The Camp

By Tyrone H.

Our camp is one of many homeless camps in the United States and around the world. Single adults and families are limited in their search for affordable housing. Shelters are overwhelmed with people who are looking for housing. This country has reached its boiling point. Health insurance, food, and housing are three of the major components that we all need to survive. These three things are not affordable for the working class and middle class like years before. We all have seen the pictures of starving people in the third world countries. Now the US is face with some of the same issues.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Xlibris US
• Release date: Oct 12, 2023
• ISBN: 9798369400869

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Copyright © 2023 by Tyrone H.

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All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places and incidents either are the product of the author’s imagination or are used fictitiously, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.

Any people depicted in stock imagery provided by Getty Images are models, and such images are being used for illustrative purposes only.

Certain stock imagery © Getty Images.

Rev. date: 10/12/2023

Xlibris

844-714-8691

www.Xlibris.com

853315

CONTENTS

Introduction

Episode 1

Episode 2

Episode 3

Episode 4

Episode 5

Episode 6

Episode 7

Episode 8

Episode 9

Episode 10

Episode 11

Episode 12

Episode 13

Episode 14

Episode 15

Episode 15

Episode 16

Episode 16

Episode 17

Episode 18

Episode 19

Episode 20 to Episode 23

Episode 24

Episode 25

Episode 25

Episode 26

Episode 27

Episode 28

Episode 29

Episode 30

Episode 31

Episode 32

Episode 33

Episode 34

Episode 35

Episode 36

Episode 37

Episode 38

Episode 39

Episode 40

Episode 41

Episode 42

Episode 43

Episode 44

Episode 45

Episode 46

Episode 47

Episode 48

Episode 49

Episode 50

Episode 51

Episode 52

Episode 53

Episode 54

Episode 55

Episode 56

Episode 57

Episode 58

Episode 59

Episode 60

Episode 61

Episode 62

Episode 63

Episode 64

Episode 65

Episode 66

Episode 67

Episode 68

Episode 69

Episode 70

Episode 71

Episode 72

Episode 73

Episode 74

Episode 75

Conclusion

Numbers to Remember

Special thanks to the Ewing family and all of the nurses and caregivers who go unnoticed everyday.

Special thanks to my family and friends. Thank you Lord for your guidance and mercy.

INTRODUCTION

Campsites for unhoused people are popping up throughout the country. These camps are home to many different people, each of whom has a different reason as to how and why they have been on the streets. Drug use and mental health issues may represent only a small percentage of these reasons. These real people are for whatever reason in a situation that may be viewed by the rest of the population as not normal. I want to share a story about a group of people who live at a campsite in the American Midwest. This story consists of some real events and real people who are trying to survive together at a camp.

Ty, who’s lived at the camp for a while, plays a vital role at the camp, along with his friend Manny, who entered later. Each person who lives at the camp has a unique story.

Ty finds this quiet place to call home and soon meets Manny. The two form a bond and try to create a safe place that everyone can call home. The camp gradually grows, with more residents arriving. This campsite will have some of the same issues that occur in some households around the world. If you like amusement parks, buckle up. This story is a real-life rollercoaster.

1

EPISODE

Manny and Ty wake up in their tent at 7:00 am, and, as they usually do, talk for a couple minutes about the day to come.

Ty is fifty years old and went through a nasty divorce some years before, and then lost his home when his job downsized because of the pandemic. He has two daughters he rarely sees and is looking to pick up the pieces to get his life back on track. He found the camp one day while walking through the woods and decided that it would be a good location to set up a tent for a few months.

Manny is a senior who lost his wife. When she died, he could not afford to stay in the home any longer. Married for many years, he has a hard time dealing with her loss. Their income together was enough to afford their two-bedroom home on the west side of Cleveland. Their monthly payment was $1200 a month. Manny’s income was just under $1000 a month. Manny was forced to leave his place after a few months of nonpayment. He lost all his family pictures and his wife’s personal items. He asked the city social services department for help, but did not understand how to fill out the paperwork online. When he called the city and left voicemails for city workers to help him with the process, no one returned his calls. He stayed in a shelter for one day and decided that he would not go back. Manny does not feel safe among strangers and is still grieving the loss of his wife.

Ty works occasionally at a temp agency and returns to the camp in the afternoons. Manny stays at the camp most of the day and only leaves around noon to get lunch at the center.

Ty returns to the camp after work. Manny hands him a TV dinner provided by a local church group. They look up to see their friend Leonard approaching. He sit’s by them and slumps over sadly.

Ty says, Hey, Leonard, are you okay?

Hungry, Leonard? Manny asks.

Leonard explains that he has just lost his place and has nowhere to go. Ty asks if there is anything he can do to help.

Can I crash at the camp? Leonard asks. He says his troubled past has caught up with him. Without another question, Manny grabs a tent and food for Leonard, and he and Ty help Leonard set up his tent. Leonard steps inside and immediately falls asleep.

Stepping away from the tent, Manny whispers to Ty, Do you think we did the right thing?

Ty says he’s sure Leonard will follow the rules that they set and that they will all live peacefully.

Then there were three at the camp.

2

EPISODE

One morning soon after, Manny tells Ty about a couple he knows. The husband went to school with Marie, and I just found out that a fire destroyed their house. Can they stay here at the camp?

Manny, Ty replies, Do you think they would live here in the woods in a tent?

I mentioned to them yesterday that I may have a place, and they were all ears.

Do you feel they would follow the rules and keep the peace?

No worries! exclaims Manny. Besides, they told me if they will be leaving town in a few months. I can talk with them around noon today. I’m going to meet them today at the center. I told them that the center helps people who are on the street with wraparound services. They can get food and showers and get advice about housing issues.

When he sees John and Mary that day, Manny tells them he has a place for them to stay.

John says, Great! Where is this place?

I stay in a camp in the woods at the bottom of a hill, Manny replies. I have a tent for you two.

Mary looks skeptical. I don’t know about this, she says.

John is more hopeful. Let’s give it a shot.

I want to think about this for a moment.

Manny is a friend, and I trust him, John says, grabbing Mary’s hand. All we need is a place to rest our head for a few months until we move out of state.

Manny jumps in. I want you two to meet Ty. He’s the camp leader.

Hey! says John. I’m cool with that. Manny, I’m going back into the center to grab some blankets and clothes.

John takes off, and Mary turns to Manny. Are you sure it’s safe to stay? she asks.

Manny responds, I promise.

3

EPISODE

Ty wakes up to loud, shrill screams. He jumps out of the tent and sees Manny watching the fighting couple screaming at one another.

Ty shouts that the couple has to stop or they will have to leave the camp. The couple slowly separates and looks at the ground, then at Ty. We chose this location because it’s a safe haven from other camps and people. We agreed to stay here and not go into a shelter. Look, I want you two to stay at the camp, but the fighting will only bring attention to us, and we will be forced to move.

John mutters, Okay, and walks away

Mary stares at Ty and says, Sorry. Then she goes back to her tent.

Manny and Ty turn and walk away.

Manny says, I’m not sure if they should stay at the camp.

We just have to wait and see if they will the follow the rules, Ty replies.

Ty returns to his tent and sit’s outside. He looks up to see John and Mary approaching.

They want to explain why they are staying at the camp.

John tells Ty that he was working at the same place for years, until the company decided to downsize and cut half the work force. I started drinking and fighting with Mary. In front of the kids.

John begins to sob, and Mary talks about the fire.

"The kids did not make it out of the house that day. They were sleeping in their rooms when the fire started. We were downstairs fighting