Houseless Day of Remembrance

Solstice is celebrated in Portland with a community vigil for houseless people who died this year. Sisters of the Road sponsored the vigil, and I was the designated photographer. It was an outdoor celebration that began at sunset, and it was 27F/-3C. I made 190 photographs, but I had to stop after two hours because my fingers were too numb to feel the shutter button and I could no longer feel my feet. Imagine living outdoors in these conditions! 

A number of people talked on the microphone about people they love who died this year, including two mothers, one whose child overdosed and another whose child was mentally ill. There were sisters, widows, best friends. One person said, “If they can jail us, they can house us.” 

A friend who works for one of the agencies that serve houseless people told me they have 19 motel rooms they've been able to rent for houseless people tonight. He says they have to choose 19 from hundreds on their waiting list. "They told me to put the 'most vulnerable' inside, but how do you rate a pregnant woman, an old man with diabetes, a young person with schizophrenia, and a veteran with no legs? Who's 'most vulnerable'?"

The man in this photograph told me his name is “Pure Joy.” We're told there will be an ice storm tomorrow and Friday with winds up to 55 mph.