WILKES-BARRE, LUZERNE COUNTY (WBRE/WYOU) — Most of us are lucky to have a place to call home when temperatures are so frigid, but that is not the case for homeless people who are trying to survive on the streets.
On Saturday night, a local community came together to remember homeless individuals who are no longer with us.
A night like Saturday could be harsh and deadly for hundreds of homeless individuals in our area.
It's why dozens gathered at a Wilkes-Barre church for a service to acknowledge a community with troubling numbers.
The names of nearly 200 homeless men and women were read aloud during a candlelight vigil outside St. Stephen's Episcopal Church.
The honor was a part of Luzerne County's Annual Homeless Persons' Memorial held on the Winter Solstice, the longest night of the year.
"A week ago I was so sad I was crying. I didn't know where to go or what to do," said Ruth's Place client Jenny Shafer.
That was then, but now Shafer feels there was no other place she was meant to be than there for the service.
A victim of domestic violence, Shafer is experiencing homelessness, but just this week found refuge at Ruth's Place in Wilkes-Barre: an overnight shelter for women.
It's where one of the staff members there told her about the memorial.
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"I've never been here before I've never been to one of these services before and it was like a phone call from God," Shafer continued.
Volunteers of America of Pennsylvania hosted the service to honor the lives of individuals who dealt with homelessness and died during it.
Organizers say we should take a moment to step into the shoes of the homeless and imagine what it's like to try and exist under often harsh conditions.
"There's no escape from it when you are out there with just a tent, tarp a blanket if you're lucky. It's unfathomable for a lot of people," NEPA Senior Director of Volunteers of America Pennsylvania Crystal Kotlowski said.
The memorial also included a service inside the church where officials and homeless service providers shed light on the rising homeless population.
"This night is an opportunity to reflect on that and what we could do as a community and as individuals to offer more," Kotlowski continued.
For Shafer that's just being someone to talk to and to create change.
"Because we have to worry about the next generation and the next generation and the generation and if we want that to stop we can't let that go on," Shafer added.
Unsheltered homelessness has risen by 19% in recent years.
The homeless are three to four times more likely to die 20 years earlier than people who are housed.
