The number of homeless people dying on Reno-area streets continues to soar.
A candlelight vigil will be held Monday on Reno City Plaza for the 135 people who died last year.
That number is up 38% from 2022 and is based on deaths investigated by the Washoe County Medical Examiner where the person did not have a fixed address.
“These numbers have been rising over the years,” Father Chuck Durante said in a statement. “It is our moral responsibility to care for people in need. All faith traditions agree on the dignity of human beings and the duty to care for those in greatest need in our community.”
Rabbi Ben Zober of Temple Sinai said homelessness is a problem that the community can solve.
“We have the means, so the failure to see everyone into a home is a lack of will,” he said. “That even one soul was lost when we could have given them a home is a tragedy. That 135 souls have been lost should be unimaginable. Our words can honor the dead, but only action will honor their lives.”