Dozens gather at Covent Garden Market to remember those lost to homelessness in London

The number of people in London who have died of homelessness this year stood at 45 on Tuesday, according to the London Homeless Coalition (LHC). By Wednesday, that number rose to 46, as another life was lost.

The coalition, which calculates the number with death notifications from nearly 30 community agencies, estimates more than 100 people died while living on London streets in the city over the past 22 months, including 60 people last year alone. 

Dozens of Londoners gathered outside the Covent Garden Market on Thursday to remember those lives as part of an annual public memorial service put on by the coalition.

Each death was a unique individual with their own lives and stories, said Jason Galindo, chair of the death notification protocol for the coalition.

"I'm indirectly connected to everybody who passes in this community," said Galindo. 

The tally includes Londoners unhoused at the time of their death, or who had long histories of housing deprivation that led to negative health. At least 60 per cent were homeless when they died, he said. 

He believes the tally is likely much higher as not every agency in the city contributes to the tally. 

Among the speakers at Tuesday's memorial was Marnie Lougheed, a London resident who became homeless following the breakdown of her marriage and the loss of her house, she said.

Successfully housed since 2019, Lougheed recalled the challenges that the city's unhoused population faces not having a place to live, including its lasting health impacts.

"They have no way to keep appointments, no way to travel to appointments and for many, they can't even make an appointment because they have no phone, no address to receive mail, and often no family doctor," she said.