A burial and liturgy are in the works for a homeless man, well-known to the Ridgewood area, who froze to death during the Nov. 16 snowstorm.
The funeral services for Arkadiusz Jasinski, better known as Arek by the community, was arranged by Vincent Lanza of the Ridgewood Chapels funeral home and All Saints Old Catholic Church in Ridgewood.
The burial will take place at St. Charles Catholic Cemetery in Farmingdale, L.I. on Dec. 13 with the liturgy being held at All Saints on Dec. 14 at 7 p.m. in the community where Jasinski lived on the streets for about six years until his death.
The 44-year-old Jasinski was reported to police at 66-95 Forest Ave. on Nov. 16 at around 9 a.m., an indication that the public needs to be more aware of the state of homeless people during inclement weather, Father Mike Lopez from All Saints explained.
A Vigil was held Jasinski on Nov. 23 which remembered him as a respectful construction trade worker who had fallen on hard times after leaving Poland about 20 years ago, according to Lopez.
“We need to do a better job collectively,” Lopez told QNS on Nov. 28. “A number of people would have passed by him that morning, it was the morning after the storm so I’m sure people would have noticed that he was wet and freezing in that weather, and nobody called 911.”
All Saints and nearby St. Matthias Roman Catholic Church, both of which work together to deliver services to homeless in the community, have provided showers, meals and clothing to Jasinski for at least three years.
Hungry Monk Rescue Truck, operated by All Saints, provided food to Jasinski for years.
Lopez and other church leaders had assisted Jasinski after he was admitted the hospital on several occasions.
A single man with no children, Jasinski had always planned to return to Poland where his mother lives and All Saints had worked with the consulate to get him a Polish passport to facilitate his plans.
