Urban Exile: Lifestyles of the Down and Out—Tent Cities in America
by Erika K.
“To be shelterless and alone in the open country, hearing the wind moan and watching for day through the whole long weary night; to listen to the falling rain, and crouch for warmth beneath the lee of some old barn or rick, or in the hollow of a tree; are dismal things—but not so dismal as the wandering up and down where shelter is, and beds and sleepers are by the thousands; a houseless rejected creature.”—Charles Dickens, Barnaby Rudge
Ann Arbor has its very own tent city, Camp Take Notice, nestled in the woods, far away from view, where residents and politicos don’t have to take notice. It was moved to its current location in honor of President Obama’s last visit to Ann Arbor. Cornel West and Tavis Smiley visited Camp Take Notice as part of their Poverty Tour.
According to the National Alliance to End Homelessness, about 671,859 people are homeless on any given night in the United States. There was a time when the homeless lived on the streets and in shelters. With many shelters filled to capacity, tent cities have become an alternative form of habitation. In many cities across the country, it is illegal to sleep in your car, and other communities are taking measures to criminalize tent cities as well. Out of sight, out of mind, I guess.
Lakewood, New Jersey.
Reverend Steven Brigham of the Lakewood Outreach Ministry Church started the Lakewood tent city in 2006. After fighting with the city for years for access to public lands, he found a lawyer to represent his case pro bono. The attorney, Jeff Wild, said that the homeless population is part of the public and therefore should have access to public lands. Lakewood City Council decided to settle rather than go to court, and Brigham signed an agreement
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