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INDIANAPOLIS — It’s not every day that a funeral service takes place at the Indiana Statehouse, especially for someone who was experiencing homelessness.

Maurice Young, the man whose funeral was at the statehouse Sunday, was known as a gentle giant, a good listener and a person with a passion for helping those in need.

“The work that needs to be done in our community can’t be done in an office behind closed doors on a phone or a computer,” Annie Smith a speaker at Young’s funeral, said. “You have to get out into the community you have to be amongst the people.”

Being amongst the people was Young’s mission in life. He lived amongst people experiencing homelessness by choice.

A choice his family didn’t even know about until after he made the decision.

“He didn’t notify us, he just did it,” Kimberly Stoveall, Young’s sister, said. “Letting go of everything especially having to distance and let go of material things in life, it would have been hard to explain to your family and siblings. So, he did it genuinely and just did it cold turkey. Then as time passed, we all came together to better understand the mission here.”

Read more from WRTV here