Homeless Memorial 2026

Photo Credit - Paula Kirman

For more photos of 2026 see Paula's Flickr album here

On Thursday June 4th, 2026 at 12:00noon, ECOHH gathered with close to 200 Edmontonians at the Homeless Memorial Plaza (100 Street & 103A Ave), to honour, grieve, and remember the 349 family members, friends, & neighbours who died due to their experiences from homelessness in 2025.

The Edmonton Homeless Memorial has been an annual service since 2006, excluding 2020 & 2021 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, to recognize the Edmontonians who died directly or indirectly from the impacts of homelessness on their lives; 2,566 as of the end of 2025.

“I have seen so many of my friends pass away because they never got housed like I did,” says Nadine Chalifoux, past chairperson for ECOHH. “People need to see the fact that these people are on our streets and it’s not because they chose to, it’s because they fell into it. Like I did.”

The Homeless Memorial Plaza was officially named on the National Housing Day of November 22, 2016. The plaza contains the Homeless Memorial sculpture, a collaboration of over 22 Edmontonians based upon experiences of home and homelessness.

“I work with people at Sanctuary of Peace every day who don't have permanent housing, and I see the damage it does to their health,” says Pastor Quinn Strikwerda, current Co-Chair of ECOHH. ”Every time you deny housing to someone because of a disability, or mental illness, or just plain poverty, you are taking days, or months, or years off their life."

As of May 10, 2026, Homeward Trust Edmonton identifies 3,795 Edmontonians as homeless on the By-Names List. Between April 1, 2024 and March 30, 2025, 1,307 diagnoses of Frostbite were recorded by Alberta Health Services in the Edmonton Zone; of which 53% were unhoused Albertans. This is only one example of how lack of permanent housing affects homeless individuals.

The process used to identify people for the Memorial is the same each year - organizations that support Edmontonians with housing insecurity share the names of those who died with a history experiencing inadequate housing. Names are cross-referenced to eliminate duplication. In most cases, people have not died directly on the street but their death is determined to have been preventable if adequate housing had been consistent in their lives. The names of people who have died are not released.