They knew they’d need some help. They knew where to find it.
They weren’t very good at building anything, even less at securing it to withstand the snow, the winds, the cops.
Or so they hoped.
It was better to make use of what was already present.
What others, who had better skill and quite possibly better sense, had built.
Sure, some called it squatting. Some found them vagabonds.
But why not when the struts provided good foundations?
It was a pity, really, that so many did not understand.
The cops raided one night. Tossed the tents.
Kept the struts.
For Rochelle’s Friday Fictioneers
Photo prompt © Ted Strutz
Na'ama Yehuda 
There’s a definite three little pigs vibe here
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And they huffed and they puffed and they pulled their house down … oy! 😉
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No respect for the homeless.. it is truly a sad situation.
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Yes. I think it is a complicated situation, with no easy solutions, and the showy ones are rarely the right ones or the respectful ones.
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Nice sound in these sentences at the end: “Tossed the tents. Kept the struts.”
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Thanks, Frank! 🙂 One wonders how long it will be before more tents will be placed for protection under the struts … And when they’d be removed …
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Hopefully they’ll find another good spot to pitch their tents. Modern cities have an abundance of structures for them to hook onto.Shame about the police raids though, I think they’re an occupational hazard in the vagabond lifestyle.
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Exactly, Margaret! You totally got the point! Thanks!
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A shame when we have the resources and structures to comfortably house everyone, that there are many left out in the cold. Well done.
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Exactly, Iain. There are buildings standing empty and becoming derelict while there are people who have no protection from the elements and no place to safely put their heads to sleep. Something in this equation is very very wrong. You totally got it!
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Being homeless is not a life choice, they don’t deserve to be treated like trash.
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Exactly. Especially not in first world countries, where the means exist.
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Maybe a not-quite-so-good spot would be safer. These good places feel like traps. Homelessness is our societies’ shame.
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Yeah, I think you are totally spot on right about all of what you wrote.
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You highlight a very important issue in your story. Homelessness should hardly ever happen in a first world economy, and yet it is increasing rapidly.
It must be incredibly hard to survive when you’re homeless. You’re story picks up on shelter and police raids, but what about food? You have no cooking facilities, so whatever food you have is either cold or (if you’re lucky) a takeaway. Very hard to eat a healthy diet.
Good story to raise awareness, Na’ama – thank you!
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Indeed. In NYC there are many soup kitchens and food pantries and places where one may get a meal, but it is not always nearby and a subway ride costs money (unless one sneaks in by evading the fare and that’s illegal and so on), and one does not always want to dive into garbage cans and dumpsters and wait outside restaurants and stores to see what gets dumped. It is a lot of dehumanizing, I’m sure. Then there are the many realities of indignities – people giving you the stink-eye, lack of bathroom and washing access, benches that are set so once cannot stretch on them, and so on. It really ought not be an issue in a first world country. Not that there won’t always be people with complex needs and mental health issues and so on, but that there should be reasonable solutions that keep society humane. Thank YOU for the comment that led me to the soap box … 😉
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Na’ama Y’karah,
There but for the grace of God go I…or any and all of us. Way too many of those homeless are veterans who’ve served their country and then been tossed like those tents. And I could ramble on. Well done story down to the struts and, dare I say with Strutz photo. Tee hee.
Shalom,
Rochelle
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Indeed … to all you said.
Let us strut along … knowing that we ought to be humble, and humbled by, the realities of so many live, and aren’t impossible for any of us to find ourselves in. Dire strutz and all.
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Great one, Na’ama.
This is such an interesting (sociological) topic. I wish I understood it better. Maybe I need to search up a book or two. I read “Travels with Lizbeth” by Lars Eighner years ago, and a few magazine articles since, but I want to know more. Thanks for musing it into my mind. 🙂
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