VIDEO: Honoring the Homeless Who Died in 2011

About 30 residents stood in the rain on Dec. 21, holding a candlelight vigil to honor those members of the Concord community who lost their lives in 2011.

Maggie Fogarty of the American Friends Service Committee spoke at the event and told attendees they had to focus on solving the problem of .

“This vigil is our way of strengthening ourselves,” she said, “and strengthening each other and reminding us that ending is our responsibility … we have to fight this fight.”

Those who had passed on were described by friends and families as both young and old, talented, artistic, and generous.

“Every life we honor tonight was a blessing, a child born utterly innocent,” she said, “who suffered a terrible loss of security and well-being.”

After singing a song and sharing thoughts, attendees took turns reading the names of those who had died. Some shared information that was available about the people; others just read names. After reading the names, the group sang more songs and agreed to continue their work trying to solve the homelessness problem.