The RI Coalition to End Homelessness holds its annual Homeless Memorial
"...those who are working to assist our neighbors experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity are forced to do more with less. The road ahead is not an easy one.”
The reality is that dozens of people die in Rhode Island every year while they are experiencing homelessness. It’s a vicious cycle. Many people burdened with crippling medical debt, the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the United States, may find themselves homeless for financial reasons. Being homeless makes dealing with a chronic health condition much more difficult. While experiencing homelessness, you are 3-4 times more likely to die prematurely. The life expectancy of a person experiencing homelessness is 48 years, three decades less than that of those with safe and secure housing. Health Care for the Homeless, from where I drew the above facts, writes, “Life on the street is brutal. The lack of secure and stable shelter, food, income, hygiene, and physical health care makes it nearly impossible to be healthy.”
The Homeless Memorial is an annual event held at Mathewson Street Church and hosted by the Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness. This year, like years past, there was music, poetry, and the reading of the names of people who died over the last year while experiencing homelessness. Here’s a link to my coverage of last year’s vigil.
“I am encouraged to be a part of a community that cares for one another, as we gather to remember by name each person who perished over the past year while experiencing homelessness,” said Kim Rohm, Vice Chair of the Board of the Rhode Island Coalition to End Homelessness. “There is still a lot of work to be done. We must continue to urge federal, State, and local officials to provide more funding and access to emergency shelter, warming centers, and affordable housing, as well as medical, mental, and rehabilitative health services. With the cuts that have happened and will continue to happen at the hands of the administration in Washington and the current government shutdown, those who are working to assist our neighbors experiencing homelessness and housing insecurity are forced to do more with less. The road ahead is not an easy one.”
Here’s the video:
“Grief and love are part of our unique shared human experience,” said Alex Gautieri, Senior Recovery Policy Advocate at RICARES. Alex was tasked with ‘setting the space’ with inspirational words, and he did so beautifully. “While we all have different stories, backgrounds, and journeys, we all experience love and grief. Grief is deeply rooted in our human connection. If we didn’t have grief, we wouldn’t know how profoundly we were capable of loving someone. Our loved ones may no longer be here, earthside with us, but we still feel them in our hearts, minds, and spirits.”
Alex continued:
“We often cannot measure how we feel - there is no straightforward path to grief. Rather, we learn and grow around our grief and let it be part of us. I want to invite you now to take a moment, however you’re comfortable, to close your eyes and glance down at your feet rooted firmly on the floor, and take a deep breath with me in and out, and remember your loved ones who we’re here to honor this morning. Remember the warmth of their smile, the sound of their laugh, and the joy you felt when you hugged them. Remember your inside jokes and the good memories you had together, and carry all those things forward.
“When someone you love becomes a memory, that memory becomes a treasure. May there be comfort in knowing that someone so special will never be forgotten. I invite you all to lean on others who are grieving and let them show you the way, for they understand and have walked this path before, and one day, do the same for someone else.
“I also invite you all to sit with the uncomfortable truth that these folks have left us while experiencing homelessness. That’s why we’re all here together this morning. No one deserves to die while living and sleeping outside unsheltered. There are not enough resources for shelter, housing, access to recovery, medical, or mental health services. The processes are often confusing and hard to navigate, with too many barriers and red tape. Our friends, family, and neighbors deserve more dignity, love, compassion, and respect. Everyone deserves to have a safe place they can call home, where they feel safe to lay their head at night and have a sense of stability.
“It doesn’t have to be this way. In fact, it should not be this way. It’s beautiful that our community comes together this way every year to honor our friends that we’ve lost, but we must not be complacent in this tradition. We must work together to prevent and end homelessness for our friends and neighbors dying outside…
“I’ll end with this: Grief does not end. It simply changes. It’s a passage, not a place to stay and get comfortable. Grief is not a sign of weakness nor a lack of faith. It is a symbol of love. And while grief may feel tremendous, love is certainly bigger. You are grieving because you love truly. Please lend yourself the same love and kindness you would lend to somebody else who is going through a loss. And be gentle with yourself today.”
Thank you Steve. The RI Coalition to End Homelessness and the Mathewson Street Church both do wonderful work. I would encourage all to donate to these great organizations. Both have online donation buttons on their websites. Thank you for considering.