Casey Lynn Knight, left, lights candles Sunday for Heidi Griffin during a vigil at the First Universalist Church of Auburn: Unitarian Universalist at 169 Pleasant St. in Auburn. The vigil is for Griffin’s husband, Shawn, a 53-year-old homeless man found dead last week at a Lewiston homeless encampment. Knight, co-chair of the Pleasant Street Drop-In Center, found Shawn’s body inside his tent Thursday after she was alerted by one of Shawn’s tent neighbors he had not been seen since before the heavy rains early last week. Griffin says while it was no longer possible for her husband to live with their family due to his battle with addiction, he remained close to her and their three daughters, shown standing with Griffin. About 40 people attended the vigil. As people shared memories of Shawn, many spoke of his huge smile, love of his children and feistiness. Shawn was one of the first visitors to the Pleasant Street Drop-In Center. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

About 40 people attend a vigil Sunday for a homeless man who died at a homeless encampment in Lewiston. The vigil is being held outside of the First Universalist Church of Auburn: Unitarian Universalist at 169 Pleasant St. The Rev. Jodi Cohen Hayashida spoke at the vigil, saying the man, Shawn, died as a result of “policy violence.” Some of those at the vigil say Shawn had gotten a housing voucher shortly before he died, but had not yet gotten into a room. Andree Kehn/Sun Journal

Related Headlines


Only subscribers are eligible to post comments. Please subscribe or login first for digital access. Here’s why.

Use the form below to reset your password. When you've submitted your account email, we will send an email with a reset code.