London: Service of Commemoration for those who died homeless in last year

Goodge Street Station - image: ICN/JS

Source: Housing Justice

'Lord, you search me out and know me' . Once again- the annual Service of Commemoration for those who have died homeless in London during the past year will take place, during Remembrance week, on Thursday 14 November at St Martin in the Fields in Trafalgar Square.

The service will remember those who have died on the streets, in hostels and shelters, as well as those who managed to move on to more settled lives but who still relied on homelessness services. Homeless charity colleagues, staff and volunteers who have died in the past year will also be remembered.

The first gesture of dignity in life is being given a name at birth and this is absent when people die homeless and in anonymity. This is why we read out the names at this Commemoration Service. Please register the names of persons you wish to be read out during the service here: https://forms.gle/ShCqM6WfSJAqtZWy6. These should be people known to have died in the Greater London area only since Nov 11 2018.

Music will be by Streetwise Opera and the Choir with No Name. The preacher is Revd Lucy Winkett.

The event has been organised by Housing Justice, The Connection and St Martin in the Fields. There will be a reception after the service downstairs at the Connection next door.

There were an estimated 726 deaths of homeless people in England and Wales registered in 2018, the highest year-to-year increase (22%) since the time series began. Most of the deaths in 2018 were among men (641 estimated deaths; 88% of the total). The mean age at death was 45 years for males and 43 for women.

'Lord, you search me out and know me' . The annual Service of Commemoration for those who have died homeless in the last year, takes place at St Martin in the Fields,. Thursday 14 November11am -12.30pm