Daybreak Artist Antonio Booker honored at 2023 Annual Homeless Memorial

Honoring Daybreak Artist, Antonio Booker

We stood in solidarity at the Annual Homeless Memorial, an event that remembers every individual who tragically lost their life to homelessness this past year. Thank you Open Table Nashville and all of the other nonprofits involved for honoring that our community members experiencing homelessness are more than just statistics—they are mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers, and children with hopes, dreams, interests, and goals.

Our Executive Director had the immense privilege of honoring our Daybreak artist, Antonio, who passed away this summer by highlighting his artistic talent and gifts.

This year, over 180 people passed away while experiencing the unrelenting trauma and violence of homelessness. And while Nashville’s housing developments have increased in the last decade, the number of people experiencing homelessness and dying is getting higher. In 2017, we mourned 118 people who died while experiencing homelessness—the highest number of recorded deaths in Nashville at that time, which means the number of deaths has increased by more than 50% in six years.

Let us not only mourn the lives of those lost too early, but also renew our commitment to creating a world where every single person has access to safe housing. As Mother Jones once said, “Mourn the dead, and fight like hell for the living”