PORTLAND, Maine — Editor's note: The attached video was originally published on Dec. 21, 2022.
Tomorrow afternoon, the anti-poverty agency Preble Street will host a memorial vigil for the members of the homeless community who have died.
“Every year on the Winter Solstice — the longest night of homelessness — the Portland community hosts a candlelight procession and ceremony dedicated to youth and adults in our community who have experienced homelessness and who have died. For almost 30 years, Portlanders have gathered to mourn the many lives that were cut short and to commit to changing the broken systems that allow so many of our neighbors to fall through the cracks,” a Wednesday Preble Street press release stated.
So far this year Portland has lost 45 members of its homeless community, and the average age was 47. Many succumbed to cancer, overdose, meningitis, exposure, and other chronic medical conditions. The release said the average life expectancy of an unhoused person is nearly 28 years shorter than people who are housed.
“The unsheltered homelessness crisis facing Maine has never been more visible. This vigil provides us an opportunity to come together as a community and remember the people that we have lost this year,” Donna Yellen, Preble Street vice president of strategic initiatives, said. “These deaths are tragic, but if we work together, we can prevent them. We know the solutions to homelessness—shelter and housing options in partnership with healthcare. It’s complex, but together, we can have a community where everyone can have a safe and warm place to sleep," Yellen said.
Those who wish to attend the vigil can meet outside of the MMC-Preble Street Learning Collaborative at 20 Portland St. at 4:30 p.m. From there, visitors will proceed to Monument Square by candlelight for a commemoration ceremony that will begin at 4:45 p.m. An ASL interpreter will be present.
“Dr. Kevin Sullivan, Clinical Director of Bayside & 654 Riverside Street for Greater Portland Health, and Shay Dufour, an advocate with lived experience, will share remarks, followed by the lighting of candles to honor each person from the homeless community who has died in the past year," according to the release.
"To close the program, local performers, The Vigilantes (Nate Nickerson, Phil Hoose, Toby Hollander, Peggy Akers, Megan Connolly, Sandi St. George, Ally Giuliano, Maddie Fitzgerald, and Lisa Bisceglia), will lead the crowd in singing a few songs. LumenARRT (Projection Art Projects) will be doing a large-scale projection in Monument Square to memorialize the 45 people that have died this year,” the release states.
This annual event is sponsored by the City of Portland, Greater Portland Health, Maine Medical Center, Northern Light Mercy Hospital, and Preble Street.