St Mary's Maine Blog

 Imagine spending the longest night of the year on the streets with no place to call home… 

The Lewiston/Auburn Alliance for Services to the Homeless (LAASH) invites the L-A community to join their annual candlelight vigil to remember homeless people during the holiday season from 4:30 to 5:30 pm on Wednesday, December 21, 2011 in downtown Lewiston. For ten years, LAASH has held this event as part of a national movement of cities marking National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day on or near the winter solstice – the first day of winter and the longest night of the year.

Please meet at 4:30 pm in the courtyard of the Trinity Jubilee Center (at Trinity Episcopal Church – courtyard entrance is on Spruce Street near the corner with Bates Street). After a few words and lighting of candles, vigil participants will walk several blocks up Bates Street, past the St. Mary’s Nutrition Center, to Main Street. The procession will turn right on Main and then right on Sabattus Street and conclude in front of the Calvary United Methodist Church (located in the triangle bordered by Sabattus, College, and Bartlett Streets).

Vigil participants are invited to bring non-perishable and canned food to the event, which will be collected at both Trinity and Calvary. Participants may join the vigil at any point along the route. An indoor space will be available to gather at Calvary to warm up and enjoy hot chocolate and refreshments donated by Hurricane’s Soup & Chowder and The Bread Shack. Staff from New Beginnings will provide van service back to Jubilee or the Park Street garage.

Based on a 2009 community needs assessment, LAASH and the United Way of Androscoggin County estimated that on any given night, 100 people in greater L-A are homeless – that number has likely increased with the continued recession. The route of this year’s vigil highlights a few of the local services for low-income and homeless people downtown:

• Trinity Jubilee Center (247 Bates Street) provides daily meals and food, a warming center, refugee assistance, and resources to those in need. (207)782-5700
•  The Nutrition Center (208 Bates Street) includes St. Mary’s food pantry, youth and gardening programs, and cooking and nutrition education programs. (207)513-3848
• The City Mission group at Calvary Church (59 Sabattus Street) serves a hot supper downstairs from 4:30-5:30 p.m. every Wednesday and breakfast Sunday mornings from 7:30-8:30 a.m. for the community.
  207-782-3221
• New Beginnings operates support services and housing for youth, including a drop-in center (245 Lisbon) and 24-hour emergency shelter (491 Main Street). (207)795-4077

Each year since 1990, the National Coalition for the Homeless (NCH) has co-sponsored National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day to bring attention to the tragedy of homelessness. In an effort to maximize the impact of the day, organizers have encouraged statewide and local groups such as LAASH to hold events of their own. Last year, more than 152 cities across the nation sponsored events to recommit to the task of ending homelessness.

LAASH is a collaborative of organizations that serve local low-income and homeless people. Along with the United Way of Androscoggin County and other local supporters, LAASH has launched a 10 year plan to end homelessness in Lewiston/Auburn.

For more information, contact Bob Rowe at 207-795-4077 or go to www.newbeginmaine.org.