Thousands of unclaimed Angelenos laid to rest in annual ceremony

Hundreds of people gathered at a cemetery in Boyle Heights Thursday to honor more than 2,300 Angelenos whose bodies have not been claimed by loved ones.

Officials say it was the highest number of people laid to rest during the annual Ceremony of the Unclaimed Dead over the past 45 years.

The remains were those of adults and children, some of whom had experienced homelessness, and who were immigrants far from home. Several of the people had struggled with physical and mental illnesses.

All of them died in 2022, about two years into the COVID-19 pandemic. The bodies were cremated and placed in a communal grave ahead of the ceremony, which has been a county tradition since 1896.

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Los Angeles County Supervisor Janice Hahn said the unclaimed Angelenos may be strangers to those observing the ceremony, but they were our neighbors, too.

“They may have walked the same streets we did, waited at the same bus stops, enjoyed the same warm sunny days, even ones in mid-December like today,” Hahn said during the ceremony. “Like all of us, they hoped, they hurt, they dreamed — and too many endured more suffering and loneliness than anyone should.”

Inside the ceremony

Local faith leaders presided over the roughly hour-long event, sharing prayers and blessings to reflect the cultural and religious diversity of the region.

They included a Native American sage ceremony, as well as Buddhist, Islamic, Jewish and Christian prayers in five languages.

About 250 community members came to pay their respects, including Naha Armady of East Hollywood, who told LAist the experience was moving and emotional, especially after losing a family member and a pet earlier this year.

“It felt like it was totally meant to be for me to be able to come and hold space for these souls,” Armady said. “It's just an opportunity to have time and space and kind of honor the dead, and also maybe get a little bit of closure.”

Members of the community, along with county officials and faith leaders, placed white roses and bouquets of flowers they brought from home on the communal grave. One man sprinkled a few drops of whiskey over the petals from a black coffee cup.

Local faith leaders presided over the roughly hour-long event, including Jerry Arvayo, who performed a Native American sage ceremony.

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Makenna Sievertson

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LAist

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Paying respects 

Officials say the ceremony is designed to make sure every person in L.A. County, regardless of their means, is remembered with respect, dignity and compassion.

Justin Szlasa, a commissioner for the regional Los Angeles Homeless Services Authority, told LAist the ceremony is an opportunity to honor fellow Angelenos who may have been overlooked or lonely in life.

“These are people who are not connected to the community in a way that I wish they would be,” Szlasa said. “And I think it's really wrapped up in the work that we do related to trying to solve the homelessness problem here in Los Angeles.”

A video of this year’s Ceremony of the Unclaimed Dead is available here.