Donald Montgomery spends most of his day waiting for the sweltering Texas heat to subside. Then, in the evenings, he springs into action as a volunteer medic at the state-sanctioned homeless camp where he lives. Equipped with his small jump kit and first responder training, Montgomery witnesses a broad range of suffering in the camp “from skin rashes to actual death”. Earlier this month, two lifeless bodies were discovered. Montgomery suspects drugs were at fault.
“Some of these folks will never, ever come out of here,” he said. “Some of these folks, like me, are bound and determined to do nothing but [get out].”
The campsite is tucked away from the rest of Austin, but during the coronavirus pandemic, people living on the street have become more visible.