Sleeping in the woods

I got an email that was forwarded through the grapevine about some campers south of Jacksonville. Pretty much the groups were being surveyed, but the same thing came through each time: distancing from family the longer they were homeless.

Over the last decade before my own family became homeless we worked with a local non profit agency that performed food gleaning and redistribution. Although people vary from camp to camp the constant theme of family is seen in each group.

Whether for survival or a need to be part of something much like young organized street gangs, people choosing the camp lifestyle find alternatives rather than continue using existing services. Many of the reasons include safety from other homeless people becoming violent, victimization by gangs, or choice to avoid services due to prior problems with staff abusing their roles.

When something is unacceptable people make changes, for whatever reasons. While many providers in Jacksonville do and are attempting to make improvements to service delivery, continued retention of individuals with trends and patterns of abusive behavior to clients aren't adequately addressed.

And that's not just my own personal opinion. Within the next few weeks I'm hoping to see others with similar interests and voices heard, and maybe find a place for everyone to sit back with some popcorn in a home theater seating environment!

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