Last month we had our third annual vigil for those of us died while homeless. The woeful total: 11 in Northern Virginia, 18 in Anne Arundel County and 41 in the District. We hearken all to care for those of us who need shelter. As Anne Arundel County’s Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day Program said, “Advocates, friends, community leaders and service providers hope to bring attention to the need for more resources to provide affordable housing, emergency shelter and medical care for our most vulnerable citizens.”
At the D.C. vigil on Dec. 18 at Freedom Plaza, I met Jamie Greer, originally from Las Vegas. This young man is homeless because his part-time employment does not provide enough sustenance to pay for housing. He hopes that homeless people will be considered more like a family.
“We are all family and should all work to help our vulnerable family members,” he told me. He would like to live in a co-operative housing unit with like-minded people who can share rent and other living costs. “Michael Stoops, the director of community organizing for the National Coalition for the Homeless, was with us, which made the D.C. Vigil more joyous because he is ill. We were so happy to see him.”
