Regina holds memorial for its homeless
- EFN Staff | February 04, 2017
Nearly 100 people came together on a cold frigid evening for a candlelight vigil and memorial to honour Regina’s homeless people – those who are alive and those who haven't made it.
Lindsay Bigsky was living on the streets for close to 11 years. He was one the guest speakers talking with tears in his eyes reflecting on those who didn’t survive living on the streets.
“I have seen a lot of people die from homelessness. I have seen other people struggle. It’s a hard life if you’re not willing to put an effort into getting out of there,” he says. “I still think about the people that passed away…it’s a struggle every day for a lot of people.”
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Bigsky got off the streets three months ago and found a new home all thanks to Phoenix HOMES program, a branch under Phoenix Residential Society. Phoenix HOMES is a non-profit organization that started in 2014, where they help to find homes for people.
The Phoenix HOMES Intensive Case Manager Mary Truong and two of her colleagues attended a conference "Canadian Alliance to End Homelessness" in London, Ontario this past November. They witnessed a similar memorial for the homeless there. They adopted the idea and introduced it to Regina to give people a chance to pay their respects.
“It was quite moving and we wanted to do one in Regina,” says Truong. “We couldn’t think of one that was ever held in Regina to give people a chance to pay their respects.”
Many guest speakers attended to show support of the worthy cause despite standing in -21 chilly weather. Guest speakers included Mayor of Regina Michael Fougere; Regina's Police Chief Evan Bray; the Social Services Minister Tina Beaudry-Mellor; Dustin Brown the Executive Director of Street Culture; Circle Project, partnered with Phoenix HOMES in the homeless partnering strategy; Tyler Gray who is the public relations officer from Carmichael Outreach; and Blair Roberts the Director of Homelessness Partnering Residence for the YMCA.
“It was great to see the community come together despite the cold weather,” says Truong. “Even though it was so cold, it was quite fitting to remind everybody that we’re here for one hour and it was a fair good reminder to keep us humble and keeps us thinking that we need to do more to help everybody.”
She adds it was a good opportunity for people who lost loved ones on the streets to pay their respects and have their chance to grieve. By holding this event, she hopes it will spread more awareness and getting people to recognize that homelessness is a huge problem in Regina.
“We need to work together to make sure that hopefully one day, we won’t have to hold another memorial, hopefully there won’t be any more lives lost to homelessness,” she adds.
The event started off with an opening prayer from local elder Noel Starblanket followed by an honour song by a local drum group. A choir ended the event with a song while people huddled together with their lit candles. Organizers are planning on making this an annual event with hopes of one day there won’t be a need for it.
“We shouldn’t need to have a memorial for this type of issue,” she adds.