Dozens of people participated in the candlelight vigil.
An honor guard from Naval Station Everett presented the colors.
Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson spoke of how his opinion of homelessness has been transformed.
People listened as 17 names were read of those who had died on Snohomish County streets.
A trumpeter from Edmonds Police played Taps.
Dozens of people held candles and listened as the names were read aloud of 17 people who died as they were experiencing homelessness in Snohomish County this year.
That list included six veterans. The ceremony is a part of a national event and is sponsored by the Snohomish County Veterans Homelessness Committee.
December 21st is chosen because it is the longest night of the year.
The wife of one of the deceased vets received a flag in honor of her husband.
The speakers included Everett Mayor Ray Stephanson who spoke of how his thoughts of those experiencing homelessness have transformed over the last couple of years.
“My focus had been on the problems created by people living on the streets” said the Mayor. “But as I’ve had the chance to talk with our service providers and heard the stories from our police officers and social worker, and as I’ve interacted with our homeless citizens, it’s become clear that this is a complex challenge, and it can’t be solved simply by telling people to “get a job.”
The crowd also heard from a trio of people who work daily with those who are experiencing homelessness who described why they do what they do and what they hope can be accomplished.
An Everett pastor summed up the evening reminding the crowd that people who are dying on the streets here have a home.
“Their home is Everett,” he said. “What they don’t have is a house.”
That is something the people gathered at the vigil this afternoon are working to change.
December 21, 2015
Events in Everett, Everett, Everett Government