There's a homeless guy living in my backyard

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Diana Hignutt

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Yeah, you heard me right.

All summer long I had noticed this old tarp propped up in the woods behind my house, a little in back of a house down the street. They have lots of kids, so I assumed they had built a little fort in the woods. Well, I was talking to my next door neighbor and learned that a homeless guy had been living there. They found out when they were taking some trees down. One of the trees fell on the tarp, and they heard a scream. Sure enough, they discovered that someone was living there. Authorities took him to a hospital. He's fine. However, last week I was dragging some tree limbs to the back of my yard to throw in the pile I have back there. Someone had rearranged the pile to form a little enclosure which one could easily throw a tarp over and make a very passable little house.

I'm kinda creeped out and concerned at the same time. I haven't seen any signs of current activity there. What should I do?
 

Ol' Fashioned Girl

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I'd make arrangements to have the tree limbs cleaned up/hauled off and , if I saw the guy living in it (my guess is, that's not likely), I'd offer to get him in touch with a shelter/aid group... but I wouldn't be alone when I did it.
 

alleycat

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So that's where William Haskins went.
 

eldragon

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I'm a bleeding heart so I'd leave him alone and as long as he left me alone. Sometimes I'd leave him bags of food and a blanket or two, though.

Homeless shelters? Please.
 

PeeDee

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I like it under these branches, I have a clear view into all your windows with minimal binocular assistance.

...

What you're supposed to do is let your children play freely in the forest. They will come upon the grizzled old and scary man living in the tent and in their childlike innocence will speak to him and he will tell them things about this world and other worlds.

They will not believe him, and he will take their hands and they will go on a stunning journey to another world where magic is real and they can prove themselves good people.

Don't worry, though, it'll be a year to them, but they'll return five minutes later. So they'll be back for dinner. Promise.
 

BottomlessCup

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Be careful. He could be a hobo.

You don't want to get mixed-up with the hobos. At least, not until the end of The Great Hobo War.

Spray paint a purple top hat on the side of your garage. He'll move along.
 

PeeDee

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But what if he's on the other side? What if he's a street people?
 

alleycat

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Call the police.

I'm sorry if the guy has mental problems or is just down on his luck, but someone's backyard isn't the right place for him to live. Especially with kids around.
 

PeeDee

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I suspect the police would just say something like "C'mon, ye laze bastard, move 'long."

I would probably call the homeless shelter itself, see if they can send someone to talk to him. I've done that before. Barring that, if you can find a Catholic Charities in your area, they're good about that too. At least, the one here is.
 

Diana Hignutt

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The thing is, I haven't actually seen him living there. I'm guessing he comes in late and leaves early...
 

SpookyWriter

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Diana Hignutt said:
The thing is, I haven't actually seen him living there. I'm guessing he comes in late and leaves early...
A day job? Maybe he's saving up for a condo on the gulf?
 

PeeDee

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Maybe he's a starving writer, suffering for his art!
 

kikazaru

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While he may very well be harmless, often people are homeless because they have psychiatric issues and/or problems with substance abuse, which can make them very unpredictable. Not to mention that he could set something on fire and he is most likely using your property as a toilet.

As sorry as you are for the guy, he should not be living in your yard - especially if there are children about. Phone your nearest homeless shelter - they should be able to tell you who to contact and what your best course of action should be.
 

SpookyWriter

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Why is everyone trying to evict me? I'm harmless.

Visit this site for more pics and support:

Paul.gif
 
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SpookyWriter

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PeeDee said:
What a really cool site.
Isn't it. Weird how homeless folks can make an artist money. Only in America can we benefit from less fortunate people. :D
 

PattiTheWicked

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I was always fascinated by the movie version of The Most Dangerous Game, which had Ice-T as a homeless guy recruited to be the prey.

Ice-T kicked Garey Busey's a$$. It was awesome.

Maybe Ice-T is living under your bushes.
 

deacon

Diana Hignutt said:
The thing is, I haven't actually seen him living there. I'm guessing he comes in late and leaves early...

well, at least he's considerate, and not making a nuisance of himself. give him some food and he can guard your property at night. win win. :)
 

Sheryl Nantus

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I would definitely notify the authorities and see what their take is on it - they may suggest just leaving him there and allowing social organizations to drop by and check on him to make sure he's fine or they may want to remove him, depending on the political winds a-blowing in that area.

Either way, I would *not* allow your children to befriend him unless it's under adult supervision. He may "just" be homeless or he may be a drug addict, an alcoholic or possibly mentally ill and may be dangerous to your children. Even if he's "just" homeless he may see an opportunity to gain entrance to your home when you're not there and help himself to a few goodies.
 

SpookyWriter

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deacon said:
lord, what's happened to our youth? forgive them for they know not sh!t. :D
He's Irish. What'd you expect? Besides that's the typical answer to the British question. :roll:
 
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