LOS ANGELES (CNS) - The Board of Supervisors today observed a moment of silence for 1,656 people who will buried tomorrow in a mass grave in the county cemetery.

"These are individuals that, for one reason or another, have no one but the county to provide them with a respectful and dignified burial,'' said Supervisor Don Knabe. "Some are homeless. Many are poor. Some have no families to grieve for them. But regardless of what their status in life was, each one of their lives mattered. It matters to us.''

The bodies of those to be buried were never claimed by family or friends. Their final resting place will be at the Los Angeles County Crematory and Cemetery in Boyle Heights.