Homeless Memorial In Hawthorne Park

Thursday morning in Grand Junction, Colorado, community members who we’re connected with the homeless came together to reflect on those who couldn’t make it to Christmas this year.

“Homelessness is not just the people on the streets, it’s the people that are crashing on your couch, they’re the people that are honestly, they’re the people that aren’t calling their families to tell them that that’s what’s happening and that I think sometimes the stigma that keeps people from asking for help,” said Clarita Inman from Homeward Bound Shelter. (Western slope now news.)

The memorial in the park is not the first time the community has gathered for this cause, but they know that without their efforts there might not be anyone to give our homeless or sheltered the respect and memory they deserve. This memorial is a special way to remember those we’ve lost this year. People have gone in and have shown their respects for them.

15 years ago, a tree was planted in downtown’s Hawthorne Park, and those affected by a loss to homelessness tied a ribbon for that person’s memory. It was not just people without a place to stay, but also for the people who have lost their loved ones. It was people struggling or fighting to find a way to transition into the best life they can live. Not just random people who you think are “lowlives.” The resounding message was not just to think of the people you see on main street or in our parks, it can be anyone or anyone of us. The memorial is a positive impact for everyone in Grand Junctions community.

“Those lost this year included:
James Kilacky, Ernest Scruggs, Michael Morreale, Danny Bilyeau, Michael O’Kelley,
Michael Dufresne, Tina Ladue, Rusty Dramgool, Sherri Baldwin, Dale Lane, Tammy Kaiser,
Bob Postem, Mitch Murry, Dennis Patton, Erick Talboom, James Allen Johnson, Paul Miller
and William Breen.”