South Jersey preacher helps Tent City residents start the journey back indoors

[The Straight Story]

Tent City residents start the journey back indoors


Looking every bit his 69 years, Bill Robinson limped out of Camden's Tent City on Thursday, crossed a highway blocked off by police, and climbed aboard a tour bus from heaven.

"It's happening," he said, struggling to believe his own words. "It's something you fantasize about and hope it would happen, and all of a sudden - boom! - it's here. You're blessed."

In an extraordinary scene, thanks to the rapid response and fund-raising prowess of a South Jersey preacher, Robinson and about 50 other homeless people carried their worldly belongings out of the woods inside an I-676 exit ramp, where some have lived for several years.

Their first stop was a Mount Laurel hotel, where Room 228 was waiting for Robinson. He took off his shoes, unhooked the plastic brace on his leg, and flopped down on the plush mattress.

"Where's the remote?" he asked.

http://www.philly.com/philly/news/20100507_Tent_City_residents_start_the_journey_back_indoors.html?cmpid=41144277

[EFerrari]

1. God covering for HUD. Now, *that* is privatization. n/t