"Tent People" - trying to survive by living in woods

[Liberal_in_LA]

Tent people: Homeless couple carries on while hunting for both work and housing

Hidden in a patch of woods near the urban sprawl of midtown Mobile, a homeless couple has been living for the last 10 months.

"We’re tent people," says Charles Stephens, 48, a U.S. Navy veteran who in February lost his job at a printing company, and has struggled since to find another.



Walking everywhere, they found kindly folks at a nearby service station who allowed them to fetch water and use the bathroom.

One day, says Stephens, a woman passed by and saw him walking along the road and asked him if he needed assistance. When he explained his plight, she bought him a bicycle.

------------

He goes to the store as needed, stretching the $367 a month in food stamps mailed to him via a friend’s address.



http://blog.al.com/live/2011/10/tent_people_homeless_couple_ca.html

[lunatica]

1. My heart aches for them

I'm glad they have their dogs. They're probably like family to them.

[lifesbeautifulmagic]

2. I live in a suburban, verging on rural area

and there are homeless people living in tents, in the woods behind the local shopping mall.

[SPedigrees]

5. same in my (rural) area. tragic. nt

[xchrom]

3. Recommend

[Lindsay]

4. They are the 99%.

Can't even imagine how many more people are in a similar situation.

Good to see it's getting noticed. That's a first (baby) step to solving it.

[DaveJ]

6. Too bad they can't grow their own food and build a house

Once when property was cheap hard work meant something.

[Sarah Ibarruri]

7. And before the food stamp program, back during the Great Depression...

people just went without even food. Horrific. And that's what Repukes are trying to re-create again. God, I hate right wingnuts!

[d_r]

8. there are several little tent alcoves hiding in the woods around Chattanooga

four or five years ago they bulldozed down a "tent city" here and now there are little spots. There is one on a wooded hillside called "cameron hill" between this shiney new blue cross enclave and this shiny new minor leage baseball stadium. Here's a story from the summer.

http://timesfreepress.com/news/2011/jul/17/nowhere-go/?print

[MedicalAdmin]

9. IN the northern states.....

tenting can get a bit difficult on ones body come January and February. The worst part is getting regular showers and whatnot. First you have to melt the snow and then....