Chum holds annual homeless memorial vigil

DULUTH, Minn. — A solemn tradition continued for the Chum drop-in center in Duluth as the organization held its annual Homeless Memorial Vigil.

Many attendees marched from Chum’s building on W 2nd St, to the steps of Duluth city hall in order to pay their respects for the dozens of community members who have experienced homelessness that passed away within the last year.

While the number of people remembered at the ceremony was the lowest in the last 3 years, speakers at the event continued to urge those in government to do everything in their power
to make that statistic a zero.

“There is no better way to end homelessness than with housing,” said Chum’s Executive Director John Cole. “The latest housing study commissioned by the city of Duluth suggest that we need to create 2,094 affordable and subsidized rental units by the year 2030. We must ask why housing study after housing study continues to expose our failure to build these very units that are so desperately needed.”

Of those honored at the vigil, the oldest person was 75 years old, with the youngest being just 20 years old.