{"id":107513,"date":"2025-12-24T08:45:08","date_gmt":"2025-12-24T08:45:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/107513\/"},"modified":"2025-12-24T08:45:08","modified_gmt":"2025-12-24T08:45:08","slug":"sacramento-community-gathers-for-13th-annual-homeless-memorial-vigil","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/107513\/","title":{"rendered":"Sacramento Community Gathers For 13th Annual Homeless Memorial Vigil"},"content":{"rendered":"

As the city celebrates Christmas, a downtown Sacramento park is lit by candlelight while Satearah Murphy remembers her husband, who died from congestive heart failure in 2024 when they were unhoused. She works at Sacramento International Airport during the day and sleeps in a tent at night.<\/p>\n

\u201cI didn\u2019t know there was something wrong with living outside,\u201d Murphy said. \u201cThis is generational for me. My mom was out here. My grandma was out here.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murphy\u2019s story challenges the common myth that people without housing are unemployed or unwilling to work. For her, the real barrier is affordability, not effort.<\/p>\n

\u201cI choose to be in a tent because I need to be able to rest,\u201d said Murphy, 36, who has been unhoused for more than seven years. \u201cA lot of unhoused people are living in their vehicles. Just because you don\u2019t see them doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re not unhoused.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA banner adorns a pop-up shade structure. Neenma Ebeledike, OBSERVER<\/p>\n

Murphy was among many who gathered Dec. 21 at Cesar Chavez Park for Sacramento\u2019s 13th annual memorial and candlelight vigil for the county\u2019s unhoused. The event took place on the winter solstice, the longest night of the year.<\/p>\n

The vigil, co-hosted by the Sacramento Regional Coalition to End Homelessness, the Sacramento Poor People\u2019s Campaign and the Black Hair and Black Hygiene Project, honors people who died while homeless in Sacramento County.<\/p>\n

So far in 2025, the county coroner has identified 175 people who died without housing.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey froze to death, suffered heat stroke, or died from health conditions that were made worse because they were unhoused,\u201d said Faye Wilson Kennedy, one of the event\u2019s organizers. \u201cThis is about acknowledging that they existed.\u201d<\/p>\n

For more than a decade the vigil has taken place at churches, City Hall, and public parks. Kennedy said choosing Cesar Chavez Park, where unhoused people already are prominent, as the location was intentional.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis space allows them to be part of the remembrance,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Cities across the country<\/a> observe Homeless Persons\u2019 Memorial Day each year. Kennedy said the purpose transcends ritual.<\/p>\n

\"AA mourner holds two memorial cards featuring names of deceased unhoused people. The cards were distributed at the 13th annual Memorial and Candlelight Vigil for the Unhoused. Neenma Ebeledike, OBSERVER<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s standing in solidarity,\u201d she said. \u201cIt\u2019s remembering that these individuals lived full lives and joined their ancestors. Their lives mattered.\u201d<\/p>\n

In California, African Americans are overrepresented<\/a> among people experiencing homelessness. They make up about 7% of the state\u2019s population but account for more than a quarter of those without housing.<\/p>\n

According to Sacramento Steps Forward, Black people in Sacramento are 3.7 times more likely to experience homelessness<\/a> than the average resident.<\/p>\n

Research shows that the high number of Black people experiencing homelessness comes from long-standing racial inequities<\/a> in U.S. policies and systems.<\/p>\n

These inequities include discriminatory housing systems, unequal access to jobs and credit, and the effects of segregation and exclusionary zoning. All of these have made it harder for Black families to build wealth and obtain stable housing.<\/p>\n

Charles Ware, founder of the Oak Park Homeless Project<\/a>, said such disparities also stem from neglect and from policymakers failing to listen to people with lived experience.<\/p>\n

\"CandlesCandles distributed at the 13th annual Memorial and Candlelight Vigil for the Unhoused. Neenma Ebeledike, OBSERVER<\/p>\n

\u201cOne is one too many,\u201d Ware said, referring to the number of names read aloud during the vigil. \u201cIf all these names are being mentioned, that means the city has no sense of urgency.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ware, who was homeless nearly 20 years ago, now does what he calls \u201cboots on the ground\u201d work by handing out socks, food, and supplies directly to people living on the street.<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t do this for money,\u201d he said. \u201cI do it because I know the daily struggles.\u201d<\/p>\n

Ware believes people who have experienced homelessness should help shape the solutions. \u201cThey need to bring people like us to the table. If you don\u2019t work down here on the ground level, you don\u2019t know what actually works,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

Kevin Carter, an advocate with the Sacramento Poor People\u2019s Campaign, agreed that advocacy and direct action should go hand in hand.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe go to the Capitol. We protest. We legislate,\u201d Carter said. \u201cBut the people the community trusts, the people out here every day, are rarely the ones in decision-making positions.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"AA memorial attendee carries a sign expressing communal resolve. Neenma Ebeledike, OBSERVER<\/p>\n

As candles glimmered and names were read, the Sacramento Peace and Justice Choir ended the vigil with a moving performance. The park was filled with music and reflection.<\/p>\n

For Kennedy, the vigil is not only about grief. It is also about hope.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen unhoused folks show up and get warm coffee, they always ask, \u2018How can we help?\u2019\u201d she said. \u201cThey help pass out food. They help fold clothes. That\u2019s where I find hope \u2014 people helping themselves and each other.\u201d<\/p>\n

Murphy stood in the crowd, mourning losses that felt very personal.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey were mothers. Fathers. Best friends,\u201d she said. \u201cPeople like me.\u201d<\/p>\n

On the longest night of the year, Sacramento gathered to remember, to bear witness, and to ask what it would take to make sure no one has to die without a home.<\/p>\n

\n\tRelated<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As the city celebrates Christmas, a downtown Sacramento park is lit by candlelight while Satearah Murphy remembers her…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":107514,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[4340,57909,121,123,122,48359],"class_list":{"0":"post-107513","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sacramento","8":"tag-faye-wilson-kennedy","9":"tag-poor-peoples-campaign","10":"tag-sacramento","11":"tag-sacramento-headlines","12":"tag-sacramento-news","13":"tag-sacramento-steps-forward"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107513","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=107513"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/107513\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/107514"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=107513"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=107513"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=107513"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}