Auburn proclaims Dec. 21 National Homeless Persons Memorial Day; resident recounts decade of homelessness

Mayor Kelly Davis read a proclamation at the Dec. 8 Auburn City Council meeting declaring Dec. 21, 2025 as National Homeless Persons Memorial Day and urged the community to remember neighbors who died while experiencing homelessness.

The proclamation noted that the National Coalition for the Homeless and the National Health Care for the Homeless Council have designated Dec. 21, 2025 as National Homeless Persons Memorial Day and cited a local statistic: "In Placer County, 63 people have died while experiencing homelessness from January 2024 to September 2025," the proclamation said. The mayor also announced a local memorial service on Sunday, Dec. 21 from 3 to 5 p.m. at Bethel Lutheran Church in Roseville.

During public comment, Steven Leshy identified himself as "currently a homeless person" who has lived in Roseville and said he has been homeless for 10 years. Leshy said he recovered from drug addiction without formal rehab, attends church and remains on the street while seeking help. "Most people like me that do get sober have to go to rehab, and they need... they go to meetings and, I go to church. I'm clean. I'm on the street still," he said, urging the council that the proclamation was important to him.

Council members and attendees thanked Leshy and others who work with people experiencing homelessness; an attendee noted attorney Paul Kaminski "does an awful lot for people who are in need." The proclamation and public comments framed remembrance alongside a call to continue seeking solutions to homelessness in the area.

The proclamation places Auburn alongside national and local organizers marking the longest night of the year as a day to remember those who died while experiencing homelessness and to promote community efforts toward housing solutions.