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For each homeless life lost, a candle is lit at vigil

By MICHAEL A. MOHAMMED
Published December 22, 2006

TAMPA - B.J. Johns meets a lot of homeless people in her job as a social worker for the Faith Cafe and the Palma Ceia Presbyterian Church.

Each year, some of the familiar faces disappear.

Johns joined a crowd of about 125 religious leaders, aid workers and homeless people in downtown Tampa on Thursday lighting a candle for each person who had succumbed to street life this year in Hillsborough County.

She remembered Sean McCarthy, whose struggle with substance abuse was thwarted because he couldn't get into a treatment program without ID.

But, Johns said, he couldn't get ID without a birth certificate - and couldn't get a birth certificate without ID.

Organized by the Homeless Coalition of Hillsborough County, the ceremony in the park opposite the County Center echoed over a hundred other candlelight vigils across the country Thursday to commemorate National Homeless Persons' Memorial Day.

"These are people. They are not objects," said the Rev. Ken Whitten of Idlewild Baptist Church at the ceremony's invocation. "No one can replace these people."

Volunteers handed out blankets, backpacks and bags filled with hygiene supplies to homeless people there.

The 48 candles lit at the vigil represent a nearly 25 percent increase over the 39 at last year's ceremony. But it can be difficult to tell whether the increase reflects a rise in the number of deaths, or in the rate at which they are reported.

"We're doing a better job about learning about their deaths," said Lesa Weikel, spokeswoman for the Coalition. "People are more aware of this event and notify the coalition office of people who have passed away from homelessness."

Michael A. Mohammed can be reached at mmohammed@sptimes.com or 813 226-3404.

[Last modified December 22, 2006, 00:03:55]