Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day

Additional Information

BILLINGS, MT – RiverStone Health Healthcare for the Homeless invites the community to join in a candlelight vigil to remember homeless persons who have died, a ceremony that is now in its 24th year.

The Homeless Persons’ Memorial vigil takes place on the first day of winter, Thursday, December 21^st, the longest night and shortest day of the year. Those who attend the ceremony are asked to bring a donation of warmth. Donations of new socks, mittens, gloves, hats and scarves, of any size or color, will be given to homeless persons in our community. Men’s sizes are typically in short supply.

In a January 2017 survey of homelessness, Yellowstone County’s District 7 had:

• the highest number of homeless in the state;
• the highest number of homeless without shelter;
• the highest number of homeless families; and
• the highest number of homeless children of any region.

The statewide “point-in-time” survey counted homeless persons on a single day, January 26, 2017. Totals from Yellowstone County were combined with results from four smaller counties to form District 7.

Although no one has exact number of homeless individuals in Montana, the statewide survey counted 1,529 people. Of those, 544 said they were without shelter.

In District 7, which includes Yellowstone, Carbon, Big Horn, Stillwater and Sweet Grass counties, 431 individuals were counted as homeless, just over 28 percent of the homeless population surveyed in the state.  More than half of those individuals – 231 – were without shelter on the day the survey was conducted.

Among those counted as homeless in District 7, the total was nearly evenly split between individuals and family groups. The 214 homeless individuals who were in family groups included 139 homeless children. Fifty-three of those children were under the age of five.

Homelessness dramatically increases a person’s risk of illness, injury or death. Through RiverStone Health’s Healthcare for the Homeless, 1,699 individuals received medical services at shelters and various other locations around Billings in 2016. Common medical services included treatment for hypertension, diabetes, asthma, and lung or heart diseases.

Of the homeless individuals seen for medical needs, 965 were staying at a shelter and 170 were living on the streets.  Another large group was temporarily “couch surfing,” or staying in a temporary situation with someone else.

In every age group, homeless individuals are three times more likely to die prematurely than the general population, according to the National Health Care for the Homeless Council. Their average age of death is about 50 years, while the general population can expect to live to age 78.

Life on the street or in shelters increases exposure to communicable diseases, violence, poor nutrition and exposure to the elements. Since homeless individuals may go without medication, chronic conditions such as high blood pressure, diabetes and asthma, or behavioral health issues such as depression or alcoholism, may worsen.

“People sleeping outside or staying in shelters are the most visible portion of the homelessness population in our community,” said Clarence Salley with RiverStone Health Healthcare for the Homeless. “The homeless who are staying temporarily with relatives or friends, living in low-cost motels, sleeping in their cars or couch-surfing from one place to the next, are largely invisible to the rest of the community.”

The candlelight vigil offers a way to spotlight the needs of homeless people living in our community as well as remember homeless people who have died.