KALAMAZOO, MI -- Each person who was a part of protests in Bronson Park has a reason for sleeping outside.

Exactly a month after protests began in Bronson Park, the occupation ended by police action on Sept. 19, when 14 were arrested including a Kalamazoo city commissioner.

The movement included an estimated 150-200 people living in more than 100 tents at three locations around Kalamazoo. It's difficult to pin the cause of their homelessness to one reason, though some factors are common.

Some who camped in the park have jobs but cannot make rent. Some are disabled or saddled with costly medical bills, while others are trying to overcome substance abuse, mental health conditions or the consequences of their own bad choices. But, at the end of the day, whether you have a roof to sleep under hinges on having enough money to pay the bills.

From the beginning, City Manager Jim Ritsema said campers in Bronson Park were violating the law. Homeless people, some seeking a place to stay rather than protesting, were told to pack up tents at Bronson Park and Cedar Street by 7 p.m. Tuesday, Sept. 18.

Most said they have no place to go but cleared out anyway, scattering across the city. Those who refused to leave were arrested after police arrived at the downtown park just before 7 a.m. Wednesday morning.

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Kalamazoo police hand out resource information and speak to the homeless demonstrating in Bronson Park, Thursday, Aug. 30, 2018. (Daniel Vasta | MLive.com)

There were more than 4,636 people in Kalamazoo County who experienced homelessness at some point last year, including those living on the streets or in emergency shelters and people forced to live with friends or family due to a housing crisis, according to the annual count conducted in 2017 by Kalamazoo County service providers.

According to an annual report from the Michigan State Housing Development Authority, this figure decreased from 5,205 in 2016, and has been on a steady downward trend since 2014.

An annual point-in-time count, take on one night in January, reported 567 people were homeless at the start of the year. Local experts said that number increases in warmer months.

United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region CEO Chris Sargent said preventing homelessness can't happen without an understanding of what individuals face.

"We've got to understand what people are going through, how they are living their lives and what supports they really need," Sargent said. "We've got to listen to them because usually people in those situations feel like no one is listening ... If we don't get to that shared understanding we'll never make any progress."

While the community at large debated whether the protest should remain in Bronson Park, those experiencing it themselves have asked their fellow residents to come talk with them directly.

Here's what they had to say.

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McKayla Ford, 23, sits at a picnic table near the West Cedar Street encampment in Kalamazoo, Sept. 12, 2018. Ford recently lost her only source of income two weeks ago when she had an emergency surgery. (Daniel Vasta | MLive.com)

Drug addiction, recovery and medical emergencies

McKayla Ford, 23, said everything in her life has crumbled.

Ford has lived in Kalamazoo for two months. She was recovering from addiction at a Meridian Health facility in Detroit before being put on a bus to Abigail's Place, a women's substance abuse shelter in Kalamazoo.

Last week, she was sleeping in a tent at outside a city-owned building on Cedar Street.

Ford left Abigail's Place for a "toxic relationship" with an ex-boyfriend in White Pigeon, her hometown. After two days, she realized her mistake and returned to Kalamazoo.

She stayed at the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission for a few weeks but left after developing a skin infection that she believes was caused by unsanitary conditions at the shelter. She complained of bedbugs, headlice and cockroaches in the women's shelter.

"It was just nasty and traumatizing," Ford said. "I felt like a dog, I felt like an animal and I was just trying to build. Instead I was treated like I wasn't worth anything. (I was) sleeping on the floor with bugs."

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Daniel Vasta | MLive.com

Ford gained a job at a Comfort Inn but didn't make enough money to afford an apartment, so she started sleeping in Bronson Park. She earned $400 a month.

A medical emergency cut off her only source of revenue. Ford's appendix was removed a few weeks ago.

Ford feared another infection while recovering from surgery at the Gospel Mission. She camped at Cedar Street while working to find shelter.

Ford ran her hands through her short hair while talking to reporters near her tent. The worst part is feeling dirty, she said, to wear stinking clothes and sit in the heat.

Ford is running low on hope. She is mentally and physically drained, making her search for stability a seemingly insurmountable task.

"I know some people don't want to work, but I do," she said. "All I want to do is work and have my home."

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McKayla Ford, 23, sits at a picnic table near the West Cedar Street encampment in Kalamazoo, Sept. 12, 2018. Ford recently lost her only source of income two weeks ago when she had an emergency surgery. (Daniel Vasta | MLive.com)

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David Berard at his tent in the Bronson Park encampment in Kalamazoo, Sept. 12, 2018. Berard is a former welder who is now unable to work due to a hernia caused in surgery. (Daniel Vasta | MLive.com)

Disability, eviction and poverty

David Berard and Sylvia Hart started living on the street two months ago when a roommate on their lease left unexpectedly.

They haven't been able to find affordable housing since.

Berard, 55, was a self-employed welder. The couple has lived in Kalamazoo for almost four years, staying after their truck broke down while Berard chased contracting jobs across the country.

