Today marked the first official day of winter, but for a group of approximately 30 people gathered outside of a downtown church, it was also a chance to honour the lives of the people who have died over the last year while living on the street.
The Homeless Memorial Day Service, hosted by the Simcoe County Alliance to End Homelessness (SCATEH) outside Trinity Anglican Church on Collier Street, brought together community members and staff from a variety of local organizations in an emotional service meant to commemorate the lives of those who have experienced homelessness in the community and have died either on the street or while living in shelters.
It’s an event that occurs around the globe every year on the longest night of the year, noted local advocate Christine Nayler.
“This is the day we honour the lost lives of the people who are living on the street … to bring awareness and to take a pause to reflect on the lives that have been lost. For some, this is the only acknowledgement they will receive," said Nayler.
Angelique Noorlander, the housing coordinator at Redwood Park Communities attended the service, and told BarrieToday she hung an angel on the tree in honour of someone she knew who passed away while experiencing homelessness.
“I just put her first letter. She knows who she is and she’s in a better place.”
Silas Randell, a harm reduction worker at The Gilbert Centre, was also in attendance and hung an angel on the tree bearing the name of a childhood friend.
“He got into (using) opioids and lost his life to that and was out on the street.”
Today’s event honoured the more than 100 lives lost since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Busby Centre executive director Sara Peddle told BarrieToday.
“It’s extremely important because it needs to be brought to light that we are losing people at an unprecedented rate. People deserve to be recognized,” said an emotional Peddle.
“I would love to see this bigger and recognized within our community a little bit more. That’s 100 people in our community that we’ve lost, never mind the province and the country and it’s really to do with a lot of policies that aren’t working for people and systems that are broken. We need to do better.”
Peddle said the organization lost another individual last night (Dec. 20), which made the day that much more important.
“It’s already a hard day, but this morning it’s even worse because we lost a very young soul last night. It’s not fair.”
