"Dear Friends of WHEEL/Women in Black:
THIS IS MORE THAN A CRISIS! From an updated list of homeless deaths from the King County Medical Examiners/Health Care for the Homeless, Women in Black were shocked and heartbroken to learn of FIFTEEN additional outdoor/violent homeless deaths, FOURTEEN of which occurred JUST in the month of July. With these deaths, the year-to-date outdoor/violent homeless death count—at 76—is a well beyond a shattering all-time record.
More people are living and dying on our streets than ever before, in the history of our community. We need the hope of affordable housing on the horizon in order to keep moving on through the dark, but the County and City have no significant plan of action.
Now more than ever we need your support. We need you to stand in solidarity with us and to speak in solidarity with us. Tell Seattle and King County that homeless human lives are worth investing in. Specifically, tell the King County Council RIGHT NOW that we need HOUSING, not $180 million in discretionary upgrades to Safeco Field.
Tell County Officials: affordable housing is a higher priority than stadium upgrades
JOIN OUR VIGIL! From noon to 1 PM next Wednesday, August 15th, we’ll stand outside the Seattle Justice Center (5th/Cherry) to honor these beloved people, dedicating the vigil to our sister Lorraine Mendoza who died recently in hospital:
**Corey Baker, 31, died of natural causes (diabetic ketoacidosis) outside in Kent on 5/28.
**Justin Brecht, 30, died by suicide in/near Discovery Park on 7/1.
**Judah Corsini, 32, died by suicide at I-5/Boren on 7/3.
**Kathleen Johnston, 55, died on 7/3 at 1700 block of 8th Avenue S; cause pending.
**Kevin Gilbert, 29, died outside in Auburn on 7/4; cause pending.
**Taryle Stalter, 55, a woman who was hit by train and killed in Kent on 7/7.
**Michael Rupp, 33, run over by cars and killed at I-5/Marion on 7/11.
**James Hawkins, 53, died on 7/11; cause and location of death unknown at this time.
**Thomas Harris, 59, burned in Bellingham; died at Harborview on 7/12.
**Jeffrey (last name undisclosed); decomposed remains found outside in SeaTac on 7/15.
**Ricky Maddy, 64, found in unknown location, died at Virginia Mason of natural causes 7/17.
**Denise Grundy, 57, found at 3rd/Pike; died at Harborview of anoxic encephalopathy on 7/18.
**David Chalfant, 54, died of liver failure outdoors in Redmond on 7/18.
**Bobby Lee Oxford, Jr, 53; died at Calvary Lutheran in Federal Way on 7/22; cause pending
**Charles Wairegi, 47, died of anoxic encephalopathy at the Kent Regional Library on 7/27.
Stay tuned for further Women in Black Action Alerts, and join us at 9 AM on Wednesday, August 29th at the next King County Council hearing on the stadium funding proposal: Tell King County, Affordable Housing First!
Thank you, friends.
WHEEL/Women in Black
(206) 956-0334
Homeless Remembrance Project on Facebook"