Baltimore Mayor Stephanie Rawlings-Blake honors homeless who lost their lives

Mayor Stephanie Rawlings- Blake addressed a crowd at the Inner Harbor Amphitheatre Saturday proclaiming Dec, 21, 2013 Homeless Person’s Memorial Day in Baltimore.

Homeless Person’s Memorial Day (HPMD) has been held here for about fourteen years, according to the Reverend Dennis Dorsch who gave a prayer at tonight’s service.

HPMD is usually held on Dec. 21^st because it’s the longest night of the year and usually one of the coldest. 103 homeless people died here in 2013.

“That’s 103 too many. One is too many!”said homeless advocate Tony Simmons. The people in the crowd held signs with each departed person’s name on them and raised them to the sky as the names were called.

Each sign with the name of a person on this had a flower attached to it. After the ceremony, the flowers were detached and placed in a basket. Many attendees marched on to City Hall.

This video below  shows Councilwoman Mary Pat Clarke and Councilman Carl Stokes accepting the basket of flowers representing the dead homeless people on behalf of Baltimore City.

Participants ended HPMD by then marching down near the Harry and Jeanette Weinberg Housing Resource Center (WHRC) also known as the city shelter by many. More prayers were offered there. One of the homeless persons’ names read tonight, Dana Bolden was killed inside there earlier this year. This is Dana’s sign. (Insert Photo 2)

These are the names of the homeless who were remembered tonight:

• Imad Ajoub
• Ricky Archie
• Wanda Bauer
• Benjamin Bell*
• Patricia Ann Bennett
• Ernest Black
• William Blackwell
• Joseph Blake
• Dana Bolden
• Eugene Brown
• Edward Brunson
• Sherrill Bryant
• Gale Burnette
• Sherly Burton
• Anthony Carroll
• Latricia Chase
• Casey Cole
• Mark Conley
• Joseph Culpepper
• Farris Cunningham
• Merv Douglas
• Jeffrey Emery
• Willie English
• Rodney Epps
• Debbie Evans
• Andre Farmer
• James Fitzgerald
• Yvette Gardner
• Gloria Garner
• Kevin Gipson
• Richard Goldblatt
• Blessing Unique Veronica Goodman
• James Greene
• Mark Gunther
• Renee Hansford
• Brian Harris
• Anthony Hawes
• Mark Henson
• Joan Hewlin
• Kenneth Hickernell
• Ernest Higgins
• William Hurst
• Antwan Johnson
• Sonya Johnson
• Van Johnson
• Consuela “CJ” Jones
• William Kinsey
• Gregory Lassiter
• James Lawson
• Sonya Leblanc
• Theresa Lee
• Carl Lewis*
• Dowell Lucas
• Disney Lyles
• Walter Mann
• Carlos McClain
• Edward McDowell
• Shaneque McKethan
• Curtis McLaughin
• Joe Meese
• Regina Mills
• Pesina Mius
• Brett Moore
• Carlos Ocello
• Brian Paige
• Mark Pawley
• Karen Payton
• Earl Poree
• Paul Prettus
• James Ramson
• Albert Reightler
• Kenneth ‘Gray Top’ Roberts
• Anthony Rogers
• Jeremy Rorke
• Christopher Rovnan
• Madeline Sander
• Cheryl Scharf
• Shalonda Scott
• Jerome Serio
• Myron Shannon
• Julian Sharp
• Alva Simpson*
• Melvin Sizemore
• Robert Sowell
• Bronislaw Slusarczyk
• Kelly Staten
• Janice Stewart
• Bernard Summers
• Eli Supanick
• Jim Tankersley
• James Teter
• Michael Edward Thomas
• Ronald Thomas
• Will Merino Torres
• Gregory Tyler
• Danny Walcott
• Reginald Warren
• James Watkins
• Charles Weimon
• Thomas White
• Wanda Wiles
• Bryant Worsley
• Sherman Yarborough
• Mamie Young
• Ellis Zuckerman

James Crawford Jr. with Bmore Housing For All (a grassroots homeless advocacy group) said,” I can’t wait until we don’t have to do this ever again.”

Crawford’s sentiment was echoed by many in attendance.

Homeless Person’s Memorial Day was planned by: Stop Homelessness and Reduce Poverty (SHARP), Baltimore Homeless Youth Initiative (BHYI) and the Coalition for Homeless Children and Families.

Bonnie Lane

Bonnie Lane is an avid activist and advocate here in Baltimore. She is very vocal about social injustices. Fighting against injustice isn’t just a slogan to her but a way of life. Lane is a soldier in the struggles for social justice, real change and human rights. Having been homeless is what inspired her to become an advocate/activist. A passion for writing consumed her at an early age.