Home / 2025 / October / 07 / The White Cart Memorial tells stories of love, loss and resilience

Made in Kelowna documentary tells the story of a mobile tribute and those it honours

October 7, 2025

The White Cart Memorial is a mobile tribute to unhoused lives lost. UBCO researchers have teamed up with BC Centre for Palliative Care to create a documentary that looks at the challenges of grieving for the unhoused in public spaces.

A documentary exploring how unhoused people experience the loss of someone in their community will premiere in Kelowna next week.

Filmed in Kelowna,* No Fixed Address: The White Cart Memorial* was co-produced and co-directed by doctoral student Stephanie Laing, Director of Operations with UBC Okanagan’s Kelowna Homelessness Research Centre.

She says it’s important for everyone’s grief to be honoured after a loss, but not all loss is treated equally.

“People who are unhoused are often not recognized as grievers and are not adequately supported in their grief,” adds Laing. “This makes it difficult for them to explore and express their grief, which affects how they cope.”

The film focuses on the creation and meaning of the White Cart Memorial—a grassroots, mobile tribute to unhoused lives lost—and brings together research, personal stories, community perspectives and future action plans for Kelowna.

The Kelowna Homelessness Research Centre and the BC Centre for Palliative Care created the documentary, which will be shown twice in Kelowna before travelling to Port Alberni, Nanaimo and Vancouver later this year, with more screenings planned for 2026.

The film captures the emotional and practical challenges of grieving in public spaces, explains Dr. Joshua Black, co-director, co-producer and Bereavement Initiative Manager with the BC Centre for Palliative Care.

“Through the voices and stories of people living with unstable housing in Kelowna, the film shows what it means to grieve without a home, and how loss echoes through a community already struggling to survive,” he adds.

The film premieres at the Mary Irwin Theatre on Wednesday, October 15, at 1:30 pm, with another screening on Friday, November 7, at 6 pm. Both events will feature a panel discussion led by the film’s directors and producers.

“No Fixed Address: The White Cart Memorial is a powerful and personal documentary that highlights an often-overlooked part of the homelessness crisis: how people grieve the loss of someone they care about,” adds Dr. John Graham, Professor in the UBCO School of Social Work and Principal Investigator with the Kelowna Homelessness Research Centre.

The documentary is dedicated to the memories of all unhoused lives lost—and those who carry their grief, says Dr. Eman Hassan, Executive Director of the BC Centre for Palliative Care and adjunct professor in the UBC Faculty of Medicine.

“The film urges us to rethink how we hold space for public mourning, and how we can build more compassionate, inclusive systems of care,” she says. “Because only through community can we create safer places to grieve, heal and remember.”

Both events are free and open to everyone. For more information and to register for either date, visit: events.ok.ubc.ca/event/no-fixed-address-the-white-cart-memorial/2025-10-15.

To watch the trailer, visit: vimeo.com/1115956034.

More content from: Faculty of Health and Social Development, School of Social Work