Life In The Woods

Living in Tents Photo Gallery

SEBRING - Tim Fanning gets up early every weekday morning, walks along a sandy path to where his bike is parked, then rides over to Labor Finders, 3735 Kenilworth Blvd.

It's first-come, first-served at the temporary employment agency, so Fanning, 43, gets there by 4 a.m. Those who show up at 7 a.m. usually don't get jobs.

Day laborers don't stand in line, there's no need. They mentally keep track of who came before them.

"It's the honor system," said Johnny Malone, 40.

And at the end of every day, they will have made $46, a Labor Finders van will bring them back to Kenilworth, and Fanning and Malone will head home.

But Fanning and Malone are homeless men. They live in the woods behind Labor Finders. And now, that's being taken away from them.

Yesterday, said Fanning, a sergeant from the sheriff's office showed up with the landowner. They were told they were trespassing, and to leave the land immediately.

Neither Malone nor Fanning got a job today at Labor Finders on Thursday, so by noon, Malone had packed up his camp.

"I've been there about seven months," Malone said. How did Malone know the camp was there?

"Everybody knows about it." Then he added, "But no one talks about it."

Homeless Population

Richard Reinhardt, executive director for Highlands County Coalition for the Homeless, and a group of volunteers conducted a homeless census two weeks ago. Last year, there were 519. This year, Highlands County is at about 700, said Reinhardt.

Valerie Gilchrist, president of the DeSoto County Homeless Coalition, counted just over 630 individuals, Reinhardt said. Hardee has an estimated 850.

"BTW (by the way), did you know that one of those (homeless men) living over by the school was once a very successful physician?" Reinhardt said on a highlandstoday.com blog. The man, who has probably moved on by now, is a drifter, and often stops in Sebring when visiting a friend up north. He was a substance abuser who eventually lost his license to practice medicine, Reinhardt said.

The homeless survey team was aware of the men in the woods, Reinhardt said. There are about nine living in six tents, Fanning said.

"We went over there and looked for them. but we didn't find them," Reinhardt said. "A lot of them are there because they can't, or they won't, go back to the mission." The New Testament Church & Mission is located on Lemon Avenue in downtown Sebring, but homeless men can stay only for a few days.

"We're very limited on where they can stay," Reinhardt said. "A lot of the (state) money has gone to urban settings, where they're more visible."

"We have partnered with another local non-profit organization that will enable us to open a new shelter program in Highlands County. I do not want to let too much out of the bag, but this is a multi-unit facility that will become the first step in solving our homeless issues," Reinhardt said.

In The Woods

Fanning kept repeating, over a two-hour period, that's he's not interested in handouts.

On Wednesday, Fanning got a demolition job at Sebring Fire Department, using a sledge hammer to knock out walls. He specializes in the building trades, pouring concrete, wiring electricity and plumbing.

If he could get a full time job and live in a house, he would, Fanning said. Would the other homeless men like permanent housing? Some would, some wouldn't, he said frankly. They like living in the woods.

Shellie Cruz, the branch manager at Labor Finders, said Fanning is a hard worker. "When we send him out on jobs, people request for him to come back."

Some of the homeless, she said, are in a rut. They've lost their cars too, and since Highlands County has no public transportation, they have no way to get to work. That's why Fanning, Malone and the others camp in the woods behind Labor Finders. It's only a two block walk or bike ride to work.

Six homeless men were contacted on Thursday morning. All were polite, none seemed dangerous. There were lots of beer bottles littered around the camps, and Fanning frankly admitted to having an alcohol problem, but he said he doesn't take drugs.

A few people know about the homeless camp, Fanning said. One nearby homeowner has acted as a sentry for them. Neighborhood kids bring them leftover food.

The farmer who owned the land knew they were there, Fanning said. "He said we could be there until he sells."

He's not sure what happened, but he heard the farmer went to a nursing home, and the daughter sold the land. Fanning's story is impossible to verify, since he doesn't know the names of the landowners.

Fanning tells a different story than Capt. Randy LaBelle of the Highlands County Sheriff's Office.

Fanning said the landowner, a farmer, gave them permission two years ago to stay on the land.

LaBelle said the landowner, whose name he did not know while he was on the phone, hired someone to clear the land.

"The land looks bad, and I wanted it looking presentable, because it's for sale," said Jerry Entel, the landowner, of Lake Placid. He would not confirm Fanning's story, that he was invited to stay on the land.

"He is having it bushhogged," LaBelle said. "So the guy out there doing the clearing came across propane tanks and tents, stopped what was he was doing, and contacted the landowner. The landowner requested the sheriff's office go with him." Sgt. Chris Smith witnessed the landowner give the men a trespass warning.

"They were offered refuge, they were told we could take them to the mission, but they declined that offer. There's a lot of alcohol out there, and at the mission they can't have alcohol at the mission," LaBelle said.

Law enforcement officers are aware that homeless people live in the woods, Fanning said. "We've had friends die back there. The sheriff's office came and took them away."

He was once in trouble with Highlands County, and owed about $400 worth of fines.

"I told the judge, I don't have no money," Fanning said. "He came out here and looked around, Judge Anthony Ritenour, and he squashed the whole thing."

Because Fanning was homeless, Ritenour said he reduced some fines, put off others, and gave Fanning some time.

"His story seemed believable," Ritenour said. The homeless don't often cause problems in the criminal justice system.

"Nothing major, from the ones that I've known were homeless," the judge said.

But Fanning is worried about his campsite.

"I don't want to go to jail for something stupid," he said. He's hoping that the landowner or the sheriff will give the homeless men more time, maybe 30 days.

Malone and a friend found a storage unit on Kenilworth for $30 a month. At least they can store their pots and pans and blankets, which are needed on a cold night, and blue tarps, which ward off the wind. As for Fanning, he doesn't know what to do. If he strikes camp, where will he store his stuff, how will he carry it out of the woods, and how will he transport it to somewhere he can store it?

"Got a garage?" he asks.