Christmas in the tent in the woods
Day after tomorrow is Christmas. Families, even the poorest, will gather together in their homes, share a meal, and exchange gifts.
Steve Folster’s home, however, is still a tent in the woods in Chester County, South Carolina. He has been living there ever since the sex offender registration office at the sheriff’s department told him he had to leave his home due to a complaint that the home was a little bit inside the 1,000 foot restricted zone around a daycare center.
Lila, his wife, gave him his gift a couple of days early. She made him a 
pair of warm socks in the hopes of helping keep him warm in the cold and the damp.
I asked Lila how Steve was holding up since he was getting only a fraction of the oxygen therapy that his doctor has ordered for him. This is her reply:
He is pretty worn out, gets short of breath and dizzy more and more now, and he looks tired all the time. He is in a lot of pain and continues to lose weight. I am hoping that something happens soon so that he can come home and stay where I can keep an eye on him.
We hope with Lila that he will be allowed to return home where he will receive the medical care that his condition requires. The doctor’s statement putting forth those requirements is in the hands of someone at the state registration office, and he is waiting for the opinion of his supervisor.
In the meantime, Steve sits in his tent, wearing his new socks, and Lila sits in her house worrying about him.
And slightly more than 24 hours from now is Christmas Day.
What’s really sad is these premise laws have been shown time and time again to do absolutely nothing for public safety. As far as I can tell, which is echoed by this article, these premise laws are nothing more then hate laws and have no place in today’s world.
The premise laws are just to make the people feel safer, just like they have TSA in airports. Voters are sold these Unconstitutional laws in guise of protecting them, but in reality they make them more and more dependent on the government.
This is sickening. No one should have to be “allowed” to go to THEIR home. If I were in this situation (and yes, I would do it, I’m not just saying I would), I would go right back to my home, let the probation/cops come arrest me, and then make one helluva show in the court room for all the little court “news’ reporters to take back to their little newspapers and news stations (cuz you know this would make news) and try to explain how this is the “greatest country in the world” that would allow people to be homeless due to a SPECIFIED type of crime!! The judge would have to talk OVER ME while I make sure every word I had to say to this “justice/court” system got said and recorded in the court.
Enough is enough!!! Why isn’t anyone in fear of the thugs that do drive by shootings and always MISS their intended targets, killing innocent people in their homes?? Why aren’t we keeping drunk drivers who get their licenses back to not live/drive near schools, parks and playgrounds? Why don’t we take debit cards away from people who have robbed convenience stores as it’s pretty obvious that the site of MONEY is their “dynamic risk factor” (that dumb term they use in SO treatment groups).
OMG!! I…….I seriously can’t deal with this. This type of situation (and there are hundred…thousands of them) makes me want to tell my probation officer how many ways to Saturday to go F herself.
As a country, we should be ashamed.
I was once made homeless by the registration laws when I went through a bad divorce, lost Job, and residence. I moved in with my mother in a mobile home park where she owned the home and paid a monthly lot rent, several months later her health deteriorated and I became her care giver. After living with her for two years a new property manager took over and got the sheriffs department to declare me evicted and no longer to be allowed on the property. Therefore I went homeless and was residing under a bridge and staying in contact with city P. D. Every Friday. Needless to say several months later the same deputy signed a warrant on me for failure to register even though I was in contact with city S.O.R. officer. Court finds me guilty as a “whole” no specific reason and release me to be homeless once again. Laws of protecting and padding their pockets. Is my understanding of this nonsense here in the great United States of America state of Arkansas!