More than 150 community members gathered Dec. 19 to remember 54 unhoused individuals who died in 2023. It was unusually warm for the week of solstice, a stark difference from last year, when record-breaking cold prompted the opening of an emergency warming center and shelter in East Boulder.
The gathering in Boulder was just one of many across America as part of National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day, typically held on the darkest, longest night of the year. The mortality rate of people experiencing homelessness — already 3.5 times higher than the general population — has been climbing nationally in recent years as the population ages and drug overdose deaths increase. In Denver, deaths rose by 50% between 2022 and 2023, the Colorado Sun reported in August.
Boulder County’s deaths jumped sharply in 2019 and have stayed elevated ever since, according to reporting from annual vigils and data from the coroner’s office. From 2013 to 2018, an average of 17 unhoused people died each year. That rose to an annual average of 27 between 2019 and 2022 (data for 2023 will be released by the coroner later this year).
The list of the dead honored at Boulder’s memorial event is much longer than the one compiled by the coroner, with 20 additional people, on average, each year from 2019 to 2022. That’s because it includes people who were housed at the time of their deaths but also experienced homelessness at some point.
In past years, nonprofit Bridge House — which hosts the vigil — delineated between those who were housed and unhoused when they died. This year, there was no distinction.
It was “difficult and pointless,” said Scott Medina, Bridge House’s director of community relations, at the Dec. 19 memorial. “Whatever your day of passing” — housed or on the streets — “you likely lived decades less.”
In Denver and Sacramento, the average life expectancy of a person experiencing homelessness was 47, according to a 2018 study. In Seattle, it was 54.
Those remembered in Boulder County included 40-year-old Amanda VanMatre, “a bright-eyed, loving mother,” recalled Jennifer Livovich, founder of nonprofit Streetscapes, who experienced homelessness locally herself.
David Mentus, father of two, was 49. Candace, “Candi” Weber, whom Livovich remembered as “thick-skinned and snappy — one of my favorite people,” was 46. Adam Fadenrecht was 35; Clinton Desroches, 33.
James Patrick Hall shared his memories of Leo Lehtonen, whose “smile stood out.” Hall is the executive director of Rocky Mountain Refuge, a shelter and hospice for terminally ill people experiencing homelessness.
“Each and every name is a person,” Hall said of the people remembered at the memorial. “Each and every name is a friend.”
The crowd that gathered at Boulder’s Glen Huntington Bandshell in downtown Central Park was bigger than in recent years. Between 50 and 100 people typically attend.
For the first time, “servants” of the unhoused community were honored, too, including Widd Medford, Bridge House’s director of its Ready to Work program, and Abel Ramos, one of the first members of Boulder Police Department’s Homeless Outreach Team (HOT).
Ramos was “a police officer who treated me and my friends with uncommon respect,” Livovich said. “He drove me to Fort Lyons [Recovery Program]. His last words to me were, ‘Livovich, don’t find a husband in there.’”
“He left me with a better taste in my mouth about officers and policing,” Michele Rodriguez said of Ramos. Rodriguez sued the City for excessive force during an arrest while she was experiencing homelessness.
This past year saw a marked expansion of homeless services, including targeted solutions for people with substance abuse and other medical issues. Boulder has housed 1,039 adults experiencing homelessness since October 2017, but in some cases, it can still take months to years to find people homes.
“I remember watching her name climb up the housing list,” Livovich recalled of Kristen Harsch. “It wasn’t fast enough. It never is.”
Those we remember
Boulder Weekly found what information it could about the individuals listed here by researching obituaries and contacting providers and volunteers, in addition to public comments shared at the Dec. 19 memorial.
If you have memories you would like to add, please email [email protected]
Aaron Feltgen
Adam Fadenrecht: “I met him in 2019. I watched him share what little he had with those with even less, and wake up every day to hit the pavement to find a job. I was floored to see his name on this list. We would all be so lucky to know someone as kind as Adam.” - Jennifer Livovich
Amanda Vanmatre: A “young, bright-eyed, loving mother. She passed on the streets of Boulder.” - J.L.
