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Sarah Juliano, 38, facing, argues with Sarah Wallingford, 31, during a dispute about missing drugs at the homeless encampment they share in the South End of Waterville on Aug. 26, 2022. The two women met at the encampment. Juliano has been living in a homeless community in south Florida for the past 5 years to return to her hometown to be near her daughter and granddaughter. Wallingford is originally from the area and has been homeless since March.
Sara Juliano made her way back to Maine after living in a large tent city in Florida. The nearly 1,500 miles of hitchhiking brought her to Waterville to be closer to her daughters. The life is the same though.
Juliano, 41, arrived alone with nothing. She found an empty spot in a tent in a homeless encampment on an island courtesy of Shawn Stanford and Amanda Frasier. The couple had just been evicted from their apartment but had extra space in a tent that was being used to store their belongings that they were able to keep after moving into the tent.
Juliano, at barely 5 feet tall and weighing maybe 100 pounds, was no stranger to homelessness. Itâs been a part of her life for as long as she can remember. Independent and wise to the streets, sheâs very capable of taking care of herself. She needs assistance, however, to inject herself with drugs. A friend has to perform that task. And it probably saved her.
Soon after the colder temperatures arrived in October, Juliano was the first person to leave the encampment for a spot in the Mid-Maine Homeless Shelter.