Instead of casting them aside like society so often does, community members came together on the Solstice to remember the humanity of each of the lives lost experiencing homelessness in Eugene and Lane County. 

Black Thistle Street Aid, a local homeless outreach nonprofit, read the names of more than 60 people who died while living on the street this year. 

For the past five years, Black Thistle has been hosting and participating in candlelight vigils for lives lost on the street. Despite the cold weather and rain, more than 30 people gathered Dec. 21 under the noisy Interstate 105 off ramp at Washington Jefferson Park to participate in the memorial and listen as Leigh Galbraith of Black Thistle read the names of those lost. 

“We feel like it’s really important to give the folks who are most impacted on the streets an opportunity to grieve their loved ones, their comrades or their friends and family who’ve passed,” Black Thistle co-director and co-founder Sophia Ricci says. “So often people don’t have a place for grief, especially in the constant barrage of hardship and turmoil that comes with being outside.” 

Before names were read aloud to the crowd, participants could get food, survival supplies and harm reduction materials like Narcan courtesy of Black Thistle, Neighbors Feeding Neighbors and Two Old Guys In A White Van. On one of the tables sat a large red heart where participants could write the names of those who died. “We knew many of the people that were named today, and it’s never easy to see the name be there,” Ricci says. 

As people picked up free materials and food, local band Cross Current played heartwarming songs like “Hold Onto Each Other.” In front of the band, a row of paper bags illuminated with electronic candles grew as people added more names to the list. Each bag was inscribed with the name of a person lost. An hour into the event, Galbraith and Ricci took to the microphone to read the names of the dead. 

After each name was spoken, Ricci rang a small bell. “The situation is getting more and more dire,” she says. “We’re really concerned about deaths on the streets this year because the number of sweeps are amping up as the weather gets really bad.” 

Black Thistle hosted the vigil at the same time as a vigil hosted by the City of Eugene’s Human Rights Commission’s Homelessness and Poverty Workgroup. Ricci says she “has many thoughts about that,” and “that event, I don’t know who it’s for, but we feel like this is really for the people.” At the city’s event, 23 names were read.

Lane County is home to the largest per capita homeless population in the country with the 2025 Point in Time count placing the number of people living on the street at 3,509 with the true number being likely higher. Richard Greene, who volunteers with several local outreach groups, came to Eugene in 1970 and lived on the streets for some time before getting on his feet. “My life has turned out much better than I could have imagined,” Greene says. 

Greene volunteers with Black Thistle, Neighbors Feeding Neighbors, Egan Warming Center and other groups in town. As he does outreach on the street, he says there’s one commonality among the complaints he hears. “Their biggest complaint is having their stuff taken,” he says. “They feel like they’re not given enough time.” 

Greene says he recognizes that it’s difficult for the city and for the police but also doesn’t understand why the police take things like blankets or sleeping bags. “For these people, when they say they take everything, it’s like everything they have.” 

David James has been living on the streets for eight years, with most of that time spent in Eugene. “We’ve all lost friends we loved,” James says. He adds that he’s experienced sweeps during his time living on the street. “They’ve done that throughout the area all the time, but a lot of it’s my fault for not being there to clean up,” James says. “I can’t say that it’s all bad effort, but it’s a lost effort now and feels vindictive almost.” 

Thomas Zoll of Two Old Guys In A White Van drives around four nights a week to serve meals to the homeless of Eugene and Springfield. He says he came up with the vigil to provide meals and honor those who died. Zoll cares for a dog named Dante, whose previous owner, Richard Stetson passed away Nov. 7 just across the street from Washington Jefferson Park. 

As the night came to a close, people drank hot chocolate, chai and ate Zoll’s Russian quiche while reminiscing about the lives of those who died this past year. “It’s really important to take a moment to just be with loss and be with grief to honor those who’ve passed on,” Ricci says.

The following is a list of the 64 people whose names were read by Black Thistle Street Aid at the vigil. Some are listed by just their first name, others by street names. 

Christopher
Joshua
Shauna
David
Timothy
Will
Tiffany
Memphis
Eric Jackson
Ron
Karen
Harry
Santana
Marcus
Brian
Derek
Christina
Candice King
Kim
Scott Ching
Rodney
Belinda
Garrett Brown
Leslie
Jeanetta
David McCoy
Herman (Cowboy)
Shane
Joey
Austin
Elvis
Phil
Annette
Dusty D
Dave Mandez
Will Schindle
Nicole Rowe
Kevin Matthew
Cora
Blake
Kai (Little Bit)
Ricky Woods
Skittles
Chris Wolf
Kimmie
Derick 
Bill Spivey (Spiderman)
Perry Martin
Scotty
Jonah
Abel
Spidey
Lucky
Richard Stetson
Martha Cunningham
GG
Ando
David
Derek
Rick
Doug
Amber
Katie
Trapper

And anyone else who was not mentioned. May they rest in peace.