Homeless deaths increase on Cape and Islands: annual memorial day Dec. 21

For 14 hours and 51 minutes — from the 4:14 p.m. sunset on Dec. 21 to the 7:05 a.m. sunrise on Dec. 22 — Cape Cod will be cloaked in darkness. 

It’s the longest night of the year, and a reliably cold one. Over the past 30 years, the normal low temperature on Dec. 21 has been 27 degrees, according to National Weather Service data from Hyannis.

Some Cape Codders will likely spend the night outdoors, exposed to the elements. Others will sleep in cars as they wait for the sun to rise, others in shelters, others on the couches of friends or family.

Homeless prevention workers on Cape Cod and Islands record annual counts

On Feb. 22 of this year, 397 people on Cape Cod, Martha’s Vineyard and Nantucket were homeless, according to The Cape and Islands Regional Network on Homelessness, which conducts an annual point in time count of homeless adults and children in the region that excludes those living in motels or with family or friends. That total is 54 more people than were counted in 2021, and the highest number of homeless people counted in the past eight years.

This year also saw an increase in the number of deaths of people who have been homeless on Cape Cod. In 2022, at least 76 people who have interacted with the Cape’s homeless service providers at some point in their lives have died, according to the Rev. Pam Wannie, a spiritual care provider at Duffy Health Center who regularly works with housing-insecure people on Cape.

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“I was actually just reviewing that list today and I knew so many of the folks that we lost this year,” Wannie said. “If I was to create a compilation of all of those people that I knew, it would show resilience. How they tried so hard to get out of their circumstances, how they tried to remain in recovery, how they tried to live in a safe environment, how they worked their way out of trauma after trauma and still continued to wake up every morning and continued to try to better themselves and better their lives. There's not one person whose name I know who wasn't trying.”

A service will honor the homeless individuals who died in 2022

Wannie will be among those who gather Wednesday at the First Baptist Church in Hyannis to honor the memories of those who died this year. The service begins at 5 p.m., nearly an hour into the longest period of darkness on the calendar. 

Cape Cod Council of Churches Executive Director Edye Nesmith said that the timing of the annual Homeless Persons’ Memorial Service is symbolic. 

“I think it imbues special meaning on the event,” she said, adding that organizations across the country hold similar services on Dec. 21. “There is the darkness and the winter ahead, but because that is also the last night that it is that dark for that long, I think there's an embodiment of hope, as well.”

Is is possible to live comfortably on Cape Cod earning $30,000 or $40,000 a year?

The night is also an opportunity to raise awareness about the factors contributing to homelessness in America, and on Cape Cod.

“I just talked to somebody today who thought he had a winter rental, but it fell through,” Wannie said on Thursday. “This is a person who has held professional positions and has just fallen on hard times. As of next Thursday, this person does not have a place to live. It is very difficult to find affordable housing here. We need to think about how we can make it possible for people who are earning $30,000, $40,000 a year to live comfortably on Cape Cod.”

The anxiety of homelessness and housing instability takes a serious toll on people, Wannie said. 

People who experience homelessness have an average life expectancy of roughly 50 years, almost 20 years lower than the life expectancy for housed people, according to the National Coalition for the Homeless. The coalition also said people without stable housing are at higher risk of infectious and chronic illness, poor mental health, and substance use disorders.

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“There’s a guy I work with who has no heat and no hot water,” Wannie said. “Whatever the ultimate cause of death, living without basic needs reduces how long you can sustain life.”

Wannie encouraged Cape Codders to come to the memorial, where organizers will read aloud the first name of each person who died in 2022 after experiencing homelessness here. She urges those who can't attend to get in touch with a local organizations that serves housing insecure people, many of which are co-sponsoring the memorial service.

“Find ways to learn more about the people that are homeless,” Wannie said. “I think once we can understand and have compassion for folks, we will realize we have much more in common than we have differences, and maybe that bit of compassion can help us as a community want to do more to help people find affordable housing and have their basic needs met.”

Homeless Persons' Memorial Service: 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 21, First Baptist Church at 486 Main St. in Hyannis. The event is convened by the Cape Cod Council of Churches. Co-sponsor are agencies serving those who experience homelessness including Barnstable Police Department’s Community Impact Unit, Champ Homes, Duffy Health Center, Housing Assistance Corp (HAC), St. John Paul II High School, Vinfen, Youth Group of the Community of Jesus, and the Youth StreetReach Program and Here Now Ministries of the Council of Churches.