response from the community has been positive, with dozens of people coming out each year to celebrate the lives of their loved ones.

Gurnett stresses that this is the one event that involves ECOHH that is not political in nature. “We don’t talk so much about why this is happening and what we need to do about it, we just say there is something inherently unfair that people lose years of their life because as a society we don’t make sure everyone has a home.”

Photo caption: Rev. Travis Enright leads the service held at the Homeless Memorial Statue, which commemorates lives lost on Edmonton’s streets in 2014.