Tuesday, CHUM hosted it’s annual Homelessness Memorial Vigil adding on a march to city hall where the names of the deceased are read aloud.

About 77 names were read aloud on the steps on city hall. Of those read were the people who have experienced homelessness and advocates of CHUM that passed away.

The march started at the CHUM food shelf, went through 1st street, and ended at city hall. This was a new addition to the annual event, with the intention of grabbing people’s attention.

Executive Director of CHUM, John Cole, saying, “We want this to be visible so the community recognizes that this is a serious crisis that is affecting all of us, and to recognize the humanity in the situation.”

Cole says every year CHUM continues to see the levels of homelessness rise in Duluth. And now conditions have become “disastrous”. He says, “Our warming center is seeing unprecedented levels of usage this early in the season. We are over 72 persons an average per night now. So this is a crisis that confronts us.”

If you are looking to help CHUM’s mission you can find out how to get involved by visiting their website. 2023 marks the 50th year of CHUM serving the Duluth community.