Remembering the homeless
On Sunday, local homeless service providers will remember at least 40 men and women who died this year in Baltimore without a regular place to stay. The public is invited to a 5:00 p.m. memorial service at the Inner Harbor Amphitheater. The local commemoration is organized locally by SHARP, a coalition of homeless service providers working to “Stop Homelessness And Reduce Poverty.” Participants in the service include Bishop Douglas Miles, of the Koinonia Baptist Church; Reverend Karen Brau, of Amazing Grace Evangelical Lutheran Church; Father David Flaherty, of First United Evangelical UCC; as well as service providers and people who have experienced homelessness.
“Many of these deaths are entirely preventable,” said Jeff Singer, president of Health Care for the Homeless, Inc., a member of the SHARP coalition. “The best way to honor those who died is to make comprehensive health care, affordable housing, and living wages our top priorities. Let us work together to build a future in which there is no need to hold memorial services for people who die without housing – a future without homelessness.”
For nearly two decades, providers and advocates have observed National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day on or about December 21 – the first day of winter and the longest night of the year. In 2007, more than 100 communities held events to draw attention to the tragedy of homelessness, to remember those who paid the ultimate price for our nation’s failure to address the issue, and to recommit to the important task of ending homelessness.
For additional information, please contact Adam Schneider at 410/837-5533 x1398 or aschneider@hchmd.org.
“Many of these deaths are entirely preventable,” said Jeff Singer, president of Health Care for the Homeless, Inc., a member of the SHARP coalition. “The best way to honor those who died is to make comprehensive health care, affordable housing, and living wages our top priorities. Let us work together to build a future in which there is no need to hold memorial services for people who die without housing – a future without homelessness.”
For nearly two decades, providers and advocates have observed National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day on or about December 21 – the first day of winter and the longest night of the year. In 2007, more than 100 communities held events to draw attention to the tragedy of homelessness, to remember those who paid the ultimate price for our nation’s failure to address the issue, and to recommit to the important task of ending homelessness.
For additional information, please contact Adam Schneider at 410/837-5533 x1398 or aschneider@hchmd.org.
