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Friday, December 21st, was the winter solstice, the longest night of the year, and the Fifth Annual Interfaith Homeless Memorial, held at City Hall Plaza. It has been our honor and duty to participate in this remembrance each year.
This year, participants read the names of 157 members of our community who died on the streets of Santa Clara County in 2018; a record number, and more than twice the number read the first year of the memorial.
Among the speakers and prayer leaders at the event, Recovery Cafe San Jose’s Closing the Gap Chorus sang, and one of our Board members, Cindy McCalmont, took part in the reading of the names. RCSJ’s Executive Director, Ken Goldstein, spoke briefly about the Cafe’s mission, and to honor those among the 157 who we knew.
Toward the end of the ceremony, participants observed 157 seconds of silence; two-and-a-half minutes in silent reflection.
It is a humbling reminder that for as many people as we are able to help find recovery, there will always be so much more work to do. May next year’s number be a fraction of this 157, and may their memories be a blessing.
