(thetrumpet) - The state of New Jersey, along with Camden county and city, began evicting squatters from five tent cities in Camden on May 13. Meanwhile, the number of people losing their homes to foreclosures is skyrocketing again, despite popular belief that the housing crisis is over.
Hazmat teams, tractors and forklifts began demolishing and cleaning up the Camden encampments last week. It may be a blessing to nearby communities, but with city shelters at capacity, many of these homeless will be forced to move—probably to set up camp in someone else’s backyard.
In Portland, Oregon, “Dignity Village,” an encampment set up by homeless people, is now 14 years old.
Despite the demolitions in Camden and elsewhere, the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty says that following the 2007 economic downturn and supposed recovery, the number of tent cities popping up in the United States is on the rise again.
According to the center, there are at least 100 large encampments across the U.S., some multiple years old like Dignity Village. Some encampments are orderly, with mayor-like officials, curfews and strict regulations on joining the community. Others are trash-strewn, lawless and filled with everything from human waste to drug paraphernalia.
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See what happens when you let money rule the world? The end results are totally worth it.
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