Utah's 41 fallen homeless remembered at park vigil

Terri Thurman. Lurleen Angel. Mary Valdez. Gaylan Jonas. Chris, Augustine and Levi Trujillo.

All of them homeless. All of them died in 2005. And Tony Martinez knew them all — from the streets, from his childhood, from prison and from his home.

"They're all fine people," said Martinez, whose wife, Thurman, overdosed on alcohol and drugs earlier this year. "They made some bad choices, but they had good hearts."

Forty-one homeless Utahns died in 2005, and each was honored at a Wednesday night candlelight vigil in Salt Lake's Pioneer Park.

Martinez, who was homeless himself until 18 months ago, read the names of each person who passed away in 2005.

"Each of those names means something to those of us who knew them, to those of us who loved them," said community advocate Pamela Atkinson. "We have to make an even greater effort to prevent these premature deaths from occurring."

Utah Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr. and his family attended Wednesday's vigil, as did Salt Lake County Mayor Peter Corroon and Salt Lake City Mayor Rocky Anderson's chief of staff, Sam Guevara. Each proclaimed Dec. 21 as "Homeless Person's Memorial Day" within the state, county and city. In holding the chilly evening ceremony, Salt Lake City joined more than 125 cities in honoring the homeless people who passed away during the year and raising awareness for the population's needs.

"These deaths are not isolated incidences, and can be prevented with access to affordable housing and health care," Atkinson said.

The homeless are three to four times more likely to die prematurely, she said. The median age of death for a homeless person is 51 years old, compared to the national life expectancy of 77 years old. In Utah, 13,500 people experience homelessness each year.

Martinez said he easily could have been included on the list of the dead, had he not received help from organizations such as the Fourth Street Clinic, which provides medical care to the homeless, or Volunteers of America and its extensive outreach program. "They'll help you if you just commit yourself to doing better," he said.

It's that kind of help, Atkinson said, that will be necessary to shorten next year's list. "Let us never forget those who have died and suffered on the streets," she said. "Let us all work together to prevent further deaths."

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E-mail: awelling@desnews.com