Monday, December 20, 2010

WASTING AWAY AGAIN IN OBAMAVILLE, FLORIDA


Homeless in paradise: community in the woods

Herald Tribune ^ | 12/19/2010 | Kim Hackett

A red-tinged skull hangs on one side, and crossbones on the other, at the entrance to one of Sarasota County's hidden neighborhoods.

"DO NOT ENTER!!! Danger!! Stop Now! or else. Thank you" reads a sign aimed at visitors who venture down a wooded path, through pines and palmetto, to a clearing behind a drugstore and a busy intersection.

The path leads to Pirates Cove, where, in a circle of tents and tarps, a few members of Southwest Florida's growing homeless population try to survive the downturn in an outdoor existence reminiscent of pioneer life.

Swelled by individuals and families displaced by job losses, foreclosure and other problems, the camp is a testament to the severity and duration of the protracted economic malaise.

Over time, homeless camps -- there are perhaps several hundred in Charlotte, Manatee and Sarasota counties, by some estimates -- have morphed from temporary refuges to separate communities, such as Pirates Cove, where residents establish their own rules and organization.

"We have it better out here than people struggling to make ends meet," says Joe Medlin, 53, the "mayor" of this tent community, who has been homeless since losing his job in 2008.

(Excerpt) Read more at heraldtribune.com ...

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