Annual “We Will Remember: Homeless Persons’ Memorial Vigil” Held on Night of Life-Threatening Frigid Temperatures.
Josh secures a tent, as he seeks to keep snow and wind out, while retaining heat from a smile far inside. Credit: Giles Clasen
Story and Photos by Giles Clasen
We Will Remember
“Part of the memorial tradition is that it is held the longest night of the year, and it's normally very cold,” said Cathy Alderman, chief communications and public policy officer for the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless (CCH) said the morning after the event. “We come out to honor people who have to deal with [cold weather] multiple nights of the year. Last night it was dangerously cold,” she added.
There were marginally fewer deaths reported in 2022 than of individuals experiencing homelessness the prior year, but Alderman said they know it is an undercount, and nothing should be read into the difference.
“We continue to see deaths from exposure,” Alderman said. “Not necessarily is that exposure the main cause of death, but it exacerbates other health conditions – which likely happened last night and will continue happening today, and tomorrow.”
The fentanyl epidemic is also a contributing factor in deaths among individuals experiencing homelessness.
“Unfortunately, we continue to see increases in overdose deaths,” said Alderman. “ I think that speaks to the difficulty and trauma of being out on the street and self-medicating.”
Hunkering Down in a Tent
Immediately after the vigil on December 21, which was cut short due to dangerous weather, outreach workers from multiple agencies began reaching out to homeless encampments to help people get to a shelter. Many individuals chose to brave the weather in their tents, rather than go to shelters.
“Shelters are disgusting and dangerous. I have more sanitary living conditions right here in my tent than in the shelters,” said a Stitchez, a person staying in one of the encampments.
Stichez and her boyfriend Nik built a makeshift tent from a tarp and blankets next to a building on Colfax Ave. The two were hoping to hunker down for a couple of days and make it through the storm by burning a mix of hand sanitizer, rubbing alcohol, and candle wax for heat. They said the right mixture burns without emitting a lot of smoke.
“These nights catch people off guard because it gets so cold so fast. It gets so cold you can't think,” Stitchez said.
Making Matters Worse with Sweeps
Josh, another individual staying in a tent despite the cold weather echoed Stitchez and Nik’s thoughts on shelters.
“I feel safer in my own personal environment,” Josh said. “I like to keep my area clean. Shelters may not keep things as clean as I like. Sometimes other people don't respect themselves and others. I don't feel safe in a shelter.”
Josh said this storm was uniquely dangerous for him because he lost his coat and other supplies during a recent sweep of his homeless encampment by the City of Denver.
“We're so frustrated with sweeps. It is like a random eviction in complete chaos with tedious tension. I lost half my stuff because I moved some supplies. When I returned to the camp they had thrown away the other half of my stuff,” Josh said.
Dying on the Streets
Stitchez, Nik, and Josh have each lost friends living on the street in the past year.
“I've known a few friends [during the time I’ve been homeless] but lost many of them,” Josh said.
Stitchez and Nik have lost two friends just in the past month. One froze to death after his belongings were stolen, and another was found bludgeoned to death in the past few days.
Nik was unable to find his friends listed in the program from the “We Will Remember” vigil and said it was common for homeless deaths to go unnoticed.
“Nobody really wants to die, even if they're homeless,” Nik said. “They still have a purpose. Just because we're homeless doesn't mean we aren't searching for a purpose. We're just taking the long way around to get there.”
Turning Themselves in to Avoid the Cold
The threat of dangerous weather does drive some individuals to turn themselves in to the police for outstanding warrants. This allows them to avoid the storm from the relative safety of an indoor jail cell.
Nik said he turned himself in for outstanding drug possession warrants during an especially cold night when he was 18 years old. He said he had seen others do it, and he felt it was his only choice at the time after having his tent and blankets stolen.
“I chose jail because it is cleaner than the shelters,” Nik said. “I didn't have anything. Everything I had at the time was stolen. I had two options that night, freeze to death or jail, and I chose jail.”
Nik spent 18 months in jail at the time. When he was released, Nik went to rehab at the Stout Street Clinic and enjoyed a period of stability, before returning to homelessness.
Ongoing Tension
Alderman with CCH ¬acknowledged that although Denver has made improvements over the past years, which includes involving more case managers, the city could do a better job of managing its shelters.
“There’s an ongoing tension of knowing we’re always going to need shelters; we’re always going to need emergency spaces for people to go,” Alderman said. “But where do you make investments? Do you invest in making shelters more comfortable, or in making available more affordable housing and transitional housing? It is one of those ongoing debates.”
In response to the fridgid temperatures plaguing the Front Range, Alderman still encouraged anyone experiencing homelessness to make their way to a temporary shelter at the Denver Coliseum or another shelter.
“One thing that I heard from folks was that people were more interested in going to the [Denver] Coliseum because it was a new space, and they thought it would be different from their experience at other shelters,” Alderman said.