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David Berard lifts his shirt to reveal a severe hernia that prevents him from working, at the Bronson Park encampment in Kalamazoo, Sept. 12, 2018. Berard is a former welder who is now unable to work due to a hernia caused in a former surgery. (Daniel Vasta | MLive.com)

A hernia caused during surgery to remove his appendix has left him unable to work. His stomach bulges, organs hang low on his left side where they through a weakened abdominal wall.

Berard said he's qualified for welding jobs, but companies won't risk hiring him because he's an insurance liability. He and Hart would go to live at the Gospel Mission, but his medication was stolen there before.

He gains $800 a month in disability benefits, but that's not enough to support the couple.

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Sylvia Hart holds her head in her tent at the Bronson Park encampment in Kalamazoo, Sept. 12, 2018. Hart and her partner David Berard became homeless two months ago when a former roommate left their lease unexpectedly. (Daniel Vasta | MLive.com)

Hart, 56, doesn't work so she can take care of Berard and prevent his hernia from getting worse.

"This is a wonderful city, I love this place, the rent is just too high for people on disability," Bernhard said. "They more cater I think to the college kids and that makes sense, to me that's a smart business choice, but they should take care of the sick and people who can't afford the rent."

Berard would rather work than be on disability. He tries to scrap metal and pick up cans when he can, but the money simply isn't enough.

"You're never going to get ahead (on disability benefits), not ever," Berard said. "They keep you below poverty, and that's that."

The couple slept in Bronson Park until they were evicted by police on Sept. 18.

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Patrick White poses for a portrait at the Bronson Park encampment in Kalamazoo, Mich. on Monday, Sept. 17, 2018. (Joel Bissell | MLive.com)

A lifetime of homelessness

Patrick White, 43, took a winding road from Kalamazoo across the country and back again, but he found purpose in Bronson Park after a lifetime of mistakes.

People at the camp call him "O.G.," one of few connections he maintains from his time as a member of the Gangster Disciples. His membership in the gang as a teen sent him to federal jail for seven felonies related to violence and weapons.

He's been functionally homeless since 2002, but usually was able to find odd jobs and a friend's bed to sleep on. White from Kalamazoo to Seattle and later to Ohio, where he found work remodeling houses.

The death of his mother, and birth of twin children inspired him to finally change his life.

White returned to Kalamazoo to be with his mother before she died of cancer in 2014. He found work at Taco Bell franchise locations across the county, but couldn't afford housing while making around $600 each month.

People can choose to put all their money into a house and have nothing left to fill it with, White said, or stay in a shelter and save up.

"But they don't, they take their money on the first (of the month) and go to the dope man," he said. "By next week they're broke."

White doesn't stay in the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission because it reminds him of jail. He was willing to risk being incarcerated again last Wednesday, and was arrested for refusing to leave Bronson Park.

Police established a perimeter around the park after issuing citations for violating ordinances. Ten people who stayed were arrested and released on a personal recognizance bond.

White said the protest was keeping him peaceful. He said he was called by God to keep the encampment safe.

"As long as I have a roof over my head, I'm good," White said.

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Joseph Penninger, 38, plays a friend's guitar in his tent at the West Cedar Street encampment in Kalamazoo, Sept. 13, 2018. Penninger suffers from a brain tumor and is expecting 5-9 months to live. (Daniel Vasta | MLive.com)

Heroin, unemployment and redemption

Joseph Penninger, 38, is waiting to die.

Penninger described himself as a horrible husband and father, more focused on work than family. He helped open restaurants across the globe, learning multiple languages along the way, but made time for little else.

Tired of being neglected, his wife took his children and left. Penninger began to spiral into heroin addiction.

"People are homeless for a reason, it's not that they don't try," Penninger said. "Some of them, yeah, some want to do a bunch of dope. But some of them who do drugs go out and hustle every day, they do their job."

In January, he was diagnosed with an inoperable brain tumor. Doctors believe Penninger has less than a year to live.

After his diagnosis, Penninger lost his job as a CNC machinist in Kalamazoo and then lost his house.

He was living at the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission and said he has been clean for a few months.

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Joseph Penninger, 38, cuts the filter off his cigarette in his tent at the West Cedar Street encampment in Kalamazoo, Sept. 13, 2018. Penninger suffers from a brain tumor and is expecting 5-9 months to live. (Daniel Vasta | MLive.com)

Penninger was living in a recreational vehicle until the battery died. Home was a spacious tent on Cedar Street, but he was ready to find another place to camp before the city decided to clear the encampents.

His main reason for staying was to provide help to people living outside.

Penninger worked with churches to provide equipment and food donations, recovered stolen bikes and tried to keep the Cedar Street camp clean before it was evacuated by the city of Kalamazoo.

After neglecting his family, Penninger is trying to put others first.

"It's hard to care anymore, nobody cares about us," Penninger said. "I tell them people all the time, if you want the community to give something to you, then why don't you give something to them. Pick up your area, don't let it look like trash. Have some pride in who you are."

