Candlelight vigil illuminates plight of homeless

PALMER — To most people, 14 below isn’t particularly nice weather to be outside. It’s more for staying indoors, reading a nice book or plopping down in front of the television and calling it a night.

However, on Nov. 26, about 70 people gathered at the Palmer Train Depot despite the cold weather. The reason, a candlelight vigil and firework show, courtesy of MY House and Stan Guthrie of Country Cutts in Palmer.

MY House, a nonprofit organization dedicated to helping homeless youth, had its second annual candlelight vigil for its cause around 7 that night. Participants were outside waiting for the candles to light well before the event even started. The vigil was held to raise awareness for both MY House and the alarming number of homeless youth in Alaska. MY House also sold bags of coffee for $12 to raise money for the cause.

In attendance was Alice Renfro, a friendly, wizened woman with a pleasant sense of humor and refreshing energy. She and fellow MY House volunteer DebWaisanen help sponsor a weekly MY House event called “Come Sit a Bit,” where laundry, showers and a hot meal are provided for homeless youth every Sunday at Saint David’s Episcopal Church. Michael Carson calls MY House a “boots on the ground” group, with organizational meetings held the first Thursday of every month on the lower level of the Wasilla Bible Church, located behind Burchell High School. Burchell, incidentally, is where the president of MY House, Michelle Overstreet, works as a life coach.

Overstreet was approached by Stan Guthrie, who stated, “I’ve got a firework set-up and I want do something for the kids.”

Overstreet was excited, considering how the previous vigil had ended on a somber tone. They figured fireworks were likely to liven things up at the conclusion of the candlelight ceremony. There was also a sound setup courtesy of Will Drumbarger of 49th State Records, and music played throughout the fireworks show.

When the actual candle lighting began, the candles seemed considerably less pleased with the event than the people were. It was difficult to get them to light, and even more difficult to get them to stay lit. However, this minor setback dampened nobody’s spirits and the vigil continued. There were a few mini-speeches about boots on the ground and MY House in general, then a couple by representatives from the church. It was a pleasant surprise to find churches so interested in the program and helping homeless youth, especially considering the disheartening number of homeless youth needing help.

“Four thousand homeless kids arrive at the Covenant House in Anchorage yearly, 450 of them are K-12 and alone,” said David Rose, director of the Mat-Su Housing Coalition. This means out of the already enormous number of homeless youth, 450 of them aren’t even with their parents or any other form of adult supervision. These youths include runaways and older teens kicked out of their houses. We were then led in a short prayer for the homeless youth before it was Overstreet’s turn to speak.

She shared a story, and we were given a small insight on how MY House started. Two years ago, Overstreet met a bright young man. He was in trouble, lacked direction, was dealing drugs and was homeless. Overstreet asked him what would help. He thought for a moment and said, “a bed. I’ve been sleeping on couches for two years.”

A large number of people were there for the vigil. But for the fireworks people flooded the sidewalks. They emptied out of stores, others walked a short distance from their nearby homes. There were cars parked everywhere, and people packed between the two pavilions near the library. More than 100 people turned out to see the show.

Guthrie really went all out this year, having bought a massive amount of gorgeous fireworks in a variety of colors. They exploded in the sky grandly, the velvety black sky providing a curtain that highlighted the colors all the more. The smoke from the fireworks drifted behind the show, adding an air of elusiveness. They became progressively more dramatic, each explosion of color seeming to fly higher than the last, exploding with greater force, and raining down more elegantly. Just when you thought they were over something greater happened, until the very last one went off. The final explosion was a golden bomb, strands of light radiating throughout the sky and elegant flakes fluttering down to what just seemed inches from the heads of bystanders before disappearing gracefully into the night.

It was truly a spectacular display for a more than deserving cause.

Monique Valentine is a senior at Burchell High School.