When friends die on the sidewalk...

...their friends remember the spot where they died. Periodically, unhoused people in Portland gather to celebrate and mourn the lives of people in their community who have recently died. Today was such a gathering, organized by advocates for the unhoused, held at Sisters of the Road. I was  invited to take photographs, and I have posted more of them here.  

Many of those remembered had no medical care and died of conditions that would not have caused their death, had they had access to funds or to treatment for mental illness and/or addiction. Some died of exposure. Some of dehydration. Some were found dead in the river or on a sidewalk, and no one knows what killed them, nor will anyone investigate. 

I am so moved by this event, and by the honor of being included as their photographer, that I am, for the moment, both exhausted and filled with gratitude. I was given the privilege of being intimate with the grief and love of many people, and their trust inspires me with respect. So much has been happening lately, day after day, that I have not been able to respond to comments nor to look at others' journals. It is all I can do to hold the emotions that wash over me.