Three women and a man have had their “home” destroyed by a bulldozer. In an effort to get the homeless folks to find another place to live their home was destroyed. Volunteers from Rough Sleepers have been searching the woods to find where they moved to. So far their efforts have failed. As Berkeley County continues to grow, homeless locations are continuing to disappear as new homes, offices, and warehouses continue to dot the landscape. There is more pressure on housing, both rental properties and camping sites than ever before. Dean Wagner, executive director of Rough Sleepers, stated, “We knew the three women and one man who were living in this camp. We will continue to serve those in need and are planning another extensive survey to locate these individuals.” As the hidden woods continue to give way to the growing community additional pressure will push more “rough sleepers “ into the few remaining recesses that remain.

As we move into the hot summer, which will bring mosquitoes and snakes, we need to look back just a few months to a camp where the homeless fight to survive the cold nights.  This photo shows one of those camps. I often think back to this scene when people tell me the homeless live on Easy Street, that they are responsible for all our crimes, that they are just lazy and won’t go to work. I think even a lazy person would be happy to work in a warm factory and not have to live here on “Easy Street”. Many of the homeless in our community are suffering from mental illnesses that prevent them from getting a job or even being able to function in society. It can’t be easy. Some have lost their homes to foreclosure, or if they are renting, to new development and rising rents. They have a job. They go to work each day, their spouse does too, and then they return to Easy Street to survive another night. Being homeless is not a crime. It is not something we should punish or ignore, but we often do. It is a place where someone really needs a hand up but is far too often arrested, attacked, or shunned. You may say, ‘Well, we have welfare, and we have social outreach non-profits, so there is a safety net!’ But yet here they are, still hungry, still cold, and sometimes still sick. So, as we find ourselves surrounded by our blessings, we should all ask, “What can I do for the least, the lost, and the forgotten?”