Each year on December 21, the Winter Solstice, the first day of winter and the longest night of the year, Homeless Person’s Memorial Day events honor individuals who have lost their lives while enduring homelessness. On June 21, the Summer Solstice, the first day of summer and longest day of the year, several cities have begun to celebrate those who have overcome homelessness, and to affirm that we can end homelessness for everyone.
Homelessness is not permanent. It is not a condition that defines the rest of a person’s life. It is easy to become homeless, but it is no easy task to break out of homelessness. People without homes face many systemic barriers, from the high cost of housing to low wages and inadequate public assistance programs, all complicated by poor health and poverty. Yet some individuals surmount these incredible hurdles and reclaim stable, healthy, and productive lives. The Summer Solstice, a day filled with light, is a fitting time to honor their accomplishments and to draw inspiration from them as we continue in the struggle for justice.
Advocacy Recommendations for Summer Solstice Success Celebrations
Summer Solstice Celebrations
We encourage organizations to create their own Summer Solstice events, commemorating strengths and successes while building the political will to end homelessness. Here are ways some communities have chosen to honor success.
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New York City
- The idea for a Summer Solstice celebration emerged at Care for the Homeless in 2013. Their annual event includes a dinner and awards presentation for individuals who have escaped homelessness. Recipients share their success stories, noting specific public policies and programs that helped them move out of homelessness and calling for their expansion to help others to become stably housed. The events include a “Wall of Success” on which consumers can define what success means for them, as well as a short story contest that invites participants to describe how they overcame obstacles in their lives.
- The idea for a Summer Solstice celebration emerged at Care for the Homeless in 2013. Their annual event includes a dinner and awards presentation for individuals who have escaped homelessness. Recipients share their success stories, noting specific public policies and programs that helped them move out of homelessness and calling for their expansion to help others to become stably housed. The events include a “Wall of Success” on which consumers can define what success means for them, as well as a short story contest that invites participants to describe how they overcame obstacles in their lives.
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Miami
- Miami’s Summer Solstice events aim to demonstrate that there is life after homelessness, and that people can construct lives that honor their dignity and their own definitions of success. For their first celebration, Camillus Health Concern created an artistic performance depicting an individual’s journey through street homelessness, becoming housed, re-building self-esteem, and realizing that they have worth and dignity. The performance featured artistic interludes from musicians, poets, and dancers reflecting on the dehumanizing experience of homelessness and the resilience of the human spirit. After the performance, the senior leadership of Camillus Health Concern served a meal to attendees. In the following years they have continued their Success Talent Show.
- Houston
- Each year, members of the Consumer Advisory Board at Health Care for the Homeless Houston hold an open dinner, present awards, and celebrate the successes of the community. They have invited local allies and policymakers including members of their local Homeless Outreach Team and City Council members.
- Seattle
- Read this blog published in 2018 on the Public Health Insider featuring Greg Francis, Co-Chair of Seattle/King County’s Health Care for the Homeless Network Planning Council, talking about what success and housing means to him.
- San Francisco
In 2018, the San Francisco Department of Homelessness and Supportive Housing celebrated their first Summer Solstice Success Celebration. According to one of the organizers it was a small, yet festive gathering which featured a diverse range of speakers who have been housed, one for many years and others for less, and a drumming circle made up of mostly formerly homeless drummers. He stated that, “The final speaker was someone who is yet to be housed; and served as a powerful reminded to all of us that while we celebrate there is more work to be done. All who attended walked away feeling inspired and energized.”- A quote from one of the speakers- Jennifer Friedenbach, Executive Director of the Coalition on Homelessness, reminds us all of the purpose of these events.
- “In the struggle to ensure every San Franciscan, whether child or grown, has a decent place to call home, we must celebrate every success along the pathway to justice. We have come a long way, and we have a long way to go, but we will get there, we must.”
Lessons Learned from the Organizers
- Counterpoised to Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day events on the Winter Solstice, Summer Solstice events provide an opportunity to highlight the positive changes that occur in people’s lives – as well as those that must occur in society and government.
- The leadership of people who have experienced homelessness can make Summer Solstice events particularly powerful. HCH Consumer Advisory Boards can play key roles in creating and conducting these events.
- Highlight specific policies and programs that have helped people overcome homelessness and call for greater support for those programs.
- Consider a “pilot event” of your own design for June 21, 2016: small initial events can be extraordinarily meaningful and provide a catalyst for greater recognition.
- Use social media to promote your event before, during and after the event, particularly to call attention to policies that would either help or hinder the goal of ending homelessness.
- Learn from each other. Please report on any Summer Solstice event in your community to the National HCH Council’s Consumer Advocate, Katherine Cavanaugh.
Join us in recognizing a crucial truth: that with affordable housing, adequate incomes, health care, and supportive services, we can end homelessness not only for individuals, but also as a society. The critical supports which have enabled some of our friends and neighbors to move out of homelessness are not broadly accessible, but they could and should be. These events highlight the stories of those who have overcome homelessness despite the odds, giving us the hope that together we can find the strength to create the political will to end homelessness for everyone. The fight for justice comes not from despair; it comes from hope – the hope that we can end injustice.
Webinar: From Darkness to Light: Honoring Success and Resilience at the Summer Solstice
Webinar: View on YouTube.
Presented by the National HCH Council on April 18, 2017, this webinar provides an in-depth introduction to the Summer Solstice, presenting lessons from event organizers and ideas of how to celebrate success in your own community