by Yucheng Tang & Leslie Layton
posted Dec. 16
A march to commemorate the unhoused who have passed away in a public space will begin at Children’s Park at 4:40 p.m. Dec 21 and conclude at the Our Hands sculpture where a memorial will take place. And Safe Space, the nonprofit that operates seasonal nighttime sheltering, restarted its winter program Dec. 15.
Dec. 21 — the day that has the longest night in a year — is nationwide Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day. The first Annual Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day was commemorated in 1990, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless, in order to remember those who have died while experiencing homelessness. There have been between 10 and 18 such deaths in Chico in 2024.
In Chico, Safe Space was able to open an office in a rented building on the Esplanade and shuttle about 18 unhoused people to a church for the night, said Executive Director Hilary Crosby. Crosby said the previous night had been, in a sense, heartbreaking.
“It was surprising to me how many [of their clients were] older and barely mobile,” she said in a telephone interview today.
Safe Space had been lobbying the City for authorization to operate for the winter out of a building at 1909 Esplanade. The City earlier this year said the nonprofit needed an expensive land use permit. The matter was resolved when Safe Space revised its description of its operation to qualify for office use, which doesn’t involve the permitting process.
Crosby said clients show up at the location between 5:30 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. and have individual meetings with staff. After they agree to a code of conduct, they’re shuttled to a church for the night.
Crosby said the program will run until March 1 with two gaps that have not yet been filled by any of the local churches. The first gap is for several days prior to Christmas Day, and the second gap is from Jan. 12-26.
Crosby said Safe Space accepts donations of warm winter clothing, blankets, bedding for sleeping out during the gaps in program operations, and socks and underwear. Donations are accepted at Chico Chai and Ghost Poppy.
Meanwhile, NorCal Resist Chico has organized the now annual memorial for unhoused people who have passed away. People are encouraged to bring flowers to attend the event, and organizers will hand out LED candles.
Mary Kay Benson, manager of the Facebook group Butte County Shelter for All, has compiled a list of 18 people who she believes passed away in public spaces during the past year and were unhoused. ChicoSol has only been able to confirm 10 of the cases through the Butte County Coroner’s Division, Chico Police “Death in Public” press releases and the Butte County Sheriff’s Office reports.
ChicoSol is working to identify all of the people who have not yet been identified on this list by name through a Public Records Act request. The deaths confirmed by ChicoSol are:
— River Chase Bernreuter, 25. His body was found Feb. 2 on Business Lane.
— Kenneth James Corbitt, 44, whose body was found Feb. 5 on Fair Street.
— Francisco Franco, 61, of Chico. His body was found Feb. 15 on Business Lane.
— Julie Bergstrom, 41, of Oroville. Bergstrom was found dead Feb. 29 at the Alternate Site encampment.
— A deceased person was found March 5 near Little Chico Creek near Humboldt Road and Forest Avenue.
— A deceased person was found April 28 at One Mile Recreation Area seated near the restroom.
— A deceased person was found June 20 outside the Torres Community Shelter on the Costco side of the street.
— A man was found dead July 2 in the bushes near 570 Vallombrosa Ave.
— A deceased person was found dead July 12 in a 1998 green Chevrolet truck under a tree close to the bus stop off Forest Avenue.
— A deceased person was found Sep. 2 in the 1300 block of Guill Street.
Yucheng Tang is a California Local News Fellow reporting for ChicoSol. Leslie Layton is editor of ChicoSol.
The official list of those who have passed away outside is an under count if you pay attention to the news reports.