MISSOULA — December 21 is considered the longest night of the year — and also the hardest for those who are unhoused.
The City of Missoula in partnership with the Poverello Center is holding a memorial service on Thursday, December 21, 2023, for those who have died while unhoused.
The service will begin at 5:30 p.m. at the Missoula County Courthouse and will include speakers from the city and the Poverello Center who will read the names of everyone in Missoula who died while unhoused.
The event takes place during the longest night of the year which is considered to be one of the hardest nights to be unhoused.
Officials say they want those who attend the memorial to see the human impact of homelessness in Missoula.
“These are real people, you know, houselessness is often reported especially on a state and a federal level in numbers and quantitative numbers I think it’s easy for community members or folks who aren’t working day to day with these neighbors to kind of lose touch with the humanity of it and forget that every single one of those numbers is a human being with a story," said Missoula Houseless Programs Manager Emily Armstrong.
An additional service that is also open to the public will be held shortly after at the Johnson Street Shelter at 7 p.m.
The Missoula County Commission recently issued a proclamation recognizing December 21 as Homeless Persons' Memorial Day.
