Homeless who died on the streets this year included 6 veterans
EVERETT — Wes Fay missed dinner at First Presbyterian Church so he could celebrate lost friends.
“They were just guys who found themselves on the street,” he said. “It’s a hard life. You lose people.”
He has seen friends freeze on cold nights. Others fell to drugs or drinking.
“Everyone else has passed except me and Chief,” Fay said.
He doesn’t know Chief’s real name. They run into each other around town.
Snohomish County hosted the fifth annual Homeless Person’s Memorial Day on Wednesday evening. It was the longest and darkest night of the year.
The ceremony recognized 15 people who were homeless and died this year. Six of them were veterans.
“Regardless of the circumstance of someone passing away, they deserve to be recognized and memorialized,” said Cammy Hart-Anderson, a manager with the county’s chemical dependency, mental health and veterans services department.
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