BOZEMAN — This Saturday, on the longest night of the year, the Bozeman Public Library will be holding a memorial service honoring homeless individuals who died in the community in 2024.
Program coordinator and cataloger Beth Boyson, retiring after 28 years, has been organizing and attending the longest night event for seven years.
“This event has a lot of meaning for me,” Boyson says.
This year, nine people experiencing homelessness died in our community.
“They are someone's brother, someone's daughter, someone's sister, someone's family, someone’s friend. They need to be recognized, and they need to be memorialized. They were members of our community,” Boyson says.
Boysen says many homeless people spend time in the library.
“They enjoy the library; it's a safe place where they can read and hang out,” Boyson says.
Boyson remembers one of the nine homeless people, a veteran named John.
“He just really had a curious mind and wanted to read about it,” Boyson says.
Now, the chair John sat in daily sits empty.
“He read encyclopedias over the day and other reference materials. He is just absent; that chair seems empty without him,” Boyson says.
Three of the nine who will be honored Saturday, including John, got shelter before they died.
“He achieved housing before he passed. That was a real comfort to all of us,” Boyson says.
A lack of housing is why the event occurs on the longest night of the year.
“It must be hard to be out in the elements on the longest night of the year. You go to sleep thinking, I don't know if I will wake up; it's so cold out here,” Boyson says.
Anyone can attend the event on Saturday at 5 p.m. in front of the library.
For more information about the memorial, visit the Bozeman Public Library website.
