Homeless individuals, social service providers, faith-based organizations and the public are invited to gather at the Albany City Hall Plaza, 333 Broadalbin St. SW, at 2:00 p.m. Monday, December 21, 2009 for Albany’s first observance of National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day.
The event is an opportunity to remember the people who have died on Albany streets, in abandoned properties or open places, from illnesses or conditions directly related to homelessness. Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day is a national observance.
The memorial event will include a proclamation by Albany Mayor Sharon Konopa, the reading of the names and lighting candles for those who have died in Albany and other Linn County communities in recent years, words of remembrance, and a 21-gun salute by the American Legion Post 10 Honor Guard. Refreshments will follow.
The observance is sponsored by the City of Albany, the Homeless Enrichment and Rehabilitation Team (HEART) board of directors, American Legion Post 10, Community Services Consortium, and Samaritan Health Services.
Donations of socks, thermal underwear, stocking caps, gloves, hooded sweatshirts and gently-used coats will be collected for Albany Helping Hands and Signs of Victory shelter guests.
The national observance has been held annually since 1990 on or near the first day of winter (and the longest night of the year.) In 2008, more than 120 memorial events took place in cities across 46 states, honoring more than 3,200 individuals who died homeless last year.
