Mount Vernon Community Mourns Loss Of Homeless Man Dwight Claxton
BALTIMORE (WJZ) — To most walking along Charles Street, a small makeshift memorial is as anonymous as the man its made for.
People knew him as Dwight Claxton, a smiling homeless man with dreadlocks, and now the Mount Vernon community is mourning after police found his body Friday.
By Saturday, funeral arrangements were being pieced together on the Mount Vernon community Facebook page, with hundreds sharing stories and videos.
Dwight was one of over 2,500 homeless men, women and children living in Baltimore, but for the Mount Vernon community, he was also a friend.
"We would be like here waiting for the bus and he would just come up like every day," Maggie Jones said.
Jones said she saw him every day after school.
"He just felt like our friend it really just felt like this is our friend who we see and talk to every day," Jones said.
Conal Neilis invited Dwight to his graduation.
"Baltimore lost someone really important on Friday, and we're gonna make sure his legacy lives on and that he is not forgotten," Nealis said.
"I passed him every day on my way to work and sometimes he'd walk with me for a couple of blocks downtown." Noah Patton said.
This is one of the small memorials to Dwight that have popped up in Mount Vernon since his death. Dwight was one of 7,000 homeless in #Maryland. He was also a veteran. There are close to 600 homeless vets in this state living on the streets as temperatures dip below freezing... pic.twitter.com/n5jjGsK4H4
— Annie Rose Ramos (@AnnieRoseNews) January 21, 2020
Patton is now helping plan Dwight's funeral.
"So that we can give him a good Christian burial, which I think Dwight would want," Patton said.
Some said he was in his fifties, and served in the military. The details of his past are unclear, but Mount Vernon residents said they are memorializing their friend as best they can.