Faith leaders and residents gather at City Plaza for candlelight service and prayers, calling for action to prevent further deaths
Our Bureau
Reno, NV
Faith leaders from diverse religious traditions joined community members at Reno City Plaza on February 10 for a candlelight vigil and multi-faith prayer service honoring the 93 homeless individuals who died in Washoe County in 2025.
The solemn gathering, held near the iconic BELIEVE sign, brought together clergy and residents in an interfaith show of remembrance and solidarity. Participants lit candles as the names of those who died while experiencing homelessness were read aloud — many of them victims of exposure to harsh weather and lack of safe shelter.
The 2025 death toll marks a sharp rise from 77 homeless deaths recorded in Washoe County in 2024, underscoring what organizers described as a growing humanitarian crisis in the region.
The vigil, now in its fifth year, was organized by a coalition of local faith leaders who say they intend to continue holding the annual service as long as preventable deaths among the unhoused persist.
Father Chuck Durante, Rector of Saint Thomas Aquinas Catholic Cathedral and coordinator of the vigil, said the increase in deaths should serve as a wake-up call for the community.
“In Washoe County alone, 93 homeless people died in 2025, which is a sharp increase from last year. It is intolerable for caring citizens of our county,” Durante said. “There are too many people who fall through the cracks in the system. It is our moral responsibility to care for people in need. Each person is sacred and all faith traditions agree on the dignity of human beings.”
Religious leaders representing multiple faiths offered prayers and reflections in their respective traditions, emphasizing compassion, human dignity and collective responsibility. The interfaith format, organizers said, reflects a shared moral commitment across religious lines to protect vulnerable members of the community.
Hindu statesman Rajan Zed, who has participated in previous vigils, stressed the universal value of human life and the need for coordinated solutions.
“Every life holds value. Human beings dying in our midst because of the lack of basic necessities should not be acceptable to us as a community,” Zed said. “Coordinated efforts are needed to protect lives; and saving lives should be the highest priority of various agendas.”
The vigil was described by organizers as an act of remembrance for individuals who often lived — and died — in invisibility. Many attendees stood in silence as the names were read, some holding candles, others bowing their heads in prayer.
Area faith leaders said the event was not intended as a political statement but as a moral appeal to conscience. “If we did not remember them, who else would?” one participant said, reflecting the tone of the evening.
The service was open to the public, and residents from across Reno attended to pay their respects and express solidarity with neighbors who died without stable housing. Organizers framed the gathering as both an expression of love for one’s neighbor and a call to acknowledge those who were neglected and left this world without safe and warm shelter.
The event was sponsored by the Life, Peace and Justice Commission of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Reno, the Nevada Interfaith Association and the Good Neighbors Warming Center.
As candles flickered against the early evening sky, faith leaders said they hoped the vigil would not only honor the dead but also inspire renewed community commitment to addressing homelessness in Washoe County — so that future gatherings might mark progress rather than rising numbers.
