Tracking and Memorializing Homeless Deaths in Seattle with WHEEL Women in Black

Abstract

The Women’s Housing Equality and Enhancement League (WHEEL) tracks and memorializes homeless deaths in King County, Washington, staging Women in Black vigils each time new deaths occur outside, in a public location, or by violence. To understand participant experiences of vigils, we interviewed 27 people between October 2020 and January 2021. We identified themes characterizing motivations, outcomes, and general effects of acts of public mourning for homeless deaths. Findings illustrate the role of public mourning in creating public understanding of the importance of shelter in saving lives, while fulfilling the deeply spiritual and human need to honor every death and grieve in community.

Keywords:

• Homelessness
• homeless deaths
• community organizing
• public mourning
• community grief

Acknowledgments

The authors thank WHEEL members for voting to approve this project and supporting the research efforts.

Disclosure statement

MM is a paid organizer with WHEEL. The Northwest Center for Public Health Practice provided funding for this project, which was used to purchase incentives for participation.

Data availability statement

Due to the nature of this qualitative research and the identifiable nature of the interview text, participants of this study did not agree for their data to be shared publicly, so supporting data is not available.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Colleen McCarty

Colleen McCarty, MPH, conducted this research as a Master of Public Health student at the University of Washington during the 2020-2021 academic year.

Michele Marchand

Michele Marchand is a Community Organizer with SHARE/WHEEL and a Clinical Instructor with the University of Washington School of Public Health.

Amy Hagopian

Amy Hagopian, MHA, PhD., is a faculty instructor in the University of Washington School of Public Health, Department of Global Health and Department of Health Systems and Population Health.