Homeless Memorial History
The Annual Homeless Memorial March and Service is a sacred space for hundreds to gather and remember in community. The memorial originated with a partnership between Simpson Housing Services, the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless, and other shelter and housing partners in the state of Minnesota. 2024 marked the 40th anniversary of the memorial service and the 30th anniversary of the silent march.
Over the past 40 years, the Homeless Memorial March and Service has commemorated over four thousand people. This includes people who died while experiencing homelessness, people who were formerly homeless, and people who were advocates. We have written every person’s name on a sign carried during the march, read their name aloud, and lit a candle in their memory. For many, this was their only memorial service.
We have remembered people of all ages and backgrounds, from every corner of the state. We have remembered a distressingly high number of Black, indigenous, and people of color, who disproportionately experience homelessness and consequently die while homeless or formerly homeless at much higher rates than the general population. Everyone we have remembered was someone’s child, sibling, spouse, or friend.
Over time, we have remembered more and more people who were formerly homeless—a positive note, despite the overwhelming loss, that reflects the many people who successfully navigated through homelessness to a place of greater stability. In 2024, the names of people who were formerly homeless outnumbered people who died while homeless for the first time.
History and Memories
Learn more about the history of the memorial. Click to expand each memory.
The Homeless Memorial began in honor of Eric, who went missing in the summer of 1984.
Eric was a quiet Vietnam war veteran who had been a frequent, beloved guest at the Simpson men’s shelter. When he was found beaten to death, the Simpson community gathered with Eric’s family to remember him and several others who had died while homeless. Simpson and the Minnesota Coalition for the Homeless held the first official Minnesota Homeless Memorial Service in December 1984.
Ten years later, the federal government cut shelter funding at a time when homelessness was increasing. The locally organized Shelter Providers Action Association added the memorial march to the event to raise awareness in the community. This silent procession began at the Hennepin County Government Center plaza on 5th St. S. and marched two miles south down Nicollet Ave. to the Simpson United Methodist Church building on 28th St., where the Simpson shelter was operating.
The Homeless Memorial March and Service has evolved over the last four decades in response to shifting needs while retaining its core purpose. The list of names grew to include unidentified people, as it was presumed that they were likely homeless; people who were formerly homeless; and advocates. A community meal was added after the memorial service for people to connect and share memories. When the Simpson UMC church building could no longer host the memorial service, Plymouth Congregational Church generously opened its doors to host the memorial, and the march route was changed to loop around Loring Park.
We gather every year in this solemn tradition, bearing their names through blizzards and sub-zero temperatures, and sharing stories and memories. We carry their names together, as community should—in mourning, in solidarity, and in committing to work for a future where everyone has a safe, stable home.
Luna, a large paper mâché puppet, leads the Memorial March every year.
Years ago, Simpson Housing Services, other housing providers, and representatives from Heart of the Beast Puppet Theatre and other art programs held a conference called “Out of the Shadows,” which was specifically designed for people experiencing homelessness.
Hundreds of people attended the event. An art car was created and there were break-out learning sessions. People experiencing homelessness wrote and performed a play about the lottery to win shelter beds. The day ended with a funk band playing and a barbeque dinner.
Organizers and conference participants were impelled to create something solemn reflecting on the “Out of the Shadows” theme for that year’s annual homeless memorial service. They also wanted to speak to the cold, the solstice (a day on which the memorial service sometimes falls), and the deep sadness our community feels during the memorial march.
Many people impacted by homelessness and advocates for the homeless community helped build and design the puppet for the memorial service. The moon face on the puppet was given deeper meaning when John Luna, a Simpson shelter guest who worked very hard on the puppet, passed away a few years later. His last name (Luna) means moon.
Thank you to all who have carried Luna over the years.
In the early years of the memorial, when funding was especially tight, there were plans to re-use candles from one year to the next. Carla Gainey, Simpson Executive Director from 1987-1997, was adamant that new candles be purchased every year: “Everyone should have their own candle.”
Marchers carry individual signs with the name, age, and hometown of every person being honored. During one of the first years of the march, a woman whose mother had been murdered travelled to the service from Duluth. To see her mother’s name on a sign was a moving experience for her. This started a tradition of allowing marchers to carry the signs of people they had known.
The silent vigil originated at the Hennepin County Government Center plaza on 5th St. S. and marched two miles south down Nicollet Ave. to the Simpson United Methodist Church building on 28th St., where the Simpson shelter was operating.
When the Simpson United Methodist Church building could no longer host the memorial service, Plymouth Congregational Church generously opened its doors to host the memorial in 2019. The march route was changed to loop around Loring Park.
Thank you to all who have spoken at the Homeless Memorial Service of Remembrance, including:
Pastor Hans Lee
Fr. Ed Flahavan
Bishop Richard Pates
Nick Coleman
Cathy ten Broeke
Steve O’Neil
Dr. John Song
Monica Nilsson
John Petroskas
Rep. Jeff Hayden
Rev. Dan Collison
Deb Holman
Mikkel Beckmen
Rep. Rena Moran
Marti Maltby
Melissa Pohlman
Patina Park
Jennifer Ho
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan
Mike Goze
Buffy Moore
Beth Holger
Mary Gallini
Timeline: Highlights from 2019 Onward
2019: The event relocates to Plymouth Congregational Church. The march route is changed to loop around Loring Park.
2020: All in-person gatherings are cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the community sheltering in place. Several Simpson staff march outdoors. A pre-recorded memorial video is shown.
2021: The in-person march returns, and the memorial service is livestreamed.
2022: The in-person memorial service returns.
2023: The community meal returns.
2024: The community observes the 40th anniversary of the Homeless Memorial and March.