Nella notte più lunga dell’anno in USA si ricordano i senza fissa dimora morti nel 2016. L’evento a Filadelfia, negli Stati Uniti, la sera del solstizio d’inverno, che è la notte più lunga dell’anno
Longest Night’ events remember homeless who died
Mike James and Jackie Rehwald, USA TODAY Network 12:06 a.m. EST December 22, 2016
Communities across the nation stood in the cold during Wednesday’s winter solstice – the longest night of the year – with vigils and special events aimed at remembering homeless people who died in 2016.
The events, scheduled throughout the week, coincide with a brutal cold snap in many northern regions of the country. New York state filed emergency regulations over the weekend requiring local governments to provide shelter for homeless people in freezing temperatures for the next 90 days.
The annual Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day events around the country are a way to remind people of a modern-day tragedy, says Heather Kennedy, who organized the remembrance in Springfield, Mo. for the third straight year.
At least seven homeless people died in Springfield this year and Kennedy, who began volunteering to help homeless people a few years ago, knew several of them.
“Those deaths and the realization that these people passed away without having a home to go to, maybe in a hospital room alone or sometimes literally they were on the street,” Kennedy said. “It really is heartbreaking, and I want people in the community to recognize that it happens.”
Longest Night activities were scheduled in dozens of communities, including Washington, D.C., New York City, Baltimore, Bangor, Me., Erie County, Pa., Lincoln, Neb., Flagstaff, Ariz., and Orange County, Calif. Many will read the names of the dead or list them on signs. Some remembrances, like the event in Springfield, were held on Sunday.
Longest night of year bitter for those living on streets
Kennedy said she planned to make cardboard signs with the names of homeless people who have died prior to 2016 so that others could be remembered.
The National Coalition for the Homeless says that there’s no official tracking of homeless deaths in most communities, but the coalition encourages organizers of local “Longest Night” events to do research on how many homeless people have died in cities and towns across the USA.
Here’s a listing of some of the homeless death totals reported by media and local organizations around the country (the source of the information is included in parentheses):
– Washington, D.C.: At least 46 (NPR)
– Flagstaff, Ariz.: At least 12 (Arizona Daily Sun)
– Lancaster County, Neb.: 16 (Lincoln Journal Star)
– Charleston, W. Va.: 10 (MetroNews)
– Helena, Mont.: 25 (Helena Independent Record)
Montana Gov. Steve Bullock said approximately 200,000 Montanans are homeless, including many children, the Helena Independent Record reported. “Homelessness among children in Montana is a tragic reality,” said Bullock, who attended a Longest Night remembrance Wednesday.
Kathy Kern is pastor at Fresh Oil Ministries, a small church near downtown Springfield that often draws homeless people. Two homeless persons who attended church there for nearly 10 years died in 2016, Kern said.