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George Griffin at the Bronson Park encampment in Kalamazoo, Sept. 12, 2018. Griffin grew up experiencing homelessness and is currently struggling to find the funds to pay the deposit on a Section 8 housing voucher. (Daniel Vasta | MLive.com)

Chronic homelessness

George Griffin, a lifetime Kalamazoo resident, has been homeless since he was a child.

He's held jobs, including a general assembly position at Summit Polymers Inc. Most homeless people are somewhat entrepreneurial, he said, traveling around town working odd jobs to make money.

But drug tests prevent many from holding a stable job, including Griffin.

Griffin's last job was at Little Caesar's Pizza on North Park Street. Casual racism about customers in the Northside neighborhood from white managers who lived in Portage caused him to quit.

"You have to take it, because what are you going to do?" Griffin said. "After a while I couldn't take it anymore. I just left."

Griffin is in the process of receiving a Section 8 housing voucher but needs to pay a $640 security deposit for the apartment first.

He been running around town, but hasn't been able to find a government agency, social service organization or church to help him pay it. Red tape and bureaucracy are the biggest barriers holding people back from services, he said.

Griffin doesn't want to commit a crime to get enough money to pay for the deposit. But he's resorted to crime to survive before.

He was charged with a felony for larceny from a building in June, one of several crimes on his record.

Griffin wasn't part of the protest. He's quick to say that he doesn't support the direction it has gone, though he has friends in the encampment.

Griffin said a negotiation session he attended between demonstrators and the city of Kalamazoo was full of "sob stories."

Though he agrees with protesters that staff at the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission sometimes ban people for minor issues, but overall said the Gospel Mission and Ministry with Community are extremely helpful.

"They help too many people to be called corrupt," Griffin said.

The Gospel Mission announced bans on guests will be lifted after complaints were raised. Some of the protest group moved there after Bronson Park was evacuated.

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Todd Price and Jacqueline Shedrow at the West Cedar Street encampment in Kalamazoo, Sept. 13, 2018. Price lost his home in a flood, and Shedrow suffers from multiple sclerosis. Price began caring for Shedrow after meeting at the Ministry with Community. (Daniel Vasta | MLive.com)

Disabilities and displacement

Todd Price and Jacqueline Shedrow rented an apartment on Sprinkle Road until historic flooding at the end of February forced them out.

Their landlord paid to set up the couple in a hotel, but stopped making payments after two weeks. The United Way of the Battle Creek and Kalamazoo Region provided shelter until June.

Shedrow, 43, has multiple sclerosis and is bound to a wheelchair. The condition caused her to quit her job as a gas station attendant in South Haven, then her long-time boyfriend kicked her out.

Price, 60, has collected social security disability support since 1976. A motorcycle crash left him paralyzed on his left side for five years and fractured his skull.

Shedrow said she isn't able to stay at the Kalamazoo Gospel Mission because she is a liability. She met Price at Ministry with Community and he began taking care of her since.

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Todd Price at the West Cedar Street encampment in Kalamazoo, Sept. 13, 2018. Price was a victim of severe flooding in February and lost his home. (Daniel Vasta | MLive.com)

Shedrow moved into a nursing home before Disability Network Southwest Michigan set her up with the unit on Sprinkle Road last July. Price moved in shortly afterward.

Since the flood, Shedrow and Price started living in Bronson Park. They moved to Cedar Street after the space was provided by the city of Kalamazoo.

They receive around $1,600 a month in disability benefits.

Everyone is homeless for a different reason, Price said, and some people choose the lifestyle. He is eager to find a new place to live, but hasn't been able to find anything affordable.

"I'm here because I have a reason, I was flooded out," Price said. "This is not the thing I do."

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Accident, unemployment, addiction

Daniel Johnson, 36, started using opiates to treat injuries caused from an accident at work.

Eleven years ago, a tree landed on him while working for a forestry service. The accident seriously damaged his right ankle but chose to keep working rather than take workers' compensation payments.

"'I'll be better working somewhere, anywhere than being on disability,' I thought, I'd rather work," Johnson said. "Now here I am, a heroin addict. I'm too busy trying to support my habit every day."

Johnson was married with twins and a house on a lake. An all-consuming addiction to over the counter drugs like OxyContin and Percocet caused his wife to divorce him.

Johnson lost his family and health insurance, which led him to heroin. He held a series of jobs, but couldn't stay sober.

"(Heroin) was the cheapest thing I could do," Johnson said. "I was sick without the pills. I would get a job and keep it as long as I could but if I was sick I couldn't go to work. I gave up trying to go to work if I was sick."

Johnson knows that his addiction is keeping him from changing his life. Without insurance, he can't go to a methadone clinic.

Johnson is a Homer native. He came to Kalamazoo from Battle Creek three years ago after a girlfriend joined the Kalamazoo Probation Enhancement Program for a drug offense.