Milford “tent city” residents clearing out as land is set for development

MILFORD, Del. – If you turn down East Masten Circle in Milford, and follow a trail into the woods, you’ll find a tent city. About 40 to 50 homeless individuals stay there at any given time.

As those staying at the camp prepare for plummeting temperatures, they’re now facing a new hurdle: the land the camp is on has been purchased for development, slated to be home to warehouses. On January 14th, crews will come in and start clearing out trees and trash. The people who call it home will have to leave, too.

Life at the Camp

Bruce Johnson is an Army veteran, and has been living in the tent city for just under two months.

“Everybody’s one bad mistake away from being in a completely different life, you know what I’m saying? That happened to me,” said Johnson. “It’s like any other city in America. You have some people that you grow close to, some people that you don’t get close to, people that you don’t particularly trust. But, you try to work together as a community as much as possible.”

Candice, another resident at the camp, has been there for about four months. She says life at the camp requires resourcefulness.

“We’re not trying to bother anybody, you know what I mean? We’re trying to just stay warm and not be pushed away,” said Candice. “We have the tarps tight around the tents, and the blankets on top to make it extra insulated. We have a little heater buddies inside.”

Another woman at the camp, who wished to remain anonymous, has been there for two months. She tells 47 ABC she ended up there after having her disability allowance of 12 years cut off, and losing everything.

“My birth certificate got stolen, I don’t have any Social Security cards. That kind of stuff is really hard to get one without the other, and that’s kind of how I ended up out here,” she said.

For the residents, life at the camp brings challenges; but they say it also brings camaraderie.

“We kind of look out for each other out here. We take care of each other. If somebody needs help with something, or if somebody needs something, we look out for each other because we’re all in the same kind of situation,” said the anonymous woman. “It’s like the one place that we can come where people don’t bother us, or kick us out, or call the cops on us. There’s not really many places we can go.”

Miss Martha

Martha Gery is an outreach worker with Milford Advocacy for the Homeless. But, around camp, she’s known as Miss Martha, and is seen as more of an angel than a helping hand.

“It’s a blessing honestly, because there are some days when it’s been a bad day, and we just know that we can depend on her,” said Candice.

Gery visits the camp most days; she can be heard yelling out ‘Hey guys, it’s me, Martha’ as she follows the trail into the woods. Residents say she doesn’t just bring compassion and respect when she comes around.

“We have people like Miss Martha here who are dedicated to coming up here and getting any kind of program she can find, along with the other workers at the drop in center. They’re dedicated to trying to help us,” said the anonymous woman.

For Gery, it’s a personal mission. She says she once had a family member who experienced homelessness, and almost died as a result. Gery also shared memories of helping a friend’s deceased daughter care for homeless individuals in Philadelphia.

“For me, it’s just being part of the community and making sure that every member of the community is taken care of. These are people in the community, and they’re often the lost souls,” said Gery. “Even though this is shocking, this is part of every community. Every community should be reaching out, and making sure that those who are in need are taken care of.”

Offering Help

Gery and other outreach workers regularly provide residents at the camp with the essentials; tents, food, propane canisters to keep warm, and connections to community resources. She says since the tent city started about four years ago, it’s only grown.

“Your next-door neighbor or my next-door neighbor are saying, ‘My rent went up by $300 this month, and we just can’t pay it.’ We’ve had people that were helping us last month that are receivers this month,” said Gery. “This community is, generally speaking, good people who just have a bad circumstance. They’ve experienced something or they’ve made choices, and it causes them to have to stay here.”

Now, as tent city residents are facing being forced out, Gery says the stakes are only raised. It’s a challenge that comes as Gery says she’s battling challenges of her own.

“I got laid off last week. So for me, I’m spending my time now going in and connecting with each one of them. I’m doing basically case management; ‘What do you think you’re going to do? How can we help you to do it?'” said Gery.

Preparing to Leave

Monday, Gery says she was alerted by Milford Police Department’s Behavioral Health Unit that the property was under new ownership, and was set to be cleared. When she told the residents at the camp, Gery says she was met with shock, confusion, and tears.

“I’m like, me personally, I know I didn’t do anything wrong,” said Johnson on Tuesday. “This right now is my home. So, somebody telling me that I have to leave, I don’t like it. But, I’m just trying to prepare myself as best as possible. I’m just taking it day by day, minute by minute really. I’m still trying to process everything.”

Like Johnson, Candice is also preparing to leave the camp.

“We don’t know where we’re going to go, because this is our last place that we could go. Now we have no idea where we’re going to go. So, it’s pretty emotional,” said Candice.  “I’m still racking my brain. So, really I’m just packing and getting rid of stuff.”

Dropping temperatures are top of mind for residents as they take stock of what options they have left.

“It’s horrible, because a lot of people are going to be forced out. I don’t know where they’re going to go, and people are going to be calling [the police] on them for trespassing. We have our stuff, and our buddy heaters. We can’t just turn them on on the sidewalk,” said the anonymous woman. “It’s so cold out at night. So cold. Like, there really… I don’t know what we’re going to do, honestly.”

Scrambling for Solutions

Now that residents at the camp know they must leave by January 14th, Gery is doing anything she can to help them with solutions. Problem number one, says Gery, helping the folks living at the camp figure out what they can bring with them, and what they must leave behind.

“People have incurred quite a bit of possessions, because it’s their home. So, they’re going to have to leave most of it behind, because they don’t have any place to take it,” said Gery.

Gery is also looking to the community for additional resources as the deadline is looming. She says she’s encouraging camp residents to take advantage of the services at Code Purple, while also looking for emergency funding.

“As an advocacy, we don’t have much money. But, we know that there are funds out there, and there are people willing to give. So, we’re trying to reach them,” said Gery.

Beyond that, Gery says a more permanent solution would be to build a centralized headquarters for Milford Advocacy for the Homeless. She says emergency funding could help build or renovate a building; or, community stakeholders could be kind enough to donate a building or property.

“That way, we can make sure that we can get to people and get the services to them. Brandywine [Counseling and Community Services’ drop in center] is open from 7 a.m. to 3p.m.  every day Monday through Friday. People who are working and live back here – there’s a lot of them – they can’t get any kind of service because they’re working,” said Gery.

Mayor Responds

Milford Mayor Archie Campbell says he’s also planning to figure out solutions for the tent city’s residents.

“I have to get in touch with people in the city, especially Council, because we have nothing in our city ordinance for the homeless at all. So, we have to kind of put our heads together and decide what we’re going to do about this,” said Mayor Campbell.

Mayor Campbell says he also hopes the residents will take advantage of community resources. He says he and the City Council are also looking toward Georgetown’s pallet village as an example.

“We’re using Georgetown as an example to see how that goes. But, they’re all backed up because of the electricity being hooked up to the homes. Once that gets done, we’ll look at that,” said Mayor Campbell.

Until then, Mayor Campbell says he’s “at a loss” as to where the folks currently living in the camp could go next.

“I’m sorry that the property was sold. But, there’s no guarantee that the property they would be putting their tents on is not going to be sold, because there are property and lots that the city is looking to sell,” said Mayor Campbell.

The mayor says he plans to put the topic on the agenda for the next City Council meeting on January 9th; just five days before tent city residents will have to leave.

Looking Ahead

As the clock is ticking, Gery says she’s doing as much as she can to prepare the folks she works with for the big move. But, she says, it takes a village; and that can’t be done without the community’s help.

Gery says anything will help; whether it’s an hour of your time or a dollar out of your wallet. Anyone interested in helping out can find more information by clicking here. You can also join Milford Advocacy for the Homeless’ group chat on Facebook to offer assistance or suggestions.

“There’s no fault here. There’s no one that’s not trying to do something,” said Gery. “So, I would just say even though it is shocking, and you may not be used to it, I’m not asking you to walk into a tent city. I’m just asking you to do your part.”