In Memory of Seham Haj

Some people do a job.
Some people change lives.

Seham Haj did both.

Seham was an outreach worker who devoted her life to standing beside some of Buffalo's most vulnerable neighbors. She worked Code Blue. She worked with people who were often considered the “most service resistant”—people who had experienced so much disappointment, trauma, and hardship that trusting another person could feel nearly impossible.

But Seham never gave up.

She understood that outreach wasn't simply about connecting someone to a service. It was about building trust. It was about showing up again. And again. And again. It was about being there when someone finally decided they were ready.

Seham made herself available to her clients. She answered the call. She showed up. She listened. She remembered. And, perhaps most importantly, she made people feel that they mattered.

For many of the people she served, Seham became more than a worker.

She became someone they could count on.

Seham's life was tragically taken in a house fire in Buffalo in January 2025. Her passing left an unimaginable hole in the lives of her family, friends, colleagues, and the countless people she had served.

But something extraordinary happened after Seham was gone.

Her work did not stop.

Her family took up her calling.

Rather than allowing grief to be the end of Seham's story, they chose to carry her work forward. They have dedicated themselves to helping others in the way Seham did—gathering donations, volunteering their time, and showing up year after year at Project Homeless Connect Buffalo.

They are keeping her promise.

They are keeping her spirit alive.

And through their service, they are making sure that Seham's love for her community continues to reach people who need it most.

But perhaps the most moving part of Seham's legacy comes from the people she served.

Seham is still remembered by them.

Her former clients continue to mention her to today's outreach workers. They tell stories about her. They remember the kindness she showed them. They remember that she came back when they weren't ready the first time.

And some still believe that Seham is looking over them.

There is something profoundly beautiful about that.

Because Seham didn't simply enter people's lives as a service provider. She left a piece of herself behind.

She saw humanity where others sometimes saw resistance.

She saw possibility where others saw barriers.

She kept reaching out when others might have walked away.

And she never stopped believing that someone could find their way home.

In honor of her life, her work, and the countless people she touched, Project Homeless Connect Buffalo is being renamed The Annual Seham Haj Project Homeless Connect Buffalo.

This name is more than a memorial.

It is a promise.

A promise to keep showing up.

A promise to keep reaching those who are hardest to reach.

A promise to meet people where they are, without judgment.

A promise to treat every person with dignity.

A promise to continue the work Seham devoted her life to.

And a promise to her family—that the community will help carry what they have so courageously carried since the day they lost her.

Every year, when we gather to connect people experiencing homelessness with resources, services, and people who care, Seham's name will be there.

Her family will be there.

Her legacy will be there.

And the people she loved and served will be there.

Because Seham's story did not end in that fire.

It continues every time someone reaches out instead of walking away.

It continues every time someone is welcomed instead of judged.

It continues every time a person experiencing homelessness is reminded that they are seen, valued, and worthy of hope.

And it continues through the family who loved her enough to turn their grief into service.

Seham, you are remembered.
You are missed.
You are loved.
And you are still looking over the people you cared so deeply about.

Your family has picked up where you left off.

Your clients still speak your name.

And your community will keep doing the work.

The Annual Seham Haj Project Homeless Connect Buffalo

In loving memory of a woman who never stopped reaching out—and whose family continues to answer the call.