Montgomery County Remembers 60 Homeless People Who Died

ROCKVILLE, MD — Montgomery County leaders remembered the 60 homeless people who died in the county over the past year at a community memorial in Rockville on Wednesday.

At the Montgomery County 2022 Community Memorial Service in downtown Rockville, the name of each person who died was read aloud. “Each of these lives mattered,” Montgomery County Council President Gabe Albornoz said at the ceremony.

Councilmember Sidney Katz told the people gathered at the memorial service that he went to high school with two of the people on the list of homeless people who died.

“It brings it home. It reminds us that every community, every person’s life is touched by people who we need to help,” Katz said.

Officials and volunteers with nonprofit groups that help homeless people in Montgomery County shared a brief description of each person who was honored at Wednesday's memorial.

Liz Krueger, a program director at the nonprofit Interfaith Works in Montgomery County, spoke about Blanca Reyes, who left behind family in El Salvador when she died.

Reyes escaped violence in El Salvador and made new friends at Progress Place, a facility owned by Montgomery County that offers services to the homeless in the Silver Spring area. "Blanca leaves behind her children and family in El Salvador but also a community at Progress Place, many of whom referred to her as a mother figure," Krueger said.

Montgomery County Councilmember Andrew Friedson said the county must commit to valuing everyone in the community. “The way we honor the lost is to take care of the living,” Friedson said.

"No one makes a plan to be homeless,” Councilmember Will Jawando said. “I’m so proud to work in a county that cares about every person that’s dealing with that."