Dozens gather at Covent Garden Market to remember those lost to homelessness in London

The number of people in London who have died of homelessness this year stood at 45 on Tuesday, according to the London Homeless Coalition (LHC). By Wednesday, that number rose to 46, as another life was lost.

The coalition, which calculates the number with death notifications from nearly 30 community agencies, estimates more than 100 people died while living on London streets in the city over the past 22 months, including 60 people last year alone. 

Dozens of Londoners gathered outside the Covent Garden Market on Thursday to remember those lives as part of an annual public memorial service put on by the coalition.

Each death was a unique individual with their own lives and stories, said Jason Galindo, chair of the death notification protocol for the coalition.

"I'm indirectly connected to everybody who passes in this community," said Galindo. 

The tally includes Londoners unhoused at the time of their death, or who had long histories of housing deprivation that led to negative health. At least 60 per cent were homeless when they died, he said. 

He believes the tally is likely much higher as not every agency in the city contributes to the tally. 

Among the speakers at Tuesday's memorial was Marnie Lougheed, a London resident who became homeless following the breakdown of her marriage and the loss of her house, she said.

Successfully housed since 2019, Lougheed recalled the challenges that the city's unhoused population faces not having a place to live, including its lasting health impacts.

"They have no way to keep appointments, no way to travel to appointments and for many, they can't even make an appointment because they have no phone, no address to receive mail, and often no family doctor," she said.

Lougheed said poverty cost her all her "life's treasures" after a storage unit she was renting for her items was repossessed because she couldn't afford the fee. It's also cost her much more.

"I have lost so many friends in the six years I have been housed," she said.

Her drive to make a positive impact has led to her joining the Women's Advisory Group of Street Level Women At Risk (SWLAR), a collaborative involving nearly 30 local community organizations.

"For everyone listening today who believe that homelessness happens to other people, I am here to prove that it can and does happen to anyone," she said.

"Stop looking at the homeless as someone different or less than you. We are all people, and we all deserve a home."

While resources are available and good work is being done in the community, it's not nearly enough for the number of people facing homelessness, said Jaclyn Seeler, LHC's co-chair.

Stagnant social assistance, a minimum wage below what advocates say is needed, and an expensive housing market has brought a bump in the number of first-timers accessing the system, she said.

"We have lost about eight women in the program that I support," she said referring to SWLAR, where she works as program manager.

"I always keep them in my heart every single day. They were… beautiful spirits, they were strong, they were resilient, they had a story. They had family and friends that cared deeply about them."

The city's By-Name List, a snapshot of people experiencing homelessness in the city, lists between 1,800 to 2,000 names on any given day, a number which is growing, Seeler says.

As of Sept. 30, 1,935 people were on the list of which 44 per cent had high-acuity needs and 14 per cent were chronically homeless, according to the city.