OCEAN COUNTY – The glow of candlelight softened the evening darkness outside St. John’s AME Zion Church as about 50 people gathered to remember Ocean County neighbors who died this year while homeless. Names were spoken. Prayers were offered. Silence settled in the spaces between breaths.
The Ocean County Homeless Persons Memorial Service was organized by the Ocean County Homeless Prevention and Assistance Coalition (HPAC) and the Ending Homelessness Group. It brought together a cross-section of the people who do the quiet work of showing up. Representatives from Monarch Housing Associates, Inc., Toms River Housing and Homeless Coalition, HABcore, Inc., Collaborative Support Programs of New Jersey, Ocean County Department of Human Services, and Family Promise stood shoulder to shoulder. They represented only a portion of the organizations working every day to prevent people from falling through the cracks.
Jennifer Hakeem of Monarch Housing and the Ending Homelessness Group explained the purpose of the Ocean County Homeless Prevention and Assistance Coalition. “The HPAC works to ensure that people who are experiencing homelessness or at risk for homelessness will have access to communities and services,” she shared. “We do this by working with community partners that are here with us tonight.”
Hakeem described the purpose of the evening’s memorial service to honor those who have passed away while homeless in the last year. The honor of reading the names of those memorialized at the service was given to Laurie Singer, outreach coordinator for the Toms River Housing and Homeless Coalition.
Singer’s voice trembled as she asked those gathered to say a prayer for the families. She read six names known to the organizations: Mary Hoffman, Curtis Alan, Debbie Getius, Marlene Sullivan, Jerry Henderson, and Robert Jones. Causes were not shared, preserving dignity and privacy.
The sad reality is that the list of names was likely incomplete. Others may have died unseen, unnamed, or unknown to this group of service providers. Their absence from the list did not lessen their worth. Their memories, too, were held in the circle of light.
Youth Who Know The Reality
Among those present at the vigil were residents of Ocean’s Harbor House, a supervised transitional living program for homeless teens and young adults ages 16 to 21. Their presence underscored a difficult truth. Homelessness is not confined to any one age, background, or story.
Sara McKenna, who experienced homelessness starting at the age of 15, shared her own journey. She spoke of crashing on couches, eating her friends’ food and living life the way she thought she wanted at the time.
“Quickly, my friends moved on as they should have,” said McKenna. “Suddenly, I was a minor with no food and no clothes. Desperation hit fast. I started stealing, stealing food, eating out of barbecues, and getting into cars and situations no one should ever face.”
Ultimately, McKenna met a group of people who changed her entire world. They all felt forgotten, betrayed, but together built a unit of safety and care that she hadn’t felt in a long time. She discovered her values forged in some of the hardest parts of her life.
“The moral of my story comes down to four simple words,” she said. “Connection, resilience, trust, respect. Without them, I truly believe I would be remembered here tonight, instead of speaking here tonight.”
Today, McKenna, now 32, works as a peer with the Mental Health Association of Ocean County and advocates for others still navigating the system. Her testimony was a reminder that survival is possible, but never guaranteed.
A County Without Shelter
As it stands now, Ocean County has no shelter available for the general adult population. In freezing weather, some unhoused residents continue to live in tents scattered throughout the county. Others are temporarily placed in motels, with stays that may soon end. Some move from couch to couch, feeling like an imposition. Others wander during the day, seeking warmth in libraries and public buildings.
That reality made the location of the memorial service especially meaningful.
St. John’s AME Zion Church is also a Code Blue warming center, opening its doors when weather conditions become dangerous. A Code Blue alert is issued by the Ocean County Office of Emergency Management in collaboration with the Department of Human Services after reviewing National Weather Service forecasts predicting hazardous conditions within 24 to 48 hours. Triggers include temperatures at or below 32 degrees Fahrenheit or wind chill readings of zero degrees for two hours or more.
When Code Blue is activated, St. John’s provides overnight shelter, meals, and access to additional services. Sister Diane Dew of the church explained, “We’re open seven days a week during Code Blue. We feed them dinner, and they get breakfast before they leave in the morning.”
Street outreach workers also addressed the crowd, describing what it means to meet people where they are. Jimmy Nappo of CSPNJ spoke about the importance of small acts of care.
“People experiencing homelessness deserve shelter, health, and most importantly love from others, just as much as anyone else,” he said. “Small acts of love can go a long way.”
Nina Rizzo of HABcore echoed that sentiment, describing outreach workers who defrost car doors, deliver meals to encampments, and make daily safety checks on people who are hesitant to come inside.
“We can listen without judgment,” she said. “We can speak with kindness, the power of kind and compassionate words can mend hearts and foster trust, while harsh words can push someone right back into a debilitating depression.”
Holding Space For The Forgotten
Hakeem closed the service by reading a poem written by Catherine Rippy Hanson in honor of her brother, reflecting on the humanity contained within what others might dismiss as scraps or debris. A shopping cart. A blanket. A life.
As candles flickered, there was no political debate, no policy argument. Just names. Stories. And the acknowledgment that remembrance itself is an act of dignity.
