About two dozen people gathered together for the candlelight vigil.
/ Lisa Edge
MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. (WPDE) - A community came together Thursday afternoon to remember those who may have otherwise been forgotten. The homeless who died this year in the Myrtle Beach area were honored with a candlelight vigil at the Community Kitchen.
Swash Park Ministry, which provides services to the homeless, started holding the vigil in 2009 when 18 homeless people lost their lives. This year, 21 were remembered at the ceremony.
Their names were read aloud and Carol Stallings lit a candle in their memory. She knew the majority of the people who passed away.
"There's about four names on there that their bodies have never been claimed. They're still at the coroners office. That's closure for them and their friends that were in the woods and on the streets with them," explained Stallings. "There are a lot in these woods and in the streets that are well educated and they're just misplaced from their families. They have no place to go and they are down and out. They feel like they have no place to go. That's why we try to lift them up."
She went on to say they try to help those that they can and she would like to see more shelters in the area.
It's estimated there are between 1,000 to 1,500 homeless people living in Horry County.
