It’s the longest night of the year. It can feel even longer, or colder if you don’t have a warm, safe place to call home.
That’s why people around Hampton Roads are hosting a Night of Remembrance this National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day.
One of those gatherings was at Freemason Street Baptist Church in Norfolk on Saturday.
There, onlookers heard songs from the Norfolk Street Choir in remembrance of the roughly 30 individuals who died in our area this year while experiencing homelessness in our community.
Each person gathered has been impacted greatly by the losses.
“I was impacted by one of my clients who had passed away,” said Valerie Archer-Hubbard, case manager. “We don’t really know how long he was there. We don’t know the day he died.”
Archer-Hubbard’s at the memorial service for closure.
“The last time I heard from him it was in July. He said, ‘It’s my 64 th birthday, I’m so happy to be alive,'” said Archer-Hubbard.
She shared that story when the group gathered outside and carried candles through the cold. It was part of a walk for remembrance put on by the Southeastern Virginia Homeless Coalition (SVHC) which helps those in Norfolk, Franklin, Southhampton, Chesapeake, Suffolk, and Isle of Wight.