WHAT:
For the sixth year in a row, a coalition of Chicago-based homeless service providers and advocates will host a candlelight vigil and memorial service to honor Chicagoans who have died without a home.
We gather on the longest night of the year in the shadow of the Magnificent Mile to remember that homelessness is a human struggle. It is our hope that this memorial service will help build awareness of the plight that affects too many. Hundreds will join us for the vigil, which has become a solemn reminder of those who go without year-round.
Flowers for Dreams, a Chicago florist, has generously offered to donate mini-bouquets to 50 of the homeless women, children and men attending a pre-service dinner and the memorial.
WHEN & WHERE:
Monday, December 21, 6:30 p.m., at Old St. Pat’s Church, 700 W. Adams Street, Chicago
WHY:
An analysis by the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless estimates that 125,848 Chicagoans were homeless in the course of the 2014-15 school year. The Illinois Department of Human Services reports about 48,000 people turn to state-funded shelters each year. Nationally, over the course of a year, 2.5 million to 3.5 million people experience homelessness.
ORGANIZED BY:
This event is affiliated with National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day, one of more than 150 events across the U.S. organized by the National Coalition for the Homeless. Locally, the service is coordinated and supported by the following Chicago organizations:
- Ignatian Spirituality Project works to end homelessness by providing Ignatian retreats to men and women who are homeless and in recovery.
- Chicago Coalition for the Homeless
- Harmony, Hope & Healing provides creative, therapeutic and educational music programs, offering emotional and spiritual support to homeless and underserved women, men and children in the Chicago area.
- Old St. Patrick’s Church extends hospitality to all that find the church on their path and to serve the life and work of the laity in the world.
- New Moms enables, empowers and equips at-risk adolescent parents and their children through services and mentoring based on Christian values.
- Cornerstone Community Outreach is committed toaddressing homelessness, providing shelter, accepting people, finding home; they serve around 500 men, women, and children daily.
- The Night Ministry works to provide housing, health care and human connection to members of our community struggling with poverty or homelessness.