Every year, friends, family, and service providers gather in Rockford to remember a special group of people: the homeless in their community who have died over the past year.
The memorial service is usually held on the shortest day of the year. That was Monday. The solstice is chosen to remind people of the long, cold winter nights so many homeless people endure. Linda Niemic is with Crusader Community Health, part of the Rock River Homeless Coalition. She says for many of those honored, this service at Carpenter’s Place serves as their only funeral. Photos and stories of each person were shared by those who knew them.
32 homeless people died in Rockford this year, ranging in age from 23 to 68.