Christopher Occhicone photographed the residents of Tent City in Lakewood, New Jersey:
Tent City … has been home to up to 100 residents for the past 7 years. Local residents have been calling for the closure of the camp since it began. The town succeeded in forcing out most of the residents by August 2014. Some were offered one year of rent-free housing in neighboring towns. Others were given $3,000 in cash to agree to leave town. The remainder were unable to accept either offer because of outstanding arrest warrants.
The aim of my work was to provide an honest look at life inside the camp and thus better inform policy (being decided outside the camp). I wanted to make a document that can be used as a reference for people wanting to address the issue of homelessness.
The project was screened at Visa Pour L’image. See more of Occhicone’s work here.
The Dish 