Christine Hochkeppel

Picture Stories: Camp Runamuck

This is a developing picture story about life under the Washington Bridge in East Providence. About 30 homeless people from all walks of life have moved their "tent city" from Providence to a new site in East Providence. They moved when the R.I. Department of Transportation informed them that the bridge they were previously living under was scheduled to be demolished. They have resided under the Washington Bridge for over two weeks, but the state recently filed a complaint against the camp because they are trespassing on state property. Many of the residents say they have no intension of moving.

Barbara Kalil started growing some tomato seedlings outside her and her fiance, John Freitas's, tent.
   
Barbara Kalil, 50, settles into her new space underneath the Washington Bridge in East Providence. "I try to make things homey. Home is where ever you are." Kalil said while placing pink flamingo yard decorations outside the entrance to her tent.
   
John Freitas, 55, the elected chief of Camp Runamuck, says the tent city is like any other community and wants to cooperate with the city. "Don't tell us where we can't go. Tell us where we can go. Rhode Island was founded on the principle that the unwanted people of the colonies could find a place to live." Freitas is currently incarcerated for failing to register as a level three sex offender. A handful of the camp's long-standing members have taken on some of his leadership roles in his absence.
     
  
Ralph Esposito III, who shares a tent with his father, cleans out the bedding in an effort to prevent rodent and pest infestation. He and his father were particularly upset about Freitas's latest arrest and said that the camp has lost donors over the controversy. "We don't condone sex offenders." Esposito said.
   
Camp Runamuck's row boat, Leaky Lena II, was used to transport some items from their former camp site at South Water Street in Providence to their new home under Washington Bridge in East Providence.
  
Rachell Shaw (left), 22, and Sandy Peterson, 23, hang out on the back of a donor's pickup truck while an East Providence police officer surveys the scene.
     
  
Ed Therrien, 52, the cook for Camp Runamuck, organizes the kitchen area on Thursday, July 30, 2009.
   
Camp Runamuck resident Mike MacEwen, 35, fishes the stretch of the Seekonk River that passes under the Washington Bridge. A recent donation to the tent city of a tackle box and fishing rods has more members of the community dropping in lines.
   
Officers from the R.I. Sheriff's Department deliver hearing notices to Camp Runamuck residents Timothy Webb (far left) and Norman Trank (far right) on Thursday afternoon. Webb and Trank have been partners for 7 years. Webb is a cosmetologist and Trank is a master chef, both are now unemployed. "This is only temporary." Webb said of the situation.
     
  
Rachell Shaw, 22, sits in a chair outside her tent under the Washington Bridge. She became homeless after she broke her hand and couldn't work her waitressing job anymore. "I don't expect nothing from nobody. I'm the only one who can get myself out of my situation."