Summer Solstice Celebration Focuses on Homelessness
At lunchtime today, a gathering of people is expected to celebrate the longest day of the year by showing their support for the unhoused during the 3rd annual “Summer Solstice Celebration of the Strength and Resilience of People Experiencing Homelessness.”
The event, from 12 noon to 1 p.m. at First Presbyterian Church of Hayward in Castro Valley on Grove Way, will include music, a raffle, lunch, and the presentation of this year's Resilience and Determination (RAD) Heroes Award, which is a community-nominated honor given to people with experience of homelessness who inspire, challenge, lead, and move those around them.
“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,” said David Modersbach, the National Health Care for the Homeless Council coordinator.
According to the 2022 Point in Time Count, more than 7,000 people are experiencing unsheltered homelessness in Alameda County. The Castro Valley event is one of the thousands held in solidarity with Homeless Solstice Celebrations happening nationwide.
“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,” Modersbach said. “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, high risks, and poverty. Yet people surmount these incredible hurdles and reclaim stable, healthy, and productive lives.”
One of those success stories is Melissa Moore, who was homeless herself and became a longtime homeless advocate. She’s now founding a non-profit called RISE, or Rising Into Self-Empowerment, for the unhoused.
She says that during the summer months, with temperatures reaching triple digits, many unhoused suffer heat-related medical emergencies, a situation that is complicated since there are no daytime cooling shelters in Castro Valley, Cherryland, or Ashland.
“Yes, these individuals are strong and resilient, but quite a few are disabled, elderly, or veterans who protected our rights to freedom, yet we so easily try to take away this vulnerable group’s rights by turning a blind eye. So, I ask every community member to stand in solidarity and unite to bring hope to our unhoused. Come to the event to get to know us—your unhoused community members,” Moore told the Forum.
The Summer Solstice Celebration is co-sponsored by Alameda County Health Care for the Homeless, Office of Homeless Care and Coordination, Alameda Health System Foundation, Tiburcio Vasquez, Lifelong, Abode and Bay Area Community Services (BACS).