Lived in a Tent: When I Was a Dangerous Criminal: Stephen Harris' Life Story

By Fiona Williams

When life starts the way Stephen's did, no one is surprised that he was either locked up in jail, or sleeping on the streets, addicted to drugs, alcohol, and fighting. What is a surprise and a testament to Stephen's resilience, is where he his now.
A biography of homelessness, trauma, and hope.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Apr 3, 2021
• ISBN: 9781667180083

Book preview

Preface

To read this book, you just need to know this: I met my friend Stephen when I moved into an apartment in the summer of 2010. My mother owned the apartment building, and that is how she and Stephen met each other.

Nine years later, Stephen still lives in the apartment building, (but in a different apartment.) His tenancy there has been a success when his other attempts at maintaining a home failed. There are a few reasons for this, but no doubt Stephen’s stability is because of the small village of supporters surrounding him - not least of which includes his church, a few close friends, some family, and - my mother, Phil.

Chapter 1 - Birth to Arson

Stephen when I met you, you were moving in across the hall from me in an apartment building. One of the first things you said to me is that you loved your apartment - and that you’d lived in a tent most of your life; I thought, this guy’s got a story.  So let’s start at the beginning...

I was born out in Fredericton Junction, out in the boonies.  I know my step dad, but I don’t know my real dad.  I know my real dad as my middle name: Kenneth.  He’s in Ontario somewhere, or he’s dead.  I don’t know my dad.  I was in diapers when he left, and I guess I was ran over, my diaper got caught in the muffler of the car, by my dad and his friend.  They used to own a garage out there; they drank every day; alcoholics. 

When I grew up, when I started to get older, I was six, seven years old I realized I had no father, no mother.  My grandparents took the four of us in: me, Donna, David, and Larry.  Well, we was given to my grandparents from Mum. David’s the youngest.  I’m the third. We was probably all young cause I remember Grampy and Grammy more then I remember Mum. 

Grampy didn’t want me living there with him and my grandmother.  All of us did, but they abused me so bad that [Grampy] would beat my head on the bathtub and all of that.  And that’s why I can’t hear [out of my] left ear today.  I couldn’t eat at the table without gettin a beatin. I had to hide many times before I got beaten because my step-dad was drunk and my grandfather was abusive. And they was always callin me no-good piece-of-shit; you’re never going to amount to nothin, shit’s going to bank around your heart and you’re gonna die.  I heard it all in my life.

My brother stabbed me with a fork and showed me all kinds of violence.  I was around eight, nine years old or so when Junior came into Mum’s life. Then I went back with Mum and Junior cause they wanted me back. That’s when the sexual abuse started.  That’s right. Cause I was nine years of age when my stepfather and his friend was sexually abusing me at the camp. 

I was sexually abused at my stepdad’s friend camp; all year camp where you go and party, smoke dope, drinkin, cut wood and hang out - out in Fredericton Junction out on Graveyard Road.  The camp still exists. They used to tie me up and make me do things to them.

I was six or seven when I first saw marijuana. I found it in a can at the camp. Didn’t know what marijuana was. I lit my first joint I was eight years old. I smoked marijuana in behind the Fredericton Junction Train station. At eight years old I started smoking dope, then I got drunk, was drinking that age of eight or nine, beer and wine. 

So, you started drinking when you were a child?

Yeah, cause I didn’t know any better. I was an alcoholic at the age of 12. I was still drinking too at the Legion Fredericton Junction age of 19 before I went to jail.

The sexual abuse went on til I was fourteen, til I ran away.  And when I went to jail and everybody said to me, well you’re going to jail, you’re gonna get it up the bum and all this. I was more protected in jail then I was of being a kid. I’m sorry I went to jail for protection most the time.

[My abusers] made me miserable and I had a hard time when a woman touched me for a long time.  I had a hard time cuz I felt so dirty, you know, and I still have doubts at times, you know what I mean, I still