If you’re homeless, every night is tough, every night a struggle to stay warm and dry and safe. But Sunday evening — Dec. 21, the official start of winter, the longest night of the year — might be toughest of all.
Dec. 21 also marks National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day, symbolically observed every year since 1990 on the first day of winter to remember the thousands of unhoused people across the nation who at some point lost that nightly struggle and perished.
In Los Angeles, two events were held Sunday to mark National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day, honoring the lives of Southland residents who died while unhoused in 2025.
On average, seven unhoused people die every day in Los Angeles, “many of them alone and without acknowledgement,” according to the AIDS Healthcare Foundation’s Housing Is A Human Right advocacy organization — conducted a candlelight vigil Sunday night in Hollywood.
During the 5-6 p.m. vigil at the southwest corner of Sunset Boulevard and Hudson Avenue, members and staff from homeless-service organizations joined members of the public for a reading of names of people who died in Los Angeles “before they could exit homelessness.”
Archbishop José H. Gomez presided over a Homeless Persons’ Interreligious Memorial at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels.
Gomez was joined by community, civic and religious leaders who came “together in prayer to remember and honor our brothers and sisters who died while experiencing homelessness during the past year in the Los Angeles and Ventura counties,” the archdiocese said.
“This year, we will lift up the lives of 1,564 people — among them 84 whose names are unknown — each represented by a candle bearing their name,” an archdiocese statement said.
The candles were carried into the Cathedral by Catholic and non-Catholic school students, “a sign of hope and shared responsibility across generations and faith traditions,” the statement said.
During the memorial, Gomez and other religious leaders invited those present “to reflect on our call to walk alongside those who are unhoused, and to renew our commitment to compassion, solidarity, and works of mercy.”
Attendees were also invited “to take a candle and continue the prayer, entrusting the soul of that person to God’s loving care.”
A statement by the archdiocese noted that, “Since 1990, National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day has been observed each year on December 21, reminding us — on the coldest and darkest night of the year — of the sacred dignity of every human life and our shared responsibility to ensure that no one is forgotten.”
In March, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health released a report saying the county’s homeless mortality rate had plateaued for a second straight year in 2023 — the latest available data. It called the news a significant development due in large part to a reduction in drug overdoses.
The DPH’s sixth annual report on mortality among people experiencing homelessness showed there were 2,508 deaths of unhoused individuals in 2023. From 2021 to 2022, the mortality rate increased by 2%, followed by a 1% increase from 2022 to 2023.
While the most recent report found the mortality rate remained high at 3,326 deaths per 100,000 people, county officials noted that it has leveled off compared to a previously devastating increase of 56% from 2019 to 2021.
“It’s good news that the rate has leveled off, but it’s still very high, and we’re working collectively with many partners to decrease the mortality rate over the next three years,” William Nicholas, director of DPH’s Center for Health Impact Evaluation, said in March.
Overall, according to the 2025 Greater Los Angeles Homeless Count — conducted between Feb. 18 and 20 throughout the Los Angeles County, with results released in July — there were 72,308 homeless people in the county, including 43,669 in Los Angeles.
That reflected a drop from 2024’s “point in time” figures of 75,312 homeless people in the county, including 45,252 in the city — a second straight year reflecting a slight drop.
Still, officials noted the ongoing crisis remains at a formidable scale, and that more work remains.
“But 72,308 people are still living without permanent shelter. We can, and must, do more,” county Supervisor Lindsey Horvath said in July.
“At this pace, it would take three centuries to end homelessness in Los Angeles County. Every day, seven lives are being lost on our streets — an unacceptable reality that demands bold, coordinated action.”