Community remembers homeless who died this year

COEUR d'ALENE — On a bitter cold night, a small group gathered in downtown Coeur d'Alene for a candlelight vigil honoring six homeless people, patients of Heritage Health, who died this year.

The event took place Wednesday, Dec. 21, which was National Homeless Persons Memorial Day and the darkest day of the year.

It is observed on the winter solstice “because starting the next day, it will be lighter,” said Dirk Scott, a True North Church pastor who spoke at the vigil and led the prayers.

“These individuals will never be forgotten,” Scott said. "Some are here tonight remembering their family members, many of us are remembering our extended family members.”

Heritage Health hosted the event to honor the six, who were remembered by the health care provider's street medicine team.

“I don’t have a family,” said Two Feathers, outreach coordinator for Heritage Health. “So I’m part of their family, and they’re part of my family.”

Jolene Creech attended the memorial with friends from Union Gospel Mission. She’s enrolled in an 18-month program through UGM to help her regain her independence after a year and a half of struggling with homelessness.

“When you’re homeless, you’re just looked at differently, like you don’t matter,” Creech said. “The vigil hit home for me.”

Creech attended the candle lighting to honor Ginger Rivera, who was remembered at the vigil. Rivera, who died in November, had a passion for helping the homeless and worked as a server at St. Vincent de Paul North Idaho soup kitchen.

Creech called Rivera "Mom," like everyone else who knew her, and remembers becoming close with Rivera through her generosity.

Mourning Rivera “is definitely saying goodbye to my old life,” Creech said. "It gives me compassion — compassion for myself and for someone else.”

Creech attended with Paula Marano, whose late husband, Eugene, was a longtime local judge who started the drug court program in Kootenai County.

“Gene would come home from private practice, and he would say, ‘There were some homeless people, what are we going to do?'” Marano said. “And we would invite people to stay at our house periodically.”

Marano recalled a pregnant woman who stayed with them. The woman's husband was in jail, and the Maranos watched her get her life back on track.

“I just wanted to be present,” Marano said. “And memorializing with Jolene helps me with memorializing Gene.”

Creech and Marano were able to come together through their shared feelings and add a new perspective to their grief.

Kala Hall was inspired by a friend in 2019 to host the memorial in Coeur d’Alene.

“We’re recognizing the homeless people every year that we lose,” said Hall, a case manager for Heritage Health. “At our clinic, we become very close to the individuals. They’re a form of family.”

Some Heritage Health employees attended to share grief with their community and to promote awareness of homelessness in Kootenai County.

“We’re seeing a huge increase in homelessness among elderly people,” Hall said.

People on fixed incomes who are seeing their rent increase are being pushed onto the streets, Two Feathers said.

“The community calls us all the time,” Two Feathers said. “We have a 78-year-old female and an 87-year-old female homeless, sleeping in their vehicles. We’ve never seen that before.”

Pastor Scott, Hall and Two Feathers are seeing homelessness change in a way that scares them.

“It’s the new growing face of homelessness,” Scott said.