Today marks the 30th anniversary of Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day, which is marked each year on the first day of winter and the longest night of the year.
Communities across the nation, including Longmont, hold annual memorial services “honoring each homeless person lost during that year,” said Alice Sueltenfuss, navigation services director for HOPE, or Homeless Outreach Providing Encouragement.
In past years, HOPE has teamed up with Journey Church and asked Pastor Rick Ebbers to co-facilitate the memorial, Sueltenfuss said. This year, HOPE held a small candle-lit memorial with 17 clients and staff in attendance in the parking lot of Faith Point Church, a big difference from previous years when 50 or more community members have attended.
HOPE remembered four individuals at its private ceremony on Dec. 18.
HOPE “chose to protect each person's identity this year with prayer and song, standing outside in a circle, with social distancing and wearing masks, the frigid winter wind reminding us that there is much work to do to get all of our Longmont community housed and out of the bitter winter cold,” Sueltenfuss said.
It is difficult to know how many people are homelessness in a community because there is not a widely accepted or standard definition of homelessness, according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
The 2020 Point in Time survey found there were 689 homeless people in Boulder County. The Point in Time Count “is an unduplicated count of people experiencing literal homelessness on a single night in January,” according to the Metro Denver Homeless Initiative. “HUD defines literal homelessness as living in places not meant for habitation, shelter and some transitional housing programs. Persons at risk of becoming homeless (such as those staying with friends/family or paying to stay in a motel) are not included in this count.”
Also, according to the U.S. Census Bureau, on a single night in January state and local planning agencies reported 567,715 people identified as being homeless in 2019. Those numbers were up 2.7% from 2018 but 11% lower than numbers collected in 2010.
The need for assistance has grown with the pandemic. There are reports of food and housing assistance organizations being overrun with requests for help.
In Longmont, there are several organizations banding together to provide shelter and services to homeless individuals.
Journey Church opened its doors during the pandemic to allow day services when the pandemic prevented it from using the building for worship, Pastor Rick Ebbers said earlier this month.
“We are thankful to Faith Point Church, Journey Church, Messiah Lutheran Church, Heart of Longmont Church, the city of Longmont, and all of our volunteers and funders for making sheltering and homeless services in Longmont possible. We thank all of you who hold us in your hearts this unprecedented year,” Sueltenfuss said.
HOPE asks people who encounter anyone who is homeless and in need of food or shelter to contact the HOPE office at 804 S. Lincoln St., visit its website at www.hopeforlongmont.org, or call 720-494-4673.
