Candlelight vigil held at nation's only homeless veteran memorial

Candlelight vigil held at nation's only homeless veteran memorial

On Dec. 21 at 5:38 p.m., the plight of our nation's homeless veterans was again remembered at a candlelight vigil by a crowd of veterans and others at the nation's only monument for homeless veterans at Veterans Park outside Canton, Ga. Dec. 21 is the longest night of the year, and as such this is the longest night for the over 40,000 homeless veterans who live on our streets of America.

The statue was installed in 2019 in the park and was funded by corporate sponsors and the veterans of Cherokee County; it was spearheaded by the Cherokee County Homeless Veterans Program (CCHVP), which represents the over 10 veteran organizations and 15,000 veterans who live in Cherokee County, noted Jim Lindenmayer, director of CCHVP and American Legion Post 45 service officer.

The ceremony is done at sundown of the 21st and is done rain or shine as there is no good day for veterans to be homeless. CCHVP was started over nine years ago and works with all of the VSOs in the county, to include Post 45 in Canton and American Legion Post 316 in Woodstock.