More than two dozen died from opioids. Six were veterans. Two were murdered.
These individuals, along with more than 150 others, — all of whom were homeless — were remembered Friday morning at a ceremony in Miami.
Homeless advocates organized the event, calling it the “Homeless Persons Memorial Day Service.” The goal: Raise more public attention and awareness to the “tragedy of homelessness.”
“Every year that we host the Memorial Day Service with our partners, it reinforces our resolve to ensure no one sleeps in our streets,” said Ronald L. Book, chair of Miami-Dade County Homeless Trust, in a statement. “The streets are dangerous, inhumane and unforgiving.”
“Homeless Persons Memorial Day lets us take pause, consider the lives lost and double down on the fight to end homelessness,” he added.
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The event is hosted by the Homeless Trust, Homeless/Formerly Homeless Forum, Inc. and Miami Homes for All, and is part of National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day.
Established nationwide in 1990, the increasingly popular Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day is observed across the country with prayers, candles, moments of silence and the reading of names on Dec. 21, the first day of winter and the longest night of the year.
Many homeless people are estranged from family, which means their deaths can pass virtually unnoticed, according to homeless advocates.
The names of each of the homeless lives lost this year — 189 in Miami-Dade — were read aloud. Four white doves were then released to honor each and every life lost, say the event organizers.
“We must work harder and do better as a community because I believe that the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members."Wendy Tippet, director of the Community Services Department Human Services and Community Action Division.
Among those who died this year were 29 individuals who died from opioids, six military veterans and two homicide victims — 60-year-old Marie Noel and 61-year-old Bradley Griffith. Both were killed last January.
The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office last June announced they had arrested a man suspected of killing both — on the same day, within blocks and minutes of each other. The suspect was charged with two counts of first-degree murder.
Homeless advocates in Delray Beach on Friday also held “a tribute to those who have tragically passed away while experiencing homelessness” in Palm Beach County. They read the names of 40 people during the memorial event at St. Matthew’s Church.
“We shouldn't have to light candles to remember people who died by something that is preventable,” said Wendy Tippet, director of the Community Services Department Human Services and Community Action Division.
“We must work harder and do better as a community because I believe that the true measure of any society can be found in how it treats its most vulnerable members,” she said in a statement.
The Palm Beach County event was organized by the Delray Beach Initiative to End Homelessness.
This year’s memorial events in South Florida and across the country are happening in a year that witnessed a massive surge in homelessness. The recent Annual Homeless Assessment Report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development showed that roughly 653,100 people in the United States were experiencing homelessness. That's a 12% overall increase over the previous year and the highest since reporting began in 2007.
“A lot of people living in encampments are uninsured and without access to medical treatment for a variety of illnesses that are exacerbated by living unsheltered,” said Etel Haxhiaj, a spokesperson for the National Healthcare for the Homeless Council.
The council supports the remembrance events to push for better tracking of the deaths.
The Associated Press contributed to this story.
