'Worthy of dignity': Center memorializes people who died homeless in Detroit this year
Jakkar AimeryDetroit — When the body of a Metro Detroit homeless man was found frozen by police on Oct. 31, the Pope Francis Center was asked to identify the body.
The man, who was referred to as "John," had battled substance abuse and had often visited the center on St. Antoine Street in Detroit, which provides shelter and care for homeless people. About 250 people daily use the center.
John, 42, was among 27 people who died "on the streets" in Detroit this year, said the center. The center memorialized the dead Thursday in a ceremony at Ss. Peter and Paul Jesuit Church on Jefferson Avenue near downtown Detroit.
The gathering featured songs from the Sacred Heart Choral Ensemble, a casket processional and a liturgy during which incense was burned.
As the name of each person was called, a bell rang and a candle bearer moved in the center aisle and placed a candle near photos on a table near the pulpit. Some names were not known and frames were photo-less.
"Its really an opportunity for so many folks that die on the streets — there is no funeral, there is no place of mourning; its just a life ended, and we want to recognize those lives as human beings, worthy of dignity and respect," said Father Tim McCabe, president and CEO of the Pope Francis Center before the ceremony.
McCabe said the challenge to home John was complicated by the dwindling number of homeless shelters for single men in Detroit.
"We were calling everyday, trying to find a shelter bed for him, but there were no shelter beds available, and he just started losing hope day after day," McCabe said. "We saw him just start to go into a depression."
The Pope Francis Center said in Detroit, homeless shelters for single men dropped from six to two within months.
"... That means there's no emergency place for anybody to go," McCabe said. "If you become homeless, you have to be on the streets or something because there's no other options for you, especially as the weather gets colder, (homeless people) run into the risk of hypothermia death as a result of not having any shelter."
Detroit’s Housing and Revitalization Department in an interim report in October found that more than 8,500 people experienced homelessness in Detroit in 2022.
Nationally, the homeless population increased 12% from 2020-23, the Associated Press reported. The numbers rose from about 580,000 to nearly 653,000, AP said.
The Pope Francis Center said construction is underway on a $34 million Bridge Housing Campus at West Hancock and Lawton streets near Warren Avenue in Detroit’s Core City neighborhood. Construction is expected to be complete in April.
The Bridge Housing Campus, according to the center, will house 40 units and will provide shelter to residents up to 120 days along with medical and mental health care, and job readiness.
jaimery@detroitnews.com
The Associated Press contributed.