美国国家公共电台 NPR Vigils Honor The Homeless Who Died As They Lived: On The Streets

 

DAVID GREENE, HOST: 

This week, around this country, activists¹ are holding vigils to remember thousands of people who passed away in 2016. They all belong to a group we label the homeless. NPR's Pam Fessler found that the majority of those being memorialized had something else in common.

PAM FESSLER, BYLINE²: If you look at the list of homeless people who died this year in, Washington, D.C., you'll notice something right away. Almost every one of them was in their 40s or 50s - people like Shawn Simmons (ph), age 44, or Bernadette Byrd (ph), age 53.

ROBERT WARREN: Being without housing is just - it's like a spiral. You know, you're just kind of spiraling down. It's just a matter of time.

FESSLER: Robert Warren knows that downward spiral. He used to be homeless. Now he's an organizer of the city's homeless memorial service held each year to recognize people like his friend Kanell Washington, who was homeless for almost 30 years. Washington was supposed to be helping³ with this year's service, but he died suddenly in October of kidney failure.

WARREN: To lose him, you know, just like that, you know, it was like he was just gone, you know, just like that. It was kind of hard.

FESSLER: But not unusual. Studies have found that homelessness cuts at least 12 years on average off someone's life. Many of those living on the streets have problems like diabetes⁴, heart disease, mental illness and substance abuse. And being homeless only makes it worse. Jesse Rabinowitz of Miriam's Kitchen, a local service provider, says it can mean having your pills stolen or no place to store medication that needs refrigeration.

JESSE RABINOWITZ: Hearing diabetics talk about getting harassed⁵ or confronted by the police when they inject insulin because they think it's a controlled substance.

FESSLER: He says the tragedy in Kanell Washington's case is that he learned just days before he died that he'd finally been approved for a government voucher⁶ to get his own apartment. That was also the case for more than a dozen others who were commemorated⁷ last night in Washington, D.C., as activists began a two-day memorial.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: What do we want?

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: Housing.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: When do we want it?

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: Now.

FESSLER: About a hundred homeless individuals and their supporters marched through the streets, carrying a simple wooden casket and signs with the names of all those who died in Washington this year.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #1: When do we want it?

UNIDENTIFIED CROWD: Now.

FESSLER: People like Michael Woolfolk (ph), age 48, who was found on the street last month slumped⁸ in his wheelchair. A passerby⁹ was so concerned she shook him, only to discover that he had died. It took weeks before anyone could find out who he was. And there were almost four dozen others.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #2: Alonzo Johnson (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #3: Valerie Stith (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MAN #4: This is Shaun Turner (ph).

FESSLER: Participants read off a few of the names before heading into a tent where they planned to spend the night. Earlier, in a local church, Robert Warren recalled his friend Kanell Washington and talked about how winter can be an especially difficult time.

WARREN: We know that there are going to be folks sleeping out there in the cold, dying, getting sick. And it doesn't have to be that way.

FESSLER: Warren and others are pushing for more funds to provide housing for the homeless. Although, in cities like Washington, where rents are soaring, it's hard to keep up with the demand. No one really knows how many homeless individuals die each year. But about 2,700 will be commemorated at events across the country, many of them tonight. The memorials have been held for more than 25 years now. And each year, organizers say they hope it's the last.

Pam Fessler, NPR News, Washington.

1 activists   

n.（政治活动的）积极分子，活动家( activist的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• His research work was attacked by animal rights activists . 他的研究受到了动物权益维护者的抨击。
• Party activists with lower middle class pedigrees are numerous. 党的激进分子中有很多出身于中产阶级下层。 来自《简明英汉词典》

2 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

3 helping   

n.食物的一份&adj.帮助人的，辅助的

参考例句：

• The poor children regularly pony up for a second helping of my hamburger. 那些可怜的孩子们总是要求我把我的汉堡包再给他们一份。
• By doing this, they may at times be helping to restore competition. 这样一来, 他在某些时候,有助于竞争的加强。

4 diabetes   

n.糖尿病

参考例句：

• In case of diabetes, physicians advise against the use of sugar.对于糖尿病患者，医生告诫他们不要吃糖。
• Diabetes is caused by a fault in the insulin production of the body.糖尿病是由体內胰岛素分泌失调引起的。

5 harassed   

adj. 疲倦的，厌烦的 动词harass的过去式和过去分词

参考例句：

• He has complained of being harassed by the police. 他投诉受到警方侵扰。
• harassed mothers with their children 带着孩子的疲惫不堪的母亲们

6 voucher   

n.收据；传票；凭单，凭证

参考例句：

• The government should run a voucher system.政府应该施行凭证制度。
• Whenever cash is paid out,a voucher or receipt should be obtained.无论何时只要支付现金，就必须要有一张凭据或者收据。

7 commemorated   

v.纪念，庆祝( commemorate的过去式和过去分词 )

参考例句：

• Lincoln commemorated the soldiers killed in the battle in his address. 林肯在演说中表扬阵亡将士。 来自辞典例句
• You'll be commemorated for killing a spy, and be specially discharged. 你们每杀一个间谍将会被记录到特殊档案。 来自电影对白

8 slumped   

大幅度下降，暴跌( slump的过去式和过去分词 )； 沉重或突然地落下[倒下]

参考例句：

• Sales have slumped this year. 今年销售量锐减。
• The driver was slumped exhausted over the wheel. 司机伏在方向盘上，疲惫得睡着了。

9 passerby   

n.过路人，行人

参考例句：

• We had our photo taken by a passerby.我们请了一个路人为我们照相。
• A passerby heard her screams and rushed to her aid.一个过路人听见她的尖叫，便冲过去帮助她。