Led by Reverend Roxy Klingensmith, a group gathered just as darkness set in on the longest night of the year, winter solstice.
“Spirit of life and love, we gather to mourn those who have died. We call out to the universe for the homeless women and men, some known to us, some known only to you” Klingensmith said.
Holding LED tea lights and joining arms, the community gathered to recite the names of the nine individuals who died homeless in Bozeman this year.
Jenna Huey, Human Resources Development Council’s emergency shelter services manager, provided the list of names and helped start the event in Bozeman in 2016.
“ So it’s always been very, an event that’s very close to my heart and it’s important to me that people have memories for names, even if we don't’ know the faces, because they’re all people” Huey said.
Similar memorials were held in Missoula, Billings, and the Flathead Valley as part of a national event. The event is held on the longest night of the year to call attention to the struggles of being homeless especially in winter, where extreme temperature exposure is an added risk.
The service was held at the Bozeman Public Library. Librarian Beth Boysen says outside of community shelters, the library is a place where many homeless people spend time.
“Sometimes you can get a study room, and close the door and have privacy. That’s a premium thing, and it’s warm, it’s quiet, it’s central, it’s on the bus line” said Boysen.
The ceremony also included songs from the Greater Yellowstone Threshold Singers, a chapter of an international organization that has a mission to sing at the bedside of people who are at the thresholds of living and dying.
