From the Lebanon Local:
Approximately 50 people from throughout Linn and Benton counties attended the 14th annual Homeless Persons Memorial Service, held Wednesday night, Dec. 21, at the 2nd CHANCE Shelter in Albany.
“It has become our tradition on winter’s longest night to honor those we have lost in the past year who have experienced the trauma of homelessness,” Community Services Consortium Housing Services Manager Dina Eldridge said. “All of these people were a part of our community, though to many they were invisible. On this night we say their name and light a candle so they will not be forgotten.”
Some 19 names were read while visitors placed electric candles on a table in their memory. “While the list of honorees for 2021 was a short one, sadly the list of people we honor here tonight is tragically long, most likely the longest since this ceremony began 14 years ago,” Eldridge said.
“They need to not just be numbers or just an obituary,” Eldridge said. “They were people, and the way you know they’re people is to know how they were in life and what impression they made on those they leave behind.”
Read the full article at www.lebanonlocalnews.com/local-homeless-remembered-in-ceremony
