By Emma Delk, The Intelligencer
WHEELING, W.Va. – The lives of the five people who passed away while experiencing homelessness in Wheeling this year were commemorated with prayers, anecdotes and poems at Project HOPE’s memorial service.
Even with a smaller list of names than in years past, the remembrance was not short on memories shared, both happy and sad, of those lost.
A close-knit group of community members and homeless individuals filled the Catholic Charities Neighborhood Center’s courtyard on Thursday. Apart from remembering those lost, the attendees also observed National Homeless Persons Memorial Day.
A prayer led by a physician assistant and volunteer Amanda Cummins began the ceremony. The name of each homeless person lost was then read, followed by a moment of silence. After the silence, the courtyard filled with voices reminiscing on the impact those who had died left on them.
Describing the event as a “humble service,” Project HOPE director Crystal Bauer was “pleasantly surprised” to see members of the homeless community in the crowd.
“Many times in years past, we have invited people who are still experiencing homelessness to come and share in the memorial, and many times they don’t come,” she noted. “I think it’s hard because it causes some people to really have to face their own mortality.”
