MIDTOWN, Manhattan (WABC) — Nine unidentified people who died after experiencing homelessness and freezing temperatures during the winter will be honored and laid to rest Monday night during a special service in New York City.
The nine individuals, eight men and one woman, died from hypothermia during the past winter, according to those organizing the ceremony. Their names remain unclaimed, but organizers say their lives and memories will be recognized during a Mass at St. Thomas Church in Midtown.
“It is a great blessing to be able to come forward and to be family for people,” said the Rev. Mark Schultz, a priest at St. Thomas Church.
Schultz is presiding over the service honoring the nine people.
“Society has failed them. So, at the very least, we can help them, to name them and remember them,” said Rhonda Shearer of the nonprofit Art and Science Research Laboratory.
Shearer said she contacted the medical examiner’s office regarding the unclaimed bodies and helped organize the effort.
“You don’t want to have people abandoned. You know, today’s very stressful because we are putting them to rest,” she said.
According to the medical examiner, at least 18 people died from hypothermia across New York City during the past winter season, and only half were claimed by relatives.
Shearer said the idea for the memorial came from her experiences at Ground Zero following the Sept. 11 attacks.
“I could observe how much dignity and how much respect was given to human remains down at Ground Zero has impact and never left me,” she said.
The nine urns will be interred following the service.
“The nine urns will be laid to rest Monday in our urn vault,” Schultz said.
The service is open to the public and is being held on All Souls’ Day, a religious observance dedicated to remembering the dead. Organizers said the event serves as a reminder to honor everyone and leave no one behind.
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