City of Laurel officials gathered Dec. 19 with community members and nonprofit leaders to observe Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day, an annual day of remembrance and advocacy honoring people who died while experiencing homelessness.
“Each name, each life mattered. These were our neighbors, our family members, our friends — people with stories, dreams and dignity,” said Marchelle LeBlanc, director of the city’s Human Services Department.
The event was held at the Craig A. Moe Laurel Multiservice Center, which opened earlier this year and includes shelter beds for people experiencing homelessness.
“Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day is not only about remembrance; it is also a call to compassion and action,” LeBlanc said. “It reminds us why this center exists — to be a place of safety, support and hope.”
Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day has been observed nationally since 1990. The event marked both Laurel’s first observance of Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day and the completion of the Multiservice Center’s first year of operation.
LeBlanc led a moment of silence next to a memorial plaque honoring unhoused individuals in the center’s parking lot. Advocates at the event said compassion, action and community support are more important than ever to prevent deaths related to homelessness.
“Each life that is lost really tears a hole in the fabric of our community,” said Ruth Walls of Patrons for Peace, a Laurel-based nonprofit that partners with the center. “We need to have empathy for those who have passed and for people who are presently unhoused. We must continue working toward a city where everyone has a home.”
LeBlanc said about three unhoused individuals died in Laurel over the past year, though the city does not maintain independent statistics on its unhoused population.
Instead, homelessness data is captured through the annual Point-in-Time (PIT) Count, a county-level survey mandated by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development.
According to 2024 data from the Prince George’s County Department of Housing and Community Development, 658 individuals experienced homelessness countywide, a 47% increase from 2019. That figure included 292 adults and 220 children.
Those numbers finally began to stabilize in 2025, with 608 people, including 223 children, experiencing homelessness in Prince George’s County.
These statistics do not include unincorporated portions of Laurel in Anne Arundel County and Howard County. Earlier this month, Howard County broke ground on a 16,000-square-foot, 22-room facility in North Laurel to serve its unhoused population.
LeBlanc said statistics alone do not capture the full scope of the issue. Because the unhoused population is often transient, individuals using the Multiservice Center may not be Laurel residents, making accurate tracking difficult.
“I can pretty much guarantee you the number is higher than what’s being reported,” LeBlanc said. “It’s difficult to capture those numbers when someone is unhoused.”
Still, advocates said facilities like the Multiservice Center play a critical role in preventing future deaths and creating a safe space for those experiencing homelessness.
“At any given time, there are people around us living paycheck to paycheck — one accident, one unexpected event away from homelessness,” said Phillip Ott, president of Taking Care of Our Neighbors, which operates the center’s shelter. “What we try to do is provide a safety net for those men and women who have no place to go.”
For more information about the Multiservice Center, call or visit 301-974-3010 204 Fort Meade Road Laurel, MD 20707