Ella and Shae were among the people gathered for the annual candlelight vigil tonight for people who died while living unhoused in the region this year. Current numbers for this year and 2024 aren’t yet available, but deaths jumped 54 per cent in the Island Health region between 2022 and 2023. The health region saw 114 deaths – the second-highest number of deaths of any health region in BC. The walk from 900-block Pandora to the vigil at Reeson Park was organized this year by the Housing Justice Project, who jumped in after the Alliance for Ending Homelessness Victoria had to close its doors due to lack of funding.