The Longest Night: National Homeless Persons’ Memorial

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“Houselessness Ends Lives!”

Housing is Health Care!

Housing Saves Lives!

National Homeless Persons’ Remembrance Day on the first day of winter remembers those in the homeless community who have died the previous year. The day reminds us to honor them and remember the life they lived.

#HomelessPersonsRemembranceDay

Homelessness is a year-round concern for many. Winter increases the anxiety associated with finding shelter. During the holidays, the media focus their attention on raising awareness and improving opportunities. It’s an ideal time to garner a public forum for the issue, and local groups are encouraged to seek out and work with their local media outlets to publicize the event.

Orange County is a place of great wealth and even greater suffering. In 2023, it is estimated that over 500 persons’ will have died while trying to survive living on the streets of Orange County.

Time to say “YES” to HOUSING and “NO” to HOUSELESSNESS.

Join Housing is a Human Right OC and demand the housing needed to end houselessness and housing insecurity!

Ways to Get Involved:

  • Host/Sponsor your own memorial to those who died while unsheltered in OC.

  • Snap a photo of one of the memorials in your community and send to HHROC’s Facebook and/or Twitter at:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/groups/HHROC  and/or Twitter: https://twitter.com/HHROrangeCounty

You can also post on Orange County Board of Supervisors and your city council members Facebook/Twitter pages with a message (example): “These flags represent preventable deaths of unhoused people in our community. I urge you to invest in life-saving housing.

#HousingIsHealthcare            #HousingSavesLives

  • Let’s take action together

  • Send a message to your city council member and Orange County Board of Supervisors demanding investments in safe, permanent affordable housing!

  • Together, we can save lives!

Attend one or more of the HHROC educational events offered during November and December as HHROC recognizes the need to end Hunger and Homelessness throughout Orange County.

The FACTS about Orange County
  • Orange County’s high cost of living threatens the well-being of our communities and the median price of a single-family home is now $1,265,000; the average one bedroom monthly rent in OC is $2515.

  • Since January 2018, over 3350 infants, children, people with disabilities, older adults, LGBTQ+ people, and other OC community members have died while trying to survive living in unsheltered places throughout OC.

  • OC has the second-highest poverty rate in California, behind only Los Angeles.

  • Over 90 percent of extremely low-income renters cannot afford their rent.

  • Approximately one-third of all OC households lack enough income to meet basic needs.

  • One-in-four children in OC live in poverty.

  • Approximately one-third of low-income seniors are food insecure.

  • The number of chronically unhoused community members living in unsheltered places almost quadrupled from 2015-2019.

Every day approximately 86,000 children in OC don’t have access to enough food and 30 percent of children who are food insecure aren’t eligible for federal nutrition programs.

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