The youngest homeless person to die in Orange County this year was Infant Female Radford. Stillborn. July 29. “No fixed abode.”

The oldest was Michelle Marie O’Neal, 88. Arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease. July 25. “No fixed abode.”

Their names echoed through the Lutheran Church of the Cross in Laguna Woods on Saturday — the first day of winter and the year’s longest, darkest night — along with the names of more than 360 others who left this world without a place to call home.

“We state clearly, together with others in scores of communities across our nation, that their life is of value,” said a statement by Gina Marie Seriel, executive director of Our Father’s Table, which organizes the annual event.

The good news, if you can call it that, is that the number of names read Saturday dove a stunning 28% since last year, when 511 homeless people died, according to data from the Orange County Sheriff-Coroner. That this happened even as the ranks of homeless on OC’s streets increased by 28% makes it somewhat remarkable.

Zachary Vahn Kenney, 20. Courtney Marie Ditzler, 29. Sara Monique Duarte, 31.

Orange County’s ninth Annual Homeless Persons’ Inter-Religious Memorial Service is part of a national movement spotlighting the tragedy playing out in the shadows, and reminding us that these were real people, with real names and real dreams and real struggles, just like everyone else. Candles were lit to mark each life and acknowledge the despair that often accompanied its end.

Twenty-one homeless people in Orange County died by suicide this year, including eight from gunshot wounds and seven by hanging.

Rey David Felix-Torres, 32. Jessica Piovesan, 35. Cody Michael McGhee, 38.

Forty were hit by cars. Seven were hit by trains. Five drowned.

Joseph Calvani, 59. Thomas V. Nguyen, 62. Leigh Hamilton Gutteridge, 71.

The most common cause of death, though, was from drugs and/or alcohol, with 113 confirmed overdoses and toxicology tests pending for some 60 more.

Sad as that is, it’s far less carnage than last year, when some 160 overdose deaths were confirmed by mid-December and test results were pending for another 125.

Michael Najeeb Eid, 68. David Edward Brown, 69. George Lettner, 72.

Why the big decrease? No one’s certain, but experts say there’s been a greater emphasis on treating addiction with medication; wider distribution of naloxone, which can quickly reverse an opioid overdose; as well as distribution of fentanyl test strips. “So, there’s been this intentional focus that shifted toward including more of a harm-reduction approach instead of primarily focusing on prevention alone,” wrote Rob Spahr of Emory University in October.

Organizer Seriel agrees. Narcan, the brand name of naloxone, has been distributed far and wide at no charge to people over the last year, including by Orange County’s CalOptima health plan and Los Angeles County officials as well. That, she said, has had a huge impact. So has the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Some reports show that mortality among the homeless population rose by 30%” during the pandemic, she said. “If you look at Orange County, you will see the number of deaths was consistent from 2016 to 2019, in the low 200s. Then, in 2020, we had a sharp incline in deaths, rising to mid-300 deaths, and increasing again in 2021 and 2022 with over 400 deaths, and last year we were over 500 deaths. These numbers show the pandemic appears to have hit our homeless population very hard.”

The decline is good news, and she believes it may continue next year. “This does not take away or minimize the undeniable fact that living on the street takes a significant deadly toll on the body,” she said. “This is evident by looking by the mortality rate among the homeless population, which is 3.5 times the mortality rate of housed individuals.”

Joshua-Michael Phillip Waring, 35. Stanley H. Kim, 41. Samuel Alcantar Mata, 54.

Deaths were concentrated in the northern reaches of the county, with 81 in Santa Ana, 58 in Anaheim and 49 in Orange.

But virtually no corner of the county was spared. There were nine deaths in Irvine and eight in Mission Viejo. Five each in Laguna Beach and Lake Forest, four each in San Juan Capistrano and Laguna Hills, two in Rancho Santa Margarita, one in San Clemente.

They were young, they were old. There were 98 deaths among those aged 20-39; another 168 deaths among those aged 40-59; another 92 aged 60-79; and another six who were 80 or older.

Ida Wolff, 80. Richard Elisalda Garcia Dominguez, 83. Roy Monroe Lacey Jr., 86.

The latest Point In Time survey of homelessness, which happens every two years, found that the ranks of homeless swelled more slowly in Orange County than elsewhere, but still rose 28% in 2024 over 2022. And this despite county government spending more than twice as much to address the problem (about $112.3 million in 2022, and $263.3 million in 2024), according to the latest survey and county financial data.

We find ourselves trapped in a philosophical face-off between those who argue that folks should be free to chart their own course without government intervention, and those who argue that civilized societies don’t allow sick and vulnerable people to live — and die — on public streets.

How to address this? Ideas include acknowledging the nexus between homelessness and addiction (in 2019, 33.7% of unsheltered adults acknowledged having substance use issues. This year, fully half — 50% — said the same); swallowing the insistence on abstinence (some folks don’t want to stop using drugs, so get them into safe consumption sites where they’ll have access to help if and when they’re ready); and, yes, building more housing.

It would be wonderful if, someday, there was no need for an Annual Homeless Persons’ Inter-Religious Memorial Service. Until then, Seriel of Our Father’s Table will keep shining light on the problem.

“They are our brothers, sisters, mothers, fathers, aunts, uncles, cousins, friends and neighbors,” her statement said. “In many cases, this service will be the only commemoration of their lives. Let us become the voice for those who are not heard or seen by most, our brothers & sisters experiencing homelessness. With this memorial we say their lives matter and we mourn their deaths.”

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