Monthly Archives: December 2006

There was a tent fire last night in a homeless camp near downtown Greensboro. One of the men who lived at the camp was seriously burned and also has inhalation injuries. He’s in the burn unit at Baptist Hospital. Above are some of the photos that I took at the site this afternoon.

The camp is in the woods on property owned by and across the street from Grace Community Church. (I’m a member of Grace.) The people who live at the camp are regular guests at Grace’s Wednesday night dinner for the homeless. Ironically, tomorrow night’s dinner will follow our annual observance of National Homeless Persons’ Memorial Day. This is shocking and surreal and sad.

If you’ve read or heard any of the media coverage (News & Record, WXII, WFMY, Fox8), then you may be under the impression that the homeless campers could simply have stayed at the shelter, just a half mile away. But there’s more to that story. And formerly homeless blogger Michael Brown has already posted about it. Judging from the first commenter to Michael’s post, some people don’t understand why anyone would choose a wooded camp site over a homeless shelter. Michael understood. I do, too. And there’s not always a choice. But that’s another post.