Ceremony honors the homeless.

Byline: Rebecca Nolan The Register-Guard

The bell at First Christian Church in Eugene tolled 30 times Thursday evening, one peal for each local homeless person who died this year.

The mournful sound marked the end of a ceremony that honored the memories of people who died while living on the streets of Eugene and Springfield.

A candle was lighted for each person, casting a warm glow around the circle of mourners who gathered in a small courtyard at the church on Oak Street.

Many of the 40 people who braved the cold Thursday night work with local homeless people and came in search of closure for clients lost this year. Others live on the streets or in shelters and came to remember lost friends.

"To me, it's real important that we recognize these people as human beings, not as a number, but as people who will be missed," said Norman Riddle, who works with the homeless at Eugene's White Bird Clinic, a nonprofit human services agency that has operated in Lane County for more than 30 years.

"This is somebody's child, somebody's brother or sister, somebody's parent," Riddle said.

Arthur Holland, a local homeless man, lighted his candle in memory of a Portland man who went by the name Sammy Sosa.

Years ago, Sosa froze to death under Portland's Burnside Bridge after he was expelled from a shelter, Holland said.

"Nobody probably ever heard of him or knew he was gone," Holland said, his voice cracking.

Others added new names to the list of the lost.

One woman asked that her cousin be remembered. He died six years earlier on the street in California.

Another man lit his candle "for the one that freezes tonight."

Liz Gaffney has worked at Eugene's Buckley House detox center for three years. She said she has watched too many people die as a result of a lack of affordable housing, drug and alcohol abuse, and unemployment.

She came Thursday to pay her respects to clients she came to know and care for, many of whom had become estranged from family because of mental health problems and drug or alcohol abuse.

"They're not getting that memorial, they're not getting a funeral," she said. "This is a great way to acknowledge them and to give them the respect that they deserve."

Similar vigils were held nationwide Thursday as part of National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day, which started in 1990 in Portland and has spread to more than 100 cities. The event falls on the first day of winter each year.

Similar memorials have been held in Eugene in the past. Last year the gathering took place in the Park Blocks downtown. Riddle, the White Bird case worker, read 29 names. He was dismayed that this year's list was longer.

It's not surprising, because the average homeless person dies at age 50, the same age at which Americans commonly died in 1900, Riddle said, citing statistics from the National Health Care for the Homeless Council.

But concerned people are taking steps to change things in Lane County.

Project Homeless Connect, a coalition of service providers, is organizing an event at the Lane County fairgrounds on Feb. 8 that will pull together dozens of providers in one spot, where people in need can easily find them.

Susan Ban, executive director of ShelterCare, said the homeless and others will have access to medical and dental help; housing and employment assistance; information about state benefits, donated clothing and food; free haircuts; family portraits; and other services.

San Francisco and Portland have held similar events and found they're an effective way to match people in need with appropriate services, Ban said.

She and others hope the event will be just one piece of a larger effort to end homelessness in Lane County.

"This community is ready," she said. "There's a lot of pent-up desire to make a difference, and events like this can shift the focus of a community."