Man killed at Bloomington homeless camp among 38 people recognized at vigil
Shaquille Phillips's name was penciled in at the bottom of a list of 37 other people who experienced homelessness and died in Bloomington. They were remembered during a Dec. 13 memorial service at First Christian Church.
Police found the 31-year-old man dead Dec. 7 in a wooded homeless camp behind Wheeler Mission. Another homeless man is charged with killing him with a machete.
More: Investigation reveals homeless man was killed in Bloomington with a machete
Phillips was from Gary, but had been living unhoused in Bloomington for about a year. He wasn't identified in time to make the printed list.
But his life, the lives of 37 others named and also those unnamed, mattered and were recognized during the service. A candle was lit for each one.
Chris Ashborn, Leah Baugh, Richard Berrett, Billy Chambers, Reshawn Cobb, Reggie Coffie, Travis Combs, Brenda Cox, Spynn DeRella, Raleigh Elza, Scott Emswiller, Harry "Junior" Fluharty.
"This is not just a memorial. It's a vigil. It's a protest," The Rev. Forrest Gilmore, who oversees local Beacon Inc's services for unhoused people, said.
He said the service is a two-decade Bloomington tradition that brings dignity and peace to those who have passed on.
"Homelessness can be controversial in our community but we cannot forget that each person experiencing homelessness has a name and a life and a history ... and is loved. It's important to remember the faces and names of these people."
Jeremy Fowler, Lucian "Lou" Frederick, Brandon Goodman, Dayton "Mo" Griffey, Darren Haggerty, Traleigh Henderson, Ralph "Jimmy" Huff, Buford Ison, Angela Johnson, Jeffrey Lyle, Allan Mackey, Mary McDonald.
Many of those named aloud during the solemn Wednesday evening service died in Bloomington during the past year. Others died in previous months, but hadn't been recognized. All had experienced homelessness at some time in their lives, Gilmore said.
A 25-year-old woman sat quietly in a pew holding a sign with a deceased person's name on it. She hadn't known him, but was familiar with other names she heard in the downtown church sanctuary.
"There could have been so many more names," she said.
When the service ended, she and others carried the signs outside and stuck their wire posts into the earth so the names could be seen by all.
Kim McGee, Cody Mikesell, Ricky Moore, Elijuah "Beads" Nail, Angie "Angela" Parks, Charles Perrine, Adam Stivers, Melissa Dawn Tatum, Jennifer Tisdel, Donnie Webber, Daniel Westerfield, Donald "Jerrod" Whaley, Ernest Whitten.
Contact H-T reporter Laura Lane at llane@heraldt.com or 812-318-5967.
This article originally appeared on The Herald-Times: Homeless man police say was killed with machete included in vigil
