Salem Sikh community feeds the homeless in remembrance of 2012 mass shooting victims

The Sikh community in Salem fed about 150 homeless people Sunday in remembrance of a mass shooting in Oak Creek, Wisconsin, in 2012.

Nine volunteers came to the ARCHES parking lot at 615 Commerical St. NE at 5 p.m. with pans of food and cold drinks. In Sunday’s 99-degree weather, the volunteers made sure everyone had their fill.

Navneet Kaur, the organizer of the community service project, said she felt doing this was the best way to remember those who were killed 10 years ago. Six Sikh worshippers were shot and killed by a white supremacist in Oak Creek and a seventh victim was left paralyzed from the attack and died in 2020.

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“We had a few options, like a candlelight vigil. But the point of this service is to bring communities together,” Kaur said. “So, we chose to do this. It’s a better way of remembering them.”

In a statement released Friday, President Joe Biden remembered the 10-year anniversary of the shooting.

"The Oak Creek shooting was the deadliest attack on Sikh Americans in our nation’s history. Tragically, attacks on our nation’s houses of worship have only become more common over the past decade," the president said. "It is up to all of us to deny this hate safe harbor. No one should fear for their life when they bow their head in prayer or go about their lives in America."

The Sikh community served fruit, salad, rice, garbanzo beans and lentil soup. Sodas and waters sat in a cooler with ice, which many people kept coming back to as a way to stay cool.

Dinner time is usually handled by Jerry Barza, who helps out ARCHES. He goes there every night to make sure whatever group is bringing food has tables set up as covering in case it rains, as well as garbage cans.

Barza said even when there is no group coming, he has no problem gearing up his own propane grill.

“If no group is doing dinner, I’ll do hotdogs,” Barza said. “They need to have something to eat.”

By 6 p.m., all of the food was gone, except for about a dozen to-go containers, which Kaur gave to ARCHES. People sat on the grass in the parking lot while they enjoyed their meal and talked amongst each other.

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Kaur said most of the people who came for food heard about the event through word-of-mouth so she was happy there was almost nothing left.

Once the food was gone, Kaur and the volunteers began packing everything up. Many people took cold drinks with them or bags of ice. Kaur was satisfied and said she would try to do this more often.

“One of the main beliefs (of Sikhism) is sharing your belongings,” Kaur said. “That’s exactly what we’re doing here. It makes perfect sense.”