Death Be Not Proud
Alternative to Shamefully Ignoring Invisible, Homeless Kids and Adults
The longest night of the year has long been my favorite “holiday.” It has also been the occasion to commemorate those who lived and died “on the streets.”* National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day, December 21, provides the occasion to remember those who died without a place to call home.
When I ran a shelter, we held this somber recognition and chanted, “remember the dead and fight for the living.” Coming right before Christmas, a hectic holiday in our crowded shelter, I welcomed a dose of reality on Winter Solstice, as did many of the adults and kids who joined in this voluntary quasi-religious ceremony.
I was heartened with a sobering dose of journalistic honesty in the AZ Central with their comprehensive story on the death of more than 500 adults and children on the streets of Phoenix, AZ. I can’t remember seeing similar coverage in all my years of media-monitoring. They didn’t glorify, nor did they bypass, myriad issues that cause and keep people trapped in this dreadful existence.
They reported,
“The unexpected and deadly COVID-19 virus — which ravaged the world this year and killed more than 7,000 Arizonans — was known to be responsible for only four of those deaths.
The rest were caused by the same concerns that killed hundreds of homeless people last year and, in all likelihood, will kill hundreds more next year.
Drug overdoses. Heatstroke. Malnutrition. Treatable illnesses. Vehicle collisions.”
Homeless deaths by age (January-August 2020)
https://infogram.com/homeless-deaths-by-age-1hxr4z5qyg3y4yo
Source: Maricopa County Medical Examiner’s Office
As expected, the article didn’t focus on families or youth. The statistics of deaths reported do indicate a handful of children and youth, but likely they fit within HUD’s limited definition of homelessness, one that disregards 80% of families in homeless situations, not “homelessness enough” by HUD’s standards.
