Residents mourn 54 homeless and formerly homeless people who died this year in Boulder County

Residents gathered at the Bandshell in downtown Boulder on Tuesday afternoon to remember those who died this year after living outside, reading poems and singing songs in the lead up to National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day on Dec. 21, the start of winter.

The names of 54 people were read aloud. That number is similar to recent years.

Residents also shared personal stories about those who died. Jen Livovich, who was homeless in Boulder from 2012 to 2017, before starting nonprofits to help homeless people, named several people she had known.

Livovich said she met Adam Fadenrecht in 2019. “I watched him share what little he had with those with even less,” she said. “I was floored to see his name on this list.”

Candance Weber, or Candi, “was thick-skinned, snappy, funny and kind-hearted. I watched as the streets accelerated her health problems,” she said. “She went from walking to a wheelchair to a walker and back again.” Weber, 46, drowned in July after falling in Boulder Creek.

Joshua Bolt, 44, went to Boulder High School. “Even though his life was much like a roller coaster, he always had a big smile, kind eyes and a good heart. If you didn’t have a blanket, he’d give you his,” she said.

Livovich helped organize a photo exhibit in November 2022, after providing homeless people film cameras to capture their lives. Livovich said she was planning to give Bolt a portrait taken of him after he secured stable housing. “That day wouldn’t come,” she said.

She remembered Penny Benson, 54, and her dog. She said Diane Boatman, 61, was a mother, writer and jewelry maker who used to be married and housed “until life happened.”

Kristen Harsch, Livovich said, “had a contagious laugh and a gentle spirit.” She said she remembers watching Harsch’s name climb up the housing waiting list. “It wasn’t fast enough. It never is.”

The average age at death for a homeless person is 52 to 56 years old, nearly two decades younger than that of the general population, research shows. Those who were named in this year’s memorial died from liver disease, pneumonia, fentanyl and methamphetamine intoxication, drowning, homicide and injuries after being struck by a driver, according to autopsy reports.

“In a place like this, these deaths shouldn’t be,” Pedro Silva, a former pastor at Boulder’s First Congregational UCC, told the crowd during the event. “Maybe we can allow these moments of grief to give birth to the better parts of ourselves.”