Nice to not see Trenton’s infamous outdoorsman
As the city’s Puerto Rican Parade streamed down South Broad St. then turned right onto East Front St. toward a stage that faced Mill Hill Park, it’s doubtful anyone noticed a small encampment near a closed parking garage.
Ron Doggett, an infamous resident living inside a tent, had become part of this capital city’s landscape. Doggett likely went unnoticed by Mayor Eric Jackson and Paul Perez who finished second in the 2014 mayoral election.
We met on that September day as Doggett unzipped a flap on his residence then peered out through a mesh lining that allowed air circulation and prevented insect invasion.
Doggett had lived in this spot for three years before city officials mercifully intervened in early January following several days of bone-chilling weather.
City Health Officer James Brownlee called Doggett’s removal a “win-win”.
“You had a guy that was out there in severe cold. We’re able to get him into housing with support services with it.”
The city has known about Doggett for “quite some time,” Brownlee noted.
Doggett has resisted help for a number of reasons due to “behavioral/mental issues.”
“The bottom line is the outreach teams, all the providers that work with us have been working with him on a regular basis in going over there,” Brownlee said.
The revitalization of Trenton requires engagement of the city’s homeless followed by their rescue. Three years seems beyond the limit of reason and understanding a person’s mental and emotional state.
Driving past Doggett’s living space produces questions about his whereabouts and current status. Pray that he has found adequate shelter, food, a place to shower, relax, and receives necessary care.
It’s great not to see his tent pressed against a chain link fence decorated with playing cards marked with names and words under the parking garage’s concrete facade.
Thank goodness, Ron Doggett has left the building.