'These are humans': Residents mourn the unhoused who died on the streets of Long Beach this year
During the annual service, the names of 65 unhoused people were read, each having a candle lit in their honor.
Dozens of community members gathered Saturday night to honor unhoused people who died on the streets of Long Beach with a group memorial service.
Organized by the Long Beach Homeless Coalition, the memorial is an annual reminder that, though unhoused residents don’t have material possessions, they deserve to be remembered, coalition board co-chair Jamies Shuford said during the service.
“These are humans,” Shuford said.
During the service at Forest Lawn, the names of 65 people who died unsheltered so far this year were read. For each name, a candle was lit.
Paige Pelonis, also a coalition co-chair, noted that the list is incomplete due to a number of factors, including delays in reporting as well as the fact that more people will likely die in the final days of the year. The figure also does not include people who died in shelters, she added somberly.
“Every single person who passed away this year while living on the streets of Long Beach shared this beautiful place that I’ve called home my entire life,” Pelonis told the mourners, adding that the service is meant to “remember and honor the impact that they made in our community and hopefully let the brightness that they brought to Long Beach continue to burn and continue to be held in our hearts.”
“These were significant lives lived in Long Beach,” she continued, adding that she hopes the coalition and annual service will one day be unnecessary.
After the service, Pelonis did note that the number of unhoused residents dying on the streets has been declining. Last year, about 80 people died on the streets of the city, down from nearly 100 in 2022, she said.
Rev. Dr. Antonio Gallardo of St. Luke’s Episcopal Church said it was challenging at first to prepare the reflection. Normally, he said he would have known the individual or been able to speak to someone who did.
“We have angels among us on the streets of Long Beach,” Gallardo said. “The people whose lives we are celebrating today valued the simple things in life: the warm sun on a cold day, a safe spot to sleep at night, the person who gave them a smile and the hands that reached out to them in solidarity. They were strong. They were resilient.”
Some were vets who we owe our safety and freedom, Gallardo noted, adding that others were likely talented artists or had other notable skills and pasts.
“I’m sure that they valued human relationships because they knew that, although they didn’t have material possessions, they had each other,” Gallardo said. “And where they had that, they knew they had everything.”
“Today we celebrate the lives of those angels of the streets of Long Beach who are no longer with us,” he continued. “Who, because of our blindness or deafness, we didn’t recognize. God have mercy on us for that big miss.”
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