House the Homeless has passed the Homeless Memorial Services baton on to Caritas Austin, who will now host the annual Homeless Memorial Sunrise Service Please join HtH and Caritas this year, Sunday, November 17th, 2019, at 6:58 am to remember those we have lost this year living in poverty.

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The 25th Annual Homeless Memorial Sunrise Service November 19th at 6:57 am

Where: Vic Mathias Shores (formerly Auditorium Shores)

This year we will read the names of over 100 citizens of Austin who died in poverty from October 2016-October 2017.

For 24 years, we have gathered on Auditorium Shores (just re-named Vic Mathias Shores) when we say goodbye to the women, men, and children who have lived and died on our streets in poverty the previous year. This one hour service begins at Sunrise which should be at 6:57 am. The service always ends on time with a fellowship gathering afterwards when we share coffee, cocoa and a bite to eat.

The Homeless Memorial is located at South First Street and Riverside Drive. The Memorial is on the south side of Lady Bird Lake on the Roy Butler trail. It is about 75 yards west of the Fanny Davis Gazebo and about 75 yards east of the Stevie Ray Vaughn statue. There should be plenty of parking at the parking area which you can access from 900 Riverside Drive. Once you park, simply walk to the river and turn left. You will see us gathering on the right at the Homeless Memorial.

Thank you for joining us. You are welcome to invite your friends. You will be moved.

Click here for Homeless Memorial Sunrise Service Photos from the Austin American Statesman

http://m.statesman.com/gallery/news/local/house-homeless-memorial-sunrise-service-111614/gCPX7/

Please plan now to join us to say “goodbye” to our friends who have died in Austin during the previous year at the-

23rd House the Homeless Sunrise Memorial Service

Sunday, November 15th 2015

It is a one hour Sunrise Service beginning at 6:56 am.

For two decades House the Homeless and the citizens of Austin have gathered on Auditorium Shores* at The Homeless Memorial near South 1st & Riverside Dr. to acknowledge the men, women, and children who have lived and died on our streets.

Please join us!

Keynote Speak- Austin Mayor Stevie Adler

Prayers- Rev. Dr. Nathan J. Robertson Jr. of the Greater Mount Moriah Primitive Baptist Church

Music- Deann Rene

Thank you for all that you do to fight homelessness.

In Unity there Is Strength,

Richard

For 20 years, House the Homeless has taken time to remember those citizens who have died in poverty in Austin/Travis County. The first memorial was an informal march from the capitol to then Town Lake after Richard and others realized how many friends had died. At that time they counted twenty-three souls.

In 1993, Richard obtained a spot on now Lady Bird Lake to plant a live oak and place a memorial plaque.

The plaque reads:

Homelessness

It is the essence of depression

It is immoral

It is socially corrupt

And it is an act of violence.

In the memory of those who have lost their lives on the streets of Austin.

In November 2009, House the Homeless held the 17th Memorial and read the names of 158 citizens including two infants.

In years past, each person has been remembered by a hat on a stake:

Or a name tied to a carnation or on a ribbon on the tree. This year the dead were remembered with hand made origami swans. The name of each person lost in 2009 was attached to an origami swan. Some believe that the bird will carry the spirit of that individual to heaven.

The ultimate goal for House the Homeless is to reduce the untimely deaths of homeless citizens by providing opportunities to get off the streets through job training, living wages, case management, transitional housing, and affordable housing.

In the interim, each winter, HTH holds its thermal underwear party to provide warm clothes to protect individuals living outside. This protection is needed to avoid exposure and hypothermia. The end of each year’s Memorial signals the kick off of the Thermal Underwear Drive when we work diligently to raise the funds necessary to purchase life saving winter clothing.

Click the link for some more information on the 2010 Homeless Memorial Sunrise Service that took place in Austin last year, including a list of the people we remembered — the homeless men and women who lost their lives in Austin in 2010. Click here to see photos from the 2010 Service.