National Homeless Persons Memorial Day

[dajoki]

December 21st is the longest and the coldest day of the year. It is the perfect day to honor and mourn those who died homeless, not only in the past year, but all years gone by. But even as we gather to remember and honor those who have died, we must resolve to do whatever it takes to ensure that such memorials do not need to become an annual event. Far too many individuals die on the streets, in cars, in shelters with no family or no loved ones to mourn for them. This will be the only memorial service they receive.

It should also be a time to give thought to those still suffering from homelessness and what can be done about it. This is a time when we should look inward and pledge to do whatever we can to put an end to this complex problem. Its nice to hold candlelight vigils and rallies for an end to homelessness, but it is not nearly enough. The problem is lack of affordable housing. We must call on our reps and senators to do something about this, its an uphill fight but it must be fought, its that important.

Here is a website with links that could give you some ideas, please check it out. http://www.nationalhomeless.org/projects/memorial/index.html And I ask you to try to keep this kicked at least through tomorrow.