The glow from the candles illuminated more than 40 names as onlookers watched in silence. These are the names of friends and family the Bloomington homeless community lost over the past year.
The Shalom Community Center has hosted memorial vigils for the homeless for the past 17 years. Tuesday night’s vigil began at 7:30 p.m. in front of the Monroe County Courthouse. Attendees were asked to wear masks and socially distance from one another.
Forrest Gilmore, Shalom Center executive director, said he had never planned a memorial for this many people in recent memory.
One of the people remembered that evening, Sierra Launer, died less than 24 hours before the vigil began. Speaker Amelia Dickson said she recalled seeing Launer just a few days before she died.
“There are lives lost that shouldn’t be gone,” Gilmore said. “It wasn’t their time yet.”
Gilmore said the vigil’s purpose was to not only memorialize and remember those who had died but to also act as a form of protest.
“We live in a culture that really shuns people who experience homelessness,” Gilmore said. “It is good and it is right and just for us to be here today.”
Gilmore said they began hosting the vigil outside last year so that it can be accessible and visible to all members of the community.
Nicole Bolden, Bloomington city clerk, was homeless 10 years ago. She said in the year that she spent jumping between friends’ homes, she felt ignored by people who had never experienced homelessness. She came to the vigil Tuesday to offer support to people experiencing what she once endured.
“It was a very difficult time,” Bolden said. “I recognize how hard it is to not have a home. They do not recognize your personhood. I came here tonight to say I will remember and honor your memory however I can.”
Janice Grubb has lost two of her daughters. Her daughter, Bessie, died in June after being evicted. She was 37. Grubb addressed the crowd in tears Tuesday saying her prayers were with them.
The vigil concluded with a performance of "Precious Lord” from Sylvia McNair, opera singer and IU senior lecturer, as the names of those who had died were carried ahead of the crowd on signs. Each sign held a name.
A singular sign in front acknowledged all who have died, both the named and unnamed. More than 40 people were recognized throughout the night as people who experienced homelessness or sought to help the homeless.
These are those who were named:
- Michael Adams
- Julia Aylward
- Jared Bluck
- Crystal Chambers
- Madonna Conti
- David Cottongain
- Amber Cowden
- Kody Dean
- Paula East
- Mark Estanislau
- Shawna Fox Douglas
- Bessie Grubb
- Shandi Hawkins
- Josh Hunter
- Sierra Launer
- Russell Lewis
- John Mullins
- Leroy Neal
- Heather Louise Nanny-Cole
- Susan Kay Newton
- Jay Oakley
- Patrick Hardy “Cartoon”
- Levi Price
- Durrell Patton
- Julie Richardson
- Crystal Sims
- Joe Singleton
- Donna Marie Stevens
- Thomas Hood
- Thomas Taylor
- Rebecca Webster
- Roy Wells
- Joe Wilber
- Marque Wright
- Mark Emerson
- Bob Muldoon
- Shirley St. John
- Robert King
- Sarah Wasserman
- Mallory Paige
- Michael Sheeks
- Courtney Thorpe
