BALTIMORE, MD –In the first meeting of its new term, the Baltimore City Council voted unanimously to dedicate December 21, 2011, as Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day in Baltimore.  The resolution, introduced by Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke, notes that Baltimore City’s biennial “homeless census” has documented a dramatic rise in the number of people experiencing homelessness. The larger community will commemorate Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day on December 21 with a 5:30 p.m. service at the Inner Harbor.  

“On December 21 – the first day of winter and the longest night of the year – Baltimore City will join communities across the country to remember those who have died without a secure place to live and to recommit to the urgent task of ending the conditions that create homelessness,” said Baltimore City Council President Bernard C. “Jack” Young.

“Life on the streets quickly can turn to death on the streets, said Kevin Lindamood, President & CEO of Health Care for the Homeless, Inc., one of the agencies organizing the local commemoration.  “Only by putting an end to homelessness itself can we stop the untimely deaths of our homeless neighbors.  We welcome the resolution of our elected officials to work for a future without homelessness.”

The public is invited to the memorial service at 5:30 p.m. on December 21 at Baltimore’s Inner Harbor’s Amphitheater (the corner of Pratt and Light Streets) to recognize more than 70 men and women who died in 2011 and who, in life, lacked a regular place to stay.  The service is organized by members of SHARP, a coalition of homeless service providers and advocates working to Stop Homelessness And Reduce Poverty.