Doug Hardman wakes up every morning with a song in his head—a vague memory of his days on stage.
Inside his tepee in the woods outside Lakewood, NJ, at the homeless Tent City, the roosters wake early and the mornings are already cooler. A musician who lost his Florida home in the housing crisis, Hardman says he floats in and out of Tent City, that he's proud of his kids, and misses the life he no longer has.
He has a lot of company out here.
Tent City made the news recently and while community leader Steven Brigham says the media attention brought in greater donations, it also brought unwanted attention from the local politicians.
After battling with the city for years to have access to the public land here, Brigham found a New Jersey lawyer to represent his case pro bono.
The attorney, Jeff Wild, argued that the homeless population are part of the public and should therefore have access to public lands. Rather than take the case to court, Lakewood City Council settled, and Brigham signed an agreement to put up no more shelters and allow no more than 70 people to stay.
Read more: http://www.businessinsider.com/lakewood-new-jersey-homeless-tent-city-2011-9?op=1#ixzz1Xa7BEOje
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