Mourning the homeless Bangor vigil honors those who died alone, unrecognized

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BANGOR – Phil Morse had a wife, children and two auto body businesses. Geralyn Mott went to private school, was college-educated and is well-read. Barbara Womble is a mother, grandmother and has a great job.

But alcoholism, a broken leg and an abusive husband turned each one of their lives in a direction each never thought it could go.

They all were or are homeless.

On Friday night, the three survivors of homelessness helped to honor those who weren’t so lucky.

About 125 community members participated in the Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day, remembering the lives of homeless people who, for the most part, died alone and without public recognition.

“I think it would be nice to be remembered by somebody that was in the same boat they were in,” said Morse, who is staying at the Bangor Area Homeless Shelter.

Crowds gathered outside the shelter at 6 p.m. to light candles and to walk about a mile in procession to the Hammond Street Congregational Church. A steady glow of candlelight stretched from Main Street to Hammond Street as participants walked to the church where they would sing, give testimony and honor the lives of the homeless who died in the past five years. At 7:30 p.m., the church bell rang 36 times – once for every reported homeless death.

This is the second year Bangor has participated in the national event to remember the homeless, according to Mary Jude, director of homeless initiatives at Penobscot Community Health Care. The City of Bangor also proclaimed Friday as Homeless Persons’ Awareness Day.

There are 21/2 million homeless throughout the nation, said City Councilor Geoffrey Gratwick, as he presented the city’s proclamation, noting that the homeless are three to four times more likely to die prematurely. Jude estimates there are 1,000 homeless people in the Bangor area.

Every homeless person is “someone’s someone,” Mott said, whether their first prom date, first love, their brother or mother. Many people live just one paycheck, a divorce, or one car accident away from homelessness, she said. With a history of alcoholism, all it took was a broken leg for her to become homeless, Mott confided. She proudly proclaimed to the audience that she was no longer homeless and had not taken a drink in 14 years.

Womble shared her story of escaping an abusive husband and becoming a desperate, homeless mother of two. She never dreamed of being a welfare mom, she said.

Womble, who now has grandchildren and works as a psychiatric nurse practitioner at PCHC’s Summer Street Clinic, described her story as one of hope. She said she was sharing it to give others “hope and understanding.”

Raymond Gallegos paid tribute to Trevor Sprague, who was a friend and fellow homeless man when he was killed under a bridge here last year. Hate crimes are just another battle the homeless have to face, said Gallegos, who now has a home. Everyone can help change the community perception of the homeless by reaching out, he emphasized.

“We are not the perfect world,” he said. “Our country can send a person to the moon but they can’t stop homelessness.”

Despite the challenges that lie ahead, Friday was a night for hope and awareness, which are starting to spread throughout the community, Jude said. The vigil gave voice to those who historically have been forgotten, whose only crime was being poor or ill.

“I am hopeful,” Robert Finkelstein, a former homeless man, told the audience. “I think we are going to lick this thing, and I think we are going to do it together.”

Homeless people who have died in the Bangor area in the past five years:

Larry Mattal

Steve McCormick

Charles Sinclair

John Jordan

Thomas Cahill

Mary Jane Mitchell

Mike Martin

Francis Nicola

George Maddente

Ed Stankowicz

Trevor Sprague

Bill Stacy

Mike Wilson

Laverne Faulkingham

James McLellen

Tom Panissi

David Harvey

Robert Ryder

Faye Williams

Louis Bernard

Howard Leavitt

Hartley Long

Bruce Platt

Raymond Hatch

Fred Curtis

Everett ‘Buzz’ Skinner

Michael Michaud

Bill Callahan

James Carney

Robin Davis

Terri Nelson

Tim Fitzpatrick

Aggie Van Tassell

Gene Bragdon

Patricia Jones

Gary Ouellette

Source: Mary Jude, director of homeless initiatives, Penobscot Community Health Care.