‘Honor and dignity:’ HOTEL INC remembers those who passed away

Published 6:00 am Thursday, December 26, 2024

by Jack Dobbs

On a frigid Friday afternoon last week, local nonprofit HOTEL INC honored 11 individuals who worked with the organization and passed away over the year in a remembrance ceremony at the organization’s chapel on Boatlanding Road.

“Today, we come together to remember and honor the lives of our neighbors, friends and loved ones who have experienced homelessness and are no longer with us,” HOTEL INC Operations Director Rebecca Troxell said during the service. “Each person we honor today mattered deeply — each life holds value and each person has left an imprint on this world.”

Some of those honored were homeless when they died while others were housed. During the service, candles were lit on the chapel’s altar for each person and the chapel’s bell was rung once for each person.

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A 12th candle was lit to honor “all those whose names are not known to us.”

Harold Bucy, a community navigator with HOTEL INC, said during the service the organization stands “united in memory and compassion.”

“We remember those whose stories ended too soon,” Bucy told attendees. “May our remembrance be a call to action, inspiring us to create a world where everyone has a safe place to call home and the dignity they deserve.”

Several attendees at the service shared memories of working with the 11 individuals. Following the service, a group of HOTEL INC workers spread the ashes of an individual who worked with the organization. The spreading took place in a wooded area near HOTEL INC’s chapel.

Troxell said after the service that the organization has held the service for over 12 years, and said it is important to ensure that those experiencing homelessness “have dignity in death.”

“We all have family that passes away and we have a funeral and we remember them and celebrate them,” she said. “Individuals who are unhoused don’t always get that, so we want to make sure we are remembering them and giving them that honor and dignity.”

She said the individual whose remains were scattered was involved with HOTEL INC’s medical respite program. Upon the individual’s death, she said, the organization arranged a cremation.

In Troxell’s words, “any of us could experience homelessness tomorrow.”

“There’s very little separating those of us who are housed and those of us who are not,” she said. “There’s so many things that go into someone experiencing homelessness, and we all have to remember we could be in that exact same situation tomorrow.”

The candles were extinguished during the service, following a prayer, the sharing of stories and a reading of a poem titled “The Street is My Home,” penned by an unknown author.

Though the flames on the candles grew dimmer, Community Navigator Lacey Kimball said the memories of those honored “do not fade.”

“Let us carry their legacy forward by advocating for change (and) showing compassion,” Kimball said during the service. “May we be the light that guides others to a brighter future.”

About Jack Dobbs

Jack covers city government for the Daily News. Originally from Simpson County, he attended Western Kentucky University and graduated in 2022 with a degree in journalism.

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