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Baltimore, MD (Thursday, January 4, 2024) – Last night, Mayor Brandon M. Scott was joined by City officials, elected leaders, residents, community partners, and members of the faith-based community for the City of Baltimore’s Annual Vigil of Remembrance. The Vigil honored the memory of Baltimoreans lost in 2023 to violence, suicide, fatal overdose and those fallen on the line of duty in Baltimore. This year’s vigil was the first time the event has been held in-person since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2019.
“The Vigil of Remembrance is about holding space for and remembering those we lost this year from our children to our elders, no matter whether the cause is violence, fatal overdose, or suicide. We remember those we lost as our neighbors, as Baltimoreans,” said Mayor Brandon M. Scott. “They are not statistics – they are parents, children, brothers, sisters, friends, and neighbors. Every loss we have experienced this year, we feel as a community. As a city, we take this time to wrap our arms around the loved ones they leave behind and commit ourselves to collective healing — all while working every single day to build a safer, brighter future for Baltimore.”
The program included community partners, elected leaders, and agency representatives coming together to read the names of the 263 Baltimoreans lost to violence in 2023.
The mayor also acknowledged that 67 fewer lives were lost to violence in 2023 in comparison to 2022, largely as a result of Baltimore’s holistic, evidence-based approach to public safety and the efforts of the Baltimore Police Department (BPD), Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE), community-based organizations engaged in public safety work, and partners across all levels of government.
“The men and women of our police department feel the loss of every Baltimorean, and it is a deep desire to save lives that drives us to go out there and do the work to build a safer city each and every day,” said Baltimore Police Commissioner Richard Worley. “It is important that we stand together to memorialize those we’ve lost to remind ourselves of why we do this work.”
“Tonight is about holding space together as a community and honoring the lives of Baltimoreans we lost,” said Stefanie Mavronis, Interim Executive Director of the Mayor’s Office of Neighborhood Safety and Engagement (MONSE). “To every person, organization, and institution that has committed themselves to the work of violence prevention, intervention, and healing in 2023, please know your work does not go unnoticed and directly contributed to Baltimore’s historic year-end declines.”
Residents from across the city attended the event to grieve as a community.
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