HUFFINGTON
08.19.12
TAMPA’S MAVERICK COP
days a week for a landscaping business, a job Donaldson helped him
get, and says he hasn’t touched
drugs and alcohol in several years.
He’s also dating someone
again. “I have an aspect of life I
never thought I’d have again,” he
said, “and that’s love.” Donaldson
looked at him quizzically. “You
finally shaved off that goatee.” He
and Swiger laughed about the old
jailhouse look. At 45, Swiger insisted he’d finally turned his life
around, maybe for good this time.
He said that for the first time
since he was 14, he was on track
to make it through a full year
without getting arrested.
IN THE PAST SEVERAL YEARS,
more than 250 cities around the
United States have passed ordinances against panhandling,
camping without a license, sleeping outside, drinking in public, sitting on the sidewalk, or some combination of the above. Advocates
refer to this as the criminalization of homelessness. These laws
Vale rie,
Wilber’s
roommate,
is pictured
here with
her two dogs.