Community Corner

Why Do People Live In The Woods?

A Look At The Homeless Who Live In The Woods Of Waterford And New London

In recent years, thanks to a bad economy, the number of homeless people has spiked, Cathy Zall, the executive director of the , said Tuesday.

The increase is largely people “who never thought they would be homeless,” she said. But there is a second group of homeless people in the area, a group that lives and survives in the woods of Waterford and New London, Zall said.

“Those are the chronically homeless,” she said. “That number will always be there.”

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Who Are They?

They live behind Waterford and in New London's Bates Woods, among other places, Zall said, and have for a long time. Most are dependent on drugs or alcohol or both, although there are other reasons they choose to live in the woods, she said.

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Some are veterans whose Post Traumatic Stress Disorder makes them reluctant to spend time in a crowded shelter, Zall said. Others just prefer to be by themselves, or do not want to give up drinking or smoking for the night, Zall said.

“I’m not going to no shelter,” said a formerly homeless man who is now living in an apartment, but said he lived in the woods for three years. “You can’t smoke a cigarette by 9 o’clock, you have to leave by 6 (a.m.)? I ain’t doing that because at 9:01 (p.m.) I want a cigarette, at 9:02 I want to drink a beer. Plus you got all those people, crazy.”

The man asked not to be identified.

How Do They Live?

Patch walked into the woods on Wednesday and saw a variety of tents and an abandoned shack filled with blankets and empty beer and liquor bottles.

Zall said many make money by either panhandling or collecting cans, while some receive Social Security or veterans’ benefits. They stay warm by covering themselves in blankets, and even have portable DVD players out there, the formerly homeless man said.

“I can never condone what they are doing, they are trespassing,” Zall said. “But I do have to admire their ingenuity.”

Efforts To Help

Zall will go into the woods with others and try to bring these people to a shelter. Many of them are reluctant to go, she said.

However, there are new efforts by the federal government to house homeless veterans, Zall said. When homeless veterans hear about going into a crowded shelter, they refuse, but when they hear about getting a voucher for an apartment, they are much more likely to go, she said.

Still, many remain in the woods, content with their lifestyles, she said. It is just a certain type of person, she said.

“They are loners,” she said. 


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