Memorial Service Planned to Remember Cape Homeless Who Have Died

CCB MEDIA PHOTO NOAH Shelter in Hyannis

CCB MEDIA PHOTO
NOAH Shelter in Hyannis

HYANNIS – Tonight is the longest night of the year and the annual Homeless Persons Memorial Day will be recognized across the country.

A service will be held in Hyannis to honor the homeless who have died on Cape Cod throughout the year.

The service, which will feature bagpipes, songs, candles and prayers, will begin on the Village Green at 5 p.m. before moving to the Hyannis Federated Church on Main Street.

“It’s an opportunity for their friends, for relatives, for those who knew them and for those who did not to have a chance to mourn their passing and to give them decent farewell,” said Reverend Dr. John Terry from Hyannis Federated Church.

So far this year 31 homeless individuals on the Cape have died which is slightly less than the 34 Cape homeless who were remembered at last years’ service.

Terry said he was hoping for inclement weather for the evening to further illustrate what homeless individuals have to live through.

“These are people like Ray Bastille, who froze to death on the Village Green because there was no room in NOAH or anyone else for him,” Terry said. “It’s really an unbelievably difficult thing for so many people.”

Bastille was found dead in the Hyannis bandshell in March.

The church originally moved the entire service indoors because of inclement weather.

“For two or three years we always had the entire service inside and we said this is not right,” Terry said. “We need to remember this is not an antiseptic event.”

There have been 31 homeless people that have died on the Cape this year. Last years’ service remembered 34 homeless individuals.

By BRIAN MERCHANT, CapeCod.com NewsCenter

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