LIVERMORE FALLS — A vigil June 21 at the town gazebo honored the memory of Brett Staples and delivered a stark message: homelessness can happen to anyone, anywhere, even in small towns like Livermore Falls.

Organizer Laurel Merchant, who has been homeless herself, said she believes Staples is a casualty that did not have to happen, and the only reason he does not have the respect he deserved is because he was homeless.

Staples, who was born in Farmington and graduated from Dirigo High School in Dixfield, died Aug. 6, 2024, when he was struck by an Amtrak train in Portland. He was 34 years old and had suffered mental illness and been homeless for years before moving into an apartment near Morrill’s Corner in Portland.

Merchant carried a photo of Staples throughout the vigil, held on the longest day of the year. “I believe he needs to be remembered,” she said.

Merchant tied the local crisis to disasters across the country that left people homeless overnight. “I believe that I should speak on L.A. and Palisades because of the simple fact that those people thought nothing would happen to them,” she said. “It will happen to everybody else, but nothing can happen to me.”

“These people were doctors, lawyers. They were dentists. They were bank tellers. They were grocery store clerks,” Merchant said. “They lost everything in the L.A. and the Palisade fire. These people that were once a doctor, a lawyer, a bank teller, a grocery clerk, a school teacher, a house owner now have one and only one label on them, and that is homelessness.”

“People realized very quickly after something happens to them that they are not immune,” she said. “My message is that anything could happen to anyone of us no matter who or what we are.”

She challenged attendees to imagine a disaster closer to home: “What would happen if Livermore Falls burned to the ground? What would happen if one of them, Livermore Falls, Jay, Wilton, and part of Farmington, burnt to the ground? Everything. School, grocery store, banks, all your money is gone. Your schools are gone. Your grocery stores are gone. Your houses are gone. What would you do then?”

“That’s the point that I want to make to people,” Merchant said. “We need to be there for each other before a disaster happens. We need to be there for each other now.”

She noted the scale of the crisis nationally.

“There were 144,000 people homeless in America before the L.A. and Palisade fires. Now add 150,000 to that. That’s a lot of human beings on the street.”

Locally, she said, “there are people that are in need in our own town. It’s going to get very hot and very humid this summer.”

Livermore Falls Police Chief Ibrahim “Abe” Haroon, the guest speaker, praised Merchant for taking initiative and “bringing awareness to this issue.”

He reminded attendees that law enforcement is available 24/7 to help those in crisis and urged people to call 211 for resources.

Merchant also encouraged anyone in need to contact Western Maine Community Action’s homeless services team at 207-645-3764.