At one point in his life, Patrick Sugrue was working with Arnold Palmer and giving golf lessons to former President George Herbert Walker Bush.
But injuries and “so many different injustices” curbed his career. And the 57-year-old man became homeless. He lived in pods, on the street, with other homeless people and in the Bethesda and Silver Spring metro stations. He told his story a crowd of sympathetic case workers, non-profit employees and county officials during Thursday’s commemoration of the lives of those who died while experiencing homelessness in 2024 and 2025.
During the 90-minute ceremony Thursday commemorating the 56 lives of those who died while experiencing homelessness, people who knew the deceased said a few sentences about them. Some served in the military. Most had families. One was an amazing mechanic. Another was a delivery driver. One woman loved Costco hot dogs.
The memorial was held at the Isiah Leggett Executive Office Building in Rockville.
Sugrue credited Interfaith Works and Bethesda Cares for helping him change his life. He went from being “a statistic, the lowest of all lows” to a parttime employee at a country club> He has been in stable housing for three months.
On May 23, 2024, it dawned on Sugrue that it didn’t matter how much help he had, “I have to help myself,” he said. He entered rehab and leaned on his faith to change his life.
Christine Hong, chief of Montgomery County Services to End and Prevent Homelessness, said the homeless “have been marginalized.” They need housing, which she called “one of the most basic forms of healthcare.”
Executive Marc Elrich called Montgomery County “a community that cares about everyone.”
But that is not the case for the federal government, he said, referring to a letter the county received from the Trump administration which said anyone who harbors an undocumented person is guilty of a crime.
To Elrich, that means when someone feeds or shelters an undocumented needy person, “they are harboring a criminal. That would be a crime, an offense with a criminal charge.”
He urged everyone to speak out against the Administration’s policies and remind government officials of their Judeo-Christian heritage.
“Let’s be clear. We are not going to be intimidated by any of this,” he said. “Montgomery County stands with those in need. We are not turning our backs on anyone.”
A homeless person has a lifespan of 25 to 30 years less than those who live in stable housing, Elrich said.
Councilmember Gabe Albornoz called helping the disadvantaged “one of the most important things we do in Montgomery County.”
Pastor Darryl A. Burton of the Converted Heart Christian Methodist Episcopal Church eulogized the 56 people, noting, “They were fathers, mothers, sisters, daughters, friends and neighbors. They were children of God.”
Burton, who goes to Shepherd’s Table in Silver Spring on Tuesdays to give haircuts, added, “This is why we are here today, because they mattered.”
Lisa Lowe, chair of the People’s Committe, was presented with the Terence Hill Memorial Award. She was “honored for her years of leadership centering lived experience to improve service delivery, and her steadfast commitment to amplifying people’s voices and advocating for meaningful change.”
Montgomery County celebrates the lives and mourns their loss of its homeless residents who died during 2024. @mymcmedia @MoCoCouncilMD pic.twitter.com/DPk0vmOt5N
— suzanne pollak (@SuzannePollak) June 5, 2025
