The Monadnock Area Transitional Shelter held its annual candlelight vigil on Sunday, Dec. 21, in honor of National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day.
“Each year, on the longest night of the year, the Monadnock Area Transitional Shelter will join communities across the country to honor neighbors who died while experiencing homelessness. The event remembers homeless people who died throughout the year,” said MATS board member Kirsten Colantino. “We gather with candles in hand to remember lives that mattered, even when they were unseen, unnamed or forgotten.”
According to Colantino, 35 people attended the vigil at the Peterborough Town House. MATS board member Mary Loftis read the names of 71 New Hampshire residents who died in 2025 while experiencing homelessness.
Colantino said she was happy with the number of people who attended the vigil, adding, “We build more awareness every year.”
MATS has provided furnished transitional housing to homeless individuals and families in the Monadnock region since 1989. For information, visit matsnh.org.
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