Homeless Remembrance Project

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Homeless Remembrance Project

The Homeless Remembrance Project is a homeless-led, community building movement nurturing connections among people—homeless and housed, living and dead.

Aspects of our Project/Mission:

Women in Black: Silent vigils to honor and remember homeless people who have died outside or by violence n King County, bearing witness to the crisis of homelessness. Leaves of Remembrance: Artistic bronze Leaves, installed in sidewalks, bearing the names of those who have endured homelessness who have died. We share their stories at www.fallenleaves.org. The Tree

of Life: A beautiful bronze sculpture in Victor Steinbrueck Park, with space for community gathering, hope, and healing, designed to recognize that we are one people, homeless and housed, together.

08/26/2026

Next up for the Homeless Remembrance Project is Dedication of three new Leaves of Remembrance at Ballard Library at noon Sunday, September 13th. These Leaves are for Anatoly "Zero" Sirofinsky, John Freilot, and Mark Morin--all beloved and iconic people of Ballard. As always, this event will be powerfully presided by Rev. Britt Olson of St. Luke's Episcopal Parish, with reception to follow. Please join us!

08/21/2026

On the heels of our difficult Women in Black vigil on Wednesday, our spirits were lifted by an amazing and beautiful Dedication of four Leaves of Remembrance at the South Park branch library! It really was one of the most special Leaf events we've ever done. Everything about this Dedication breathed solidarity, community and care: the participation of ordinary book-toting library patrons, delicious local snacks, neighbors and friends who'd known the people whose Leaves we were laying and spoke loving memories, and healing activities facilitated by our comrades at Sacred Passing. We're profoundly grateful for Seattle Public Libraries (and all our heroic library staff!), for Sacred Passing, and for the South Park neighborhood for so clearly bearing out the Beloved Community.

08/20/2026

It was an uneasy Women in Black vigil yesterday even though we had a great turnout. At the opening circle we reflected on the hurtful, hateful and victim-blaming remarks on our vigil notice post that've caused us to close comments here, for now. During the vigil, a passerby came into the group, glowering and taking close-up photos of participants. Later he kicked over a vase of flowers brought by friends of one of the women for whom we stood. He left without incident, but this seemed to be a sign of these troubled times.

During the closing circle the pastor tried to speak of "the spirit of solidarity." Clearly shaken by events of the day, she misspoke it to be "the spirit of hostility." We call on all who visit this page and join our remembrance efforts instead to embody the spirit of hospitality. As we said on our very first Women in Black vigil leaflet 26 years ago, "We resolve to be a community, homeless and housed, together." May it be so.

08/14/2026

WHEEL/Women in Black will stand vigil on the steps of City Hall (4th/James) from NOON to 1 PM NEXT Wednesday, August 19th for SEVENTEEN homeless people who died unsheltered or in public in July. We’ll honor and remember:

**Larry Hobson, 66, died of thermal burns at HMC on 7/2; found at Wasilla Campground
**Joseph Bailey, 58, died by meth/fentanyl/cocaine-involved OD outside on S. Weller St. on 7/3
**Roy Smalley, 63, died from heart disease at St. Columba's Episcopal Church (Kent) on 7/5
**Mark Silva, 46, died by meth/fentanyl-involved OD on sidewalk on Maynard Ave S. on 7/5
**Liliana Mellor, 36, found in Uptown parking garage; died at HMC from anoxic encephalopathy & meth/fentanyl-involved OD on 7/6
**Michael Olney, 34, died by fentanyl/benzodiazepine-involved OD under Ballard Bridge on 7/7
**Randall Sligar, 47, died by combo OD on sidewalk on Battery St. on 7/10
**Tye Parris, 31, died behind a warehouse on Occidental Ave. S. on 7/12; cause pending
**Nathan Calvin, 54, died by meth/fentanyl-involved OD at gas station on Fauntleroy SW on 7/13
**Ruben Espinoza, 40, died by meth/fentanyl-involved OD in park on 21st St. SE in Auburn on 7/14
**Gabriel Adame, 45, died outside the Auburn Library on 7/22; cause pending
**Rachel Rehaume, 38, died on railroad tracks near 74th/Willis St. in Kent on 7/22; cause pending
**D'Juana Willie, 37, died by meth/fentanyl-involved OD on Pac Hwy S. in Tukwila on 7/27
**Janine Cross, 51, died of blunt force injury at HMC on 7/28; found at SR 509/1st Ave S on 7/28
**Samuel Russell, 27, died by fentanyl-involved OD in alley at Aurora/N. 103rd St. on 7/31

WITHOUT SHELTER, PEOPLE DIE! AT LEAST 134 PEOPLE ALREADY THIS YEAR, AND 271 IN 2025. PLEASE JOIN US IN CALLING FOR SHELTER FOR ALL!

Also, please join the Homeless Remembrance Project as we dedicate more Leaves of Remembrance!:

**At 5:30 PM WED 8/19—the same day as our Women in Black Vigil!—we’ll be laying new Leaves at South Park Branch Library (8604—8th S). This is a new host location, in partnership with SPL! We’re dedicating Leaves for Alexander James Saulina, Francisco Diaz-Prieto, Andrea After Buffalo, and Sophit Chuon.

**At NOON SUN 9/13 at Ballard Branch Library 5614—22nd NW, we’ll be dedicating new Leaves in partnership with St Luke’s Episcopal Parish, for Mark Morin, Anatoly “Zero” Sirofinsky, and John Frielot.

Dedications later in September are being scheduled at Central Library and Hobson Place. JOIN US!

08/10/2026

The Homeless Remembrance Project was touched and grateful when we arrived at All Pilgrims Church on Broadway yesterday to discover Pauline, the Transit Fairy, was already there. She'd arrived early to clean the sidewalks, making sure they were pristine and beautiful for our Dedication of three new Leaves of Remembrance! This Dedication and blessing--during and after the All Pilgrims worship service--was a powerful witness. We thank All Pilgrims for hosting, Pr Greg Turk for presiding, and all who joined us.

Next up is Dedication of four Leaves at the South Park Library (8604—8th S) at 5:30 PM next Wednesday 8/19. This is a unique and new partnership with Seattle Public Libraries. All are welcome to join us!

**Note: There was an engraving error on the All Pilgrims Leaf for Brent Morgan Wood that we're correcting ASAP. We'll be going back to All Pilgrims to have the corrected Leaf blessed and laid very soon, and we regret the error.

08/08/2026

Tomorrow, during/after the 10:35 AM Service at All Pilgrims Church (Broadway/E. Republican) we're blessing and laying down three new Leaves of Remembrance, for Lindsey Dawson, Brent Wood, and Elizabeth "Mama Sara" Magyar. All are welcome to join us!

08/05/2026

What a beautiful, meaningful and moving blessing of Leaves we had at St. James Cathedral on Monday! We're grateful for powerful pastoral leadership from Father Gary Lazzeroni of the Cathedral, Rev. Sabeth Fitzgibbons of Trinity Episcopal Parish, and Rev. Pat Simpson of Church of Mary Magdalene. As spoken in the introduction to this Dedication:

"The Homeless Remembrance Project was born out of knowledge that people who've experienced homelessness often have no individual resting place, gravestone or memorial. Those who mourn them don't have a place to lay down a flower or stone, or to stand and have a conversation. The larger community is in danger of forgetting those who were so often ignored and disregarded during their lives. So the Homeless Remembrance Project includes the Tree of Life gathering place in Victor Steinbrueck Park, and these Leaves of Remembrance, with names, placed with love at locations across the city."

Next up is loving Dedication of three new Leaves at All Pilgrims Church (Broadway/E. Republican) out of their 10:35 AM service this Sunday 8/9. Join us!

08/03/2026

Reminder: All are welcome to join us as we bless and dedicate eight new Leaves of Remembrance at 2 PM this very afternoon at St James Cathedral (9th/Columbia intersection). Many of these Leaves are for WHEEL-involved participants. We're grateful for the partnership of St James, Trinity Episcopal Parish, and Church of Mary Magdalene for this event, and for the many other ways they support WHEEL and the homeless community.

07/27/2026

The Homeless Remembrance Project's Leaves of Remembrance--displaced for two years by multimillion-dollar SDOT Waterfront Access Improvement Project construction--are BACK in the sidewalks near Compass Housing Alliance. We had a meaningful blessing ceremony and relaid those Leaves last Friday, with pastoral leadership by Compass Pr Kristy Daniels and our own Rev Pat Simpson. From Pr Kristy's powerful ritual opening: "The ongoing marginalization of those in poverty or without adequate housing wounds our hearts and tears our souls. Many are walking through the valley of the shadow of death caused by marginalization and willful blindness. In the depths of pain and anger, we gather as community to remember those we have loved and those who have been a very real part of our lives. We remember these precious souls today and we honor all who have walked these hard streets with them. Let the testimony of their presence in our midst stir us to action and justice. We remember!"

Next up for the Homeless Remembrance Project is laying eight new Leaves outside St James Cathedral (9th/Columbia) at 2 PM next Monday, August 8th. Join us!

07/22/2026

REMINDER! The Homeless Remembrance Project will be blessing and re-laying Leaves of Remembrance, adding one new Leaf, at 1 PM this very Friday 7/24 at Compass Housing Alliance, 77 S. Washington. Please join us! From Pastor Kristy's Dedication program:

"On Friendship:"

It is not from the heavy soil of the earth, but from the free inclination and free desire of the spirit, requiring neither oath nor law, that a friend is bestowed on a friend.

There is hardly a feeling that makes us happier than to sense that we are able to do something for others. Nor is it numbers that matter here, but intensity. Ultimately the most important thing in life is precisely our human relationships.
--Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Wondrously Sheltered”

Address

PO Box 2548
Seattle, WA
98111

Telephone

+12069560334

Website

http://www.fallenleaves.org/, http://www.homelessremembrance.org/

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