The Mission says it has counted about 40 people who have passed away, either while they were homeless living on the streets or as a result of being homeless, such as if they passed away in the hospital because of an injury.
Justin Wandro, director of development at the Good News Rescue Mission, said the memorial is part of a national advocacy effort. It's spearheaded by the National Coalition for the Homeless, the National Consumer Advisory Board and the National Health Care for the Homeless Council.
"We want to remember them, we want to honor their memory, and we want to give our staff, our other guests who are in our shelter and others the opportunity to come and mourn their loss and remember them," he said.
Their names will be read aloud and carved into a memorial plaque in the chapel. There will also be a moment of silence for those whose names are unknown. The Mission has identified 23 of the approximately 40 people who passed away this year.
"Each year we try to identify as many people as possible who passed away. It’s likely the number is higher as not all are identified as experiencing homelessness," the Mission's website reads.
The Mission does not know the cause of death for every person but identifies some through their previous employment, through partner organizations or through other channels.
The 23 named individuals this year compares to 19 named individuals last year.
Homeless older adults have a mortality rate that is 3.5 times higher than the general population’s, according to a 2022 study in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.
“Homeless people experience accelerated aging, including premature onset of chronic medical conditions, functional and cognitive impairments, and mortality," the study reads.
Wandro said some of the causes of death this year were injuries, lack of adequate medical care, complications from addiction and overdoses. He said he didn't know of anyone who passed away due to weather-related causes like heat stroke.
Chronic homelessness increased in far Northern California by about 32% from 2022 to 2023, according to the 2023 Point in Time Report from the Northern California Continuum of Care, which includes Del Norte, Lassen, Modoc, Plumas, Shasta, Sierra and Siskiyou counties. In January 2023, the region had approximately 2,500 homeless people.
Wandro said the Mission has about 150 people staying at its emergency shelter each night, as well as 50 people a night staying in its drug and alcohol recovery program.
This year’s memorial will be held on Dec. 20 at 11 a.m. at the Good News Rescue Mission’s chapel at 3075 Veda Street in Redding.
The whole community is invited to attend the event, Wandro said.
"We invite not just those who are experiencing homelessness, and not just those who knew the people who passed away, but we invite the whole community to come down," he said. "We think that's really important because we want everyone to understand the seriousness of the issue. And when someone is experiencing homelessness, it literally becomes a life or death issue for them."
