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Sara Juliano, 38, stands