Update: This article won a North American Street Newspaper Association award for “Best Vendor Essay” (or in this case, essay by a homeless individual) at the 2010 NASNA conference! Congratulations, Barbara!
By Barbara Kalil
An open letter to my “friend” Don Carcieri:
Hello Don,
Longtime no hear, no see. I mean, I know you’re out there somewhere. You have sent out your spokespeople to talk for you about “those homeless people.” You have talked about us, around us, but not to us. Why is that? Our little Camp Runamuck started back in March where we (John, Sandy, Mike, and I) slept at Roger Williams Memorial Park. We stayed there three weeks until we were asked to leave because the Preservation Society had a tour at 7 a.m. one day and were “horrified” that homeless people were camping in the area where Roger Williams’ plaque states that the area is reserved for people in distress. How ironic is that? So, we were kindly asked to leave. John scouted for a new place and found an area on South Water Street. It was an area where we thought we wouldn’t bother anyone. Don, we were there for a month before anyone knew we were there. The Providence police happened to find us by accident. I think that tells you a little bit about us. We were quiet and respectful. Continue reading ‘Camp Runamuck Founder Tells Her Side of the Story’
