This heartbreaking photo essay just won a Pulitzer Prize
Strider Wolf was born poor in rural Maine. When he was two, his mother's raging boyfriend beat him nearly to death. He managed to pull through, ending up in the care of his grandparents who became homeless trying to provide for Strider and his younger brother, Gallagher.
After two years of not paying the rent the landlord gave the family 30 days to pack their things and leave. On the night of the eviction Strider's grandparents move their possessions into a storage space.
On the night of the eviction, Lanette and her son's fiancée Ashly take a break from packing up the family's belongings. As the night goes on it becomes clear that they are not going to be able to take all of their possessions with them.
With nowhere else to go, the Grants told the boys they were going camping and the family of four squeezed into the 24-foot camper with their cat and two dogs
After moving into a campground, Strider struggles as he carries gallons of water filled from a spigot to the camper.
Strider looks for Lanette with a flower behind his back to apologize after she yelled at him for wetting the bed. His therapist has explained that his bed-wetting is a response to trauma, either the unfolding upset in their lives, or some resurrecting memory. Lanette knows this, but their living situation is starting to take a toll on her patience
Lanette often laments that she and Larry aren't able to be grandparents to Strider and Gallagher because they have to play the role of Mom and Dad, enforcing rules and making sure they are provided for.
According to the state, living in a campground means they no longer have a house payment, because of this, their food stamps have been cut by a hundred dollars.
Often left to their own devices, Strider and Gallagher played on an abandoned Ford at twilight. Strider holds a broken automotive hose to his eyes like a pair of binoculars and asks, "What's on the moon?"
During Strider's sixth birthday party, Lanette and her mother make the 15 minute drive to Walmart to pick up his cake. Having been gone over two hours, a disappointed Strider sits beside Larry and waits for them to return to begin his party.
During this unsettling time for the family, Strider wanders into his old bedroom and looks around at many of his belongings that will not make the next move and will be left behind.
After living in several campgrounds over the summer, the Grants appear in Maine District Court to try to retrieve their belongings from the mobile home. Without a lawyer, the Grants have few options for recourse against their former landlord. The Grants were only allowed to reclaim a few personal possessions.
Gallagher cools off with a drink as Larry and Lanette scramble to pack by the light of their car headlights as the midnight eviction deadline inches closer. The landlord has cut the power and put locks on the electrical boxes in an attempt to force them off the property.
After months of searching for a new place to live, the Grants finally find a home they can afford on Craigslist in Lisbon, Maine. Anna Cunningham arrives to the family's new home with a donation of beds for the boys. Lanette grabs her and pulls her in for a grateful hug.
On the first morning, Strider plays in the backyard of his new home, an old rectory in Lisbon, Maine. The yard was fenced and tucked into a neighborhood, so different from the woods he called home.
Strider, who takes multiple medications resulting from his early childhood abuse, gets his morning meds from Lannette in their new home. "We haven't been here 24 hours, and I'm tired already," Lanette said.
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