VIRGINIA BEACH — About 50 people held candles Thursday in the Housing Resource Center courtyard as they reflected on individuals who have died while homeless.

National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day is held annually in communities across the country on the winter solstice, the longest night of the year.

The U.S saw an increase in people becoming homeless this year as rents increased and pandemic assistance ended, according to reports.

In Virginia Beach, 2023 has been especially difficult. Seventeen people have died — the most to date — including 10 from drug overdoses.

“For many of those that passed away this year, this will be the only memorial service they will have,” said Joseph Aragon, community outreach manager for Brightview Health, a drug and alcohol treatment center in Virginia Beach.

Homelessness and addiction often occur simultaneously, and many people struggling face barriers to get the help they need. including lack of transportation, insurance and identification, Aragon told the attendees.

But there is hope, he said.

Some treatment providers offer transportation assistance and will begin treatment without insurance, said Aragon. Also, the Housing Resource Center helps people obtain identification cards and recently added more mental health and drug addiction specialists to the city’s homelessness outreach team.

The center opened five years ago to assist families and individuals experiencing homelessness or a housing crisis. It provides temporary shelter, permanent housing and day services — including laundry and showers. The city’s Human Services division and a health clinic also are based in the center.

Attendees of the vigil honored and acknowledged by name 179 people who died in Virginia Beach while experiencing homelessness since 2007.

For those who died this year, individuals stepped forward and placed stones bearing their names at the base of a potted tree in the courtyard.

“No one should live or die homeless,” Mayor Bobby Dyer said. “Let us lift up their memory and honor all those who continue to face the coldest months of the year homeless, outside, by doing everything that we can in our community.”

Councilwoman Sabrina Wooten also attended, and the choral group from Salem High School’s Visual & Performing Arts Academy sang “Amazing Grace.”

Jamal Gunn, vice chair of the Virginia Beach Human Rights Commission, gave the closing remarks. Gunn said “very little separates us” from people experiencing homelessness.

“The only difference between us is that we have had the good fortune of having our most dependable safety net to resist the extremist of circumstances,” Gunn said, adding that more empathy is needed to reduce homelessness.

“It takes a dedicated and considerable effort from us all to end it.”

Stacy Parker, 757-222-5125, stacy.parker@pilotonline.com