A public memorial service will be held at Martin Place at 6pm today – the shortest night of the year – to honour the lives of people who have died while experiencing homelessness in Sydney in the past 12 months.
One death per week is linked to homelessness in inner Sydney.
The service – the fifth annual event to remember those who have died on our streets while homeless – comes amid a disturbing rise in street homelessness, with the latest City of Sydney Street Count recording 346 people sleeping rough — a 24 per cent increase in just one year.
Behind the statistics are lives cut tragically short: at least 12 people have died on the streets of Inner Sydney in the past three months, according to the End Street Sleeping Collaboration.
Among these, the average age of death was just 48 years, well below Australia’s national life expectancy of 83.2.
The youngest was a 27-year-old woman.
According to the Australian Alliance to End Homelessness, there are an estimated 424 preventable deaths annually due to homelessness nationwide.
Event organiser Dominic Sullivan said many of the people who died on the streets had no commemoration and no one to mourn them.
“This service is a moment for the community to come together, remember those lost, and recommit to action,” Mr Sullivan said.
“People should not be dying on the streets and not die anonymously – that is not the mark of a caring and compassionate society.
“The numbers of people living on the streets is alarming, and this service will not only remember those that have passed away but refocus our efforts to end homelessness and the number of people living on the streets.
“The economic downturn is being felt hard by those living on the margins.”
The event is supported by the End Street Sleeping Collaboration, Archdiocese of Sydney’s Justice and Peace Office, Catholic Cemeteries and Crematoria, the PAYCE Foundation and the St Vincent de Paul Society.
The memorial service will feature reflections and music by the Sydney Street Choir and Honeybees Choir.
Fr Peter Smith, from the Archdiocese of Sydney’s Justice and Peace Office said the service is a chance to remember and celebrate those that have sadly passed on the streets.
“Our city must be a city for all, but unfortunately too many are struggling on the margins, and too many are left behind. For those who are finding life the most difficult, our job is to give them the support and dignity they deserve,” Fr Smith said.
Members of the public are encouraged to attend and stand in solidarity with those who have died and those still living without a home.
Key Facts
The fifth annual event to commemorate the lives of people who have died homeless will take place in Martin Place at 6pm, Saturday 21 June;
At least 12 people have died on the streets of Sydney in the past three months, while the number of people sleeping rough has increased 24 per cent year-on-year; and
The average age of death of homeless people in Sydney is just 48.
