Proclamation
WHEREAS, Citizens across Merced will gather once again on December 21st to honor and remember those homeless individuals who have died in Merced, and WHEREAS, The first day of winter, the longest night of the year, is an appropriate time to reflect on the struggles faced by those without a home or shelter, and WHEREAS, As of 2022, eight hundred and fifty-five people in Merced County still remain in need of shelter and so many more are at risk of losing their housing, and WHEREAS, The Winter elements pose an extreme hardship for the unsheltered and inadequately-housed low-income residents of Merced, and WHEREAS, The Homeless Memorial Day provides an opportunity for affirmation and renewal of the commitment to end homelessness for veterans and for all, and WHEREAS, December 21st, has been designated National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day by the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Health Care for the Homeless Council and is recognized as such by cities nationwide, and WHEREAS, In remembering those who have passed due to the harshness of living on the streets, the cause of ending homelessness is kept urgent as is Merced’s collective commitment to preventing such deaths in the future; now therefore NOW, THEREFORE, I, MATTHEW SERRATTO, Mayor of the City of Merced, do hereby proclaim December 21st as NATIONAL HOMELESS PERSONS’ MEMORIAL DAY in recognition of the people who have died homeless in and around Merced, and we hereby ask all citizens to take a moment of silence in remembrance, and encourage our citizens to support all local efforts to end and prevent homelessness in Merced City and County.
Signed this 4th day of December 2023.
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Matthew Serratto, Mayor of Merced