Representatives from organizations across Montgomery County gathered at Dayton's Courthouse Square on Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day to recognize the 39 unhoused people who died this year.
The Montgomery County’s Homeless Solution Policy Board holds the vigil near the winter solstice annually for those who experienced homelessness and died during 2025.
"We're really here to remember that they aren't just statistics, that they're actual people with stories, families, histories, and that our community is saddened by this," Montgomery County Commissioner Carolyn Rice said during the vigil on Friday, Dec. 19, 2025. "And we all gather to really promise that we're going to try to tackle this homeless issue because it's so traumatic. Not only for the individual, but for our community."
Organizers also accepted donations of new hats and gloves to help those currently unhoused. This tradition began in 1990 when the first inaugural Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day was established.
Nearly 4,000 households experienced homelessness for at least one night in Montgomery County in 2024, according to the latest annual data.
And on a single night in January 2025, 639 people were sleeping in an emergency shelter or unsheltered.
Target Dayton Ministries Director Cindi Stevens spoke at the vigil, tearing up as she looked over the names written on a line of 39 shoes marking each life lost this year.
"I knew some of these precious people," she said. "I'm reminded each day that the folks that come in our ministry are someone's son, daughter, mom, dad, grandma, grandpa."
Singers from Target Dayton Ministries Choir sang to the crowd collected outside the courthouse. Those singers have also experienced homelessness or are currently in the homeless system.
"Many of them were in shelter. Many of them are housed now, but Target Ministries still has services for them," said Angel Bernard, the housing clinical supervisor at Eastway. "So they like to give back, knowing where they came from."
Following the choir's rendition of "Love Has Come" by Mark Harris, Bernard and other local representatives read a list of those who died, followed by the ringing of a memorial bell.
Bernard said multiple local organizations like Miami Valley Housing Opportunities, Homefull and the Target Dayton Ministries come together each year to raise awareness and build understanding.
“Homelessness could happen to anybody. The way that rents have increased, the incomes haven't," she said. "It's just a matter of being a community and looking at what needs to be done.”
Housing is critical, Rice said, and the county’s homeless solutions policy board is working to prevent homelessness and serve those currently experiencing it.
“There's rapid rehousing, transition, shelters, and all the auxiliary services to enable people to get stabilized," she said. "Because ultimately, it's getting them into a shelter, a long-term solution.”
Organizers also hope to highlight local resources for those experiencing homelessness to prevent further loss, Bernard said.
"We have the local St. Vincent shelter for women and families, the men's shelter on Gettysburg by Homefull," she said. "We have Daybreak, we have the domestic violence shelter, we also have Miami Valley Housing Opportunities that work with people that are living on the streets."
Before closing the vigil, Daytonian Destiny Brown shared a testimonial, speaking to her own experience as a person who came to the city with her family while experiencing homelessness.
“It is easy to look at the statistics, but stats don't fill the bite of the wind or the ache of a hard sidewalk. Humanity does," she said. "When we lose a member of our community to the elements or the hardships of the streets, we lose a piece of ourselves.”
