'Who will remember them if we don't' - charities to gather for candlelit vigil in memory of homeless dead

Members of the public are being urged to unite tonight, to remember the homeless people who have died in Manchester this year.

Homeless charities, faith leaders and the public will all gather in Sackville Gardens later, to light a candle in memory of dozens of people who have lost their lives on our city's streets.

John Ryan, manager at Shelter Manchester, said: “This ceremony is being held in the memory of all the homeless men and women who died in the last year, and we would welcome the public to join us for a few quiet words, and reflection on those we have lost.

“Our services in Greater Manchester are working to help people off the streets and into suitable homes, and every day we see the brutal damage that life on the street can have on a person’s health.

"We’re glad the government recently announced in its Rough Sleeping Strategy that they are to start recording the deaths of homeless people properly. We can’t address this problem if we don’t understand its scale, or the reasons behind it.

"But we also remember that every one of these tragic statistics was a real person, with a name. They had friends and families, and never deserved to be invisible to the authorities. That’s why we are marking their passing.”

The vigil comes after a shocking investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism last month revealed that 449 people had died while sleeping rough in the UK in the last year - a figure that has never been officially recorded.

A list of the names of those homeless people who have died in Manchester in the past year will be read out at a ceremony in Sackville Gardens in the Gay Village, before the public are asked to light candles in their memory."

Charities, faith leaders and the public will gather from 6:30pm in Sackville Gardens.