Back to the Utah State Aggies Newsfeed

‘There’s a power in coming together’: Vigil held to mourn 121 people who died in Utah this year after experiencing homelessness

Gloved hands clasped slim white candles on Thursday as the moon came up over Pioneer Park and a list of 126 names echoed into the night.

For some, the brief utterance of their names — a wisp of warm air brought into a cold night — will be the only recognition their deaths will ever receive.

“There’s a power in coming together,” said Lt. Gov. Spencer Cox during his remarks before a crowd of around 300 people at the vigil honoring those who had experienced homelessness and died over the last year. “I believe that when communities come together, when we light those candles, when we think and we read the names of the people, when we say their names, they are not forgotten.