Homeless Person’s Memorial Day
The First Day of Winter.
The Longest Night of the Year.
December 21, 2009
Homeless people die from illnesses that affect everyone,
frequently without health care.Health care is a human right.
Housing is a human right.
Physical safety is a human right.
Remember our neighbors and friends
who have died without homes.Remember why they died.
Homeless Person's Memorial Day
The initial Calendar for the Homeless Person’s Memorial Day is now online. To view the calendar click here.
Six counties are planning events for December 21st.
We encourage you to contact the organizers of the local events if you live or work in their communities and would like to become involved.
If you would like to develop a Homeless Person’s Memorial Day event in your community it is not too late.
If you would like to share the name of someone to be remembered click here to send an email [Email address: memorialday #AT# njaneh.org - replace #AT# with @ ]. Please include the county and/or municipality.
To access a flyer click here.
To view a copy of the national organizing manual click here.
To become involved or to find out more click here to send an email [Email address: memorialday #AT# njaneh.org - replace #AT# with @ ].
You can do this in your Community and we will help!
In an effort to maximize the impact of the day, the Advocacy Network to End Homelessness is encouraging local organizations involved in ending homelessness including Continuums of Care and non-profit service and housing providers, the faith community and other statewide organizations to hold memorials for those who have died homeless in their communities.
The Advocacy Network will be coordinating these efforts and will seek to add value to the process. Among the benefits that the Advocacy Network will seek to include are:
- A Homeless Sabbath which would involve all faiths in dedicating a portion of their service on the weekend of December 18th to 20th to providing a spiritual context to the homeless crisis in New Jersey and why it is time to end this moral tragedy. This initiative will seek to include Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Hindu and Buddhist congregations.
- Providing realistic opportunities for participants to volunteer in upcoming events such as Project Homeless Connect, the Point in Time Count and local ten year planning and implementation efforts.
- Coordinating a statewide effort to engage the press in coverage of this event and how New Jersey can end homelessness.
- Involving our elected officials at a federal, state and local level in the events.
- Developing policy papers and action steps that can insure we use this event to make significant progress on our goal of ending homelessness in NJ.
City Hall crowd at the Camden Homeless Person's Memorial Day on December 21, 2006
On a national level the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) has sponsored National Homeless Person’s Memorial Day since 1990 to bring attention to the tragedy of homelessness and to remember our homeless friends who have paid the ultimate price for our nation’s failure to end homelessness. Beginning in 2005, the National Health Care for the Homeless Council and the National Consumer Advisory Board joined NCH as co-sponsors of this meaningful event.
