Homeless Coalition honors the dead, uplifts the living on the longest night of the year
WEST PALM BEACH — On the first night of winter, one homeless shelter decked its halls with the names of the dead: Two Richards, two Roberts, two Davids, one Penelope, a Loretta, a Larry, and tens more who died on the streets of Palm Beach County.
There were 41 in total when the shelter sent its list to the printer on Monday. By Thursday, they’d added six others.
National Homeless Persons Memorial Day was a time of reflection inside of The Lewis Center, a temporary shelter in West Palm Beach for those without a permanent place to live. A handful of community members gathered there on Thursday to remember friends and strangers who died while unhoused in the past year.
The event, held in communities across the country, hopes to honor the departed and keep their deaths from slipping into obscurity. It falls each year on the winter solstice — the longest night of the year, made even longer for those without a bed to sleep in.
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Attendees lifted artificial candles in the air and called out the names of those they’d lost. Some were known only by their nicknames. Celissa Stringer, event organizer with the Palm Beach County Homeless Coalition, said most died by disease, murder and suicide.
One died after she was released from an area hospital, unable to afford treatment for her breast cancer. Others were parents, their children now without a home or a guardian.
“A lot of these people were working people,” Stringer said before the night’s memorial service began. “You see them at Publix, or at the desk beside you at work. You just don’t know they're homeless.”
This year's death toll is down 150 from that of 2022. Despite fewer deaths, the number of people experiencing homelessness grew by almost 500 across the county, according to its 2023 Point-in-Time survey. With an estimated 1,855 people unhoused, it's the highest annual tally since 2011.
Shelters nationwide have reported a surge in people looking for help, and researchers say inflation has only compounded the problem. With rent prices soaring, homes are falling out of reach for more and more Americans.
The same is true for the 20 who attended the memorial service. Most were unwitting participants, shelter residents who arrived at the cafeteria in search of dinner but were told to wait until the ceremony ended. Two left before it did.
The others watched a 12-minute sermon about hope, prerecorded and played on a big screen at the far end of the room. Cake and a fried chicken dinner followed.
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Each person occupying The Lewis Center is referred there either by a police department or a caseworker. No shelter in Palm Beach County accepts walk-ins. Those lucky enough to secure a spot in the 70-bed complex have 90 days before they must move elsewhere to make room for others.
Admitted into the shelter in early October, 50-year-old Falicia's 90th day is approaching fast. She lived in an apartment in Riviera Beach from 2014 until this year, when her landlord sold the property and gave her 15 days to move out.
Now, she spends the day delivering tires and returns to the shelter at night, where she mostly keeps to herself. The conditions aren't ideal, she said; the cafeteria cheese doesn't melt, and the communal showers are clogged with hair. But it's a place to stay while she gets back on her feet, and a luxury those 47 who died didn't have.
She lifted a candle to them, then went upstairs to bed.
Hannah Phillips covers criminal justice at The Palm Beach Post. You can reach her at hphillips@pbpost.com. Help support our journalism and subscribe today.
This article originally appeared on Palm Beach Post: National Homeless Persons Memorial Day commemorated across PBC