Billy Shackleford
Blake Beverly
Brad Toay
Bradley Hoffman
Candance Weber: “Candi was and will remain one of my favorite people. [She was] thick-skinned and snappy, funny and kind-hearted. [Her death] shook the entire homeless community. I still look for her, and I’m sure I’m not alone.” - J.L
“She was a street warrior. Bless her heart, rest in peace. We think of her often.” - Michele Rodriguez
Coleman Pearson: “He was a character, to say the least.” - Steve, last name not given
Dallas Bradshaw
Daniel Creel
David Martin
Diane Boatman: “She once raised a family in a house here in Boulder before life happened. She spent a decade on the streets. Her experience was my teacher.” She was eventually housed by the Boulder Shelter for the Homeless. “She adopted a dog named Pablo.” After she died, her neighbor adopted Pablo. - J.L.
Francisco (Cisco) Montoya: He was a “great friend and a loyal and righteous person.” - M.R.
Frieda Burney: “Not too many people knew her, but I would see her up at the Bandshell. I hope she’s at peace now.” - M.R.
Glen Luthjohn
James Dobson
James Jacobson
James King
Janet Shriver
Jarrod Johnson
Javier Salinas-Pontifes
Jeffrey Briggs
Joe Starr: “I met Joe Starr, Starman, on the streets back in 2007, just weeks after I left the private sector and started working at the Shelter. He had just lost his Section 8 housing and was at the beginning of 13 more years on the street. He was a peaceful fellow, kind, kept to himself. He was often on his bike, always adorned with lots of necklaces and feathers. He was a bit like a shadow. Always alone. Even the various folks providing street outreach knew little or nothing about him. He rarely engaged in any services. I never heard him utter a bad word about anyone or anything. I always said hi when I saw him and he was always friendly and ready to chat. It went on like that for 13 years. Around 2020, the City of Boulder started providing housing resources with wraparound support specifically for folks who had been on the streets of Boulder the longest. With that resource in hand and a bit of focused determination on our part and his, we were finally able to move Joe into his home in May of 2020. He was 69. I am glad he passed in his bed. I am grateful and proud our Community gave him that opportunity. Rest in peace, Starman.” - Michael Block, CEO of Boulder Shelter for the Homeless
Jordan Bohms
Joseph Sarinana
Credit: Shay Castle
Joshua Bolt: “He graduated from Boulder High School. He always had a big smile, kind eyes, and a good heart. If you didn’t have a blanket, he’d give you his. He was a father, son and loyal friend to many.” - J.L.
Karen Finch
Kristen Harsch: Boulder “lost a little laughter” when she died. - J.L.
Leo Lehtonen - “He was in his 70s when he came to us near the end of his earthly journey. He wouldn’t speak much, but he did smile a lot. There was someone with him when he died, holding his hand.” - James Patrick Hall
Lisa Marie Gregg: “Lisa Marie was my employee for several years. She was housed with two cats that she adored. She was a valuable asset to our nonprofit and a good friend. I know there are so many funny and cute stories we made together, but my mind only wanders to the day she died. She had recently become unhoused and was not doing well. She died in the shelter I work at amongst staff that had known her for a decade and were once coworkers. She had a servant's heart and gave so much of herself to the homeless community. She is missed every day.” - Shanan Collins, Chief Operations Officer, Mother House/The Lodge
Mario Gomez
Mathew Banuelos
Michael Chase
Michael Mason
Michael Mondore
Michael Phillips
Michael Schramm
Nathan Wallace
Penny Benson: “The first time I met Penny, I was also homeless in Boulder. She was so sweet to me and promptly told me she was pregnant. A couple of weeks go by, and she tells me her dog is now pregnant also, and that she just found out she is having twins. I was so concerned for her, I petitioned the shelter we were both staying at to provide her with some proper nutrition when available. They just stared at me and then started to belly laugh. Penny and her dog had been ‘pregnant’ for years — something she told every newcomer. I had fallen for it hook line and sinker.” - S.C.
“Penny was here way before I got here. She had a loyal dog that came first before everything, including herself.” - J.L.
Ray (Luke) Bordelon: “Mr. Santa Claus. He had that long white beard. He flew that sign on the corner I bet for 10 years. He had a daughter and a grandchild. He was kind of set in his ways, but he was a very great guy. I’m glad he’s in a better place.” - M.R.
Ricky (Shadow) Duran: “If he didn’t know you, he didn’t want to. He was a one-of-a-kind friend.” - J.L.
Robert Hawley
Stephen Alvey
Terry Sanchez
Thomas Allen: He was “a fixture among Boulder’s homeless. He lived inside, outside and everywhere in between.” I saw him a lot on 30th and Valmont, outside the oil place where he worked. - J.L.
William Crosby