After reading the article, “A Homeless Camp in Our Back Yard? Please, a University Says,” by the NY Times,” I was interested to find more articles of people living in tent cities. The article, “America’s Tent Cities for the Homeless,” by Alan Taylor, tells the stories of individuals living all over America in these encampments instead of on the streets. It gave short descriptions of the individuals and how they ended up in the camps. The article also showed pictures of these individuals and their tents. One man lived in a tent within Seattle with his young son. He stated that his son “doesn’t view this as a negative thing, I mean being a little boy and resilient he looks at it as an adventure” (Taylor, 2016). The son views their situation as fun and is basically like camping. The father continues to describe how they feel safe and it is almost like this tent city creates a sense of community.
While living in the tent cities, these people still live in uncertainty, but have stability within the camps. As a child, I always enjoyed camping trips with my family, but I could not imagine doing it for months at a time. I question how this will affect the children in these situations, and what will happen to them if they are forced to relocate their camps?
Even though these individuals are in terrible situations, it is reassuring for me that each of them describe this community “like a big family.” I would hope that these people can help and support one another.
https://www.theatlantic.com/photo/2016/02/americas-tent-cities-for-the-homeless/462450/
One thing that so many people overlook is the fact that the homeless population is an actual community with similar goals, situations, and values. Although it saddens me that living in tents is all these children know, it does bring me joy knowing these individuals who experience these hardships of homelessness still find hope and a sense of a loving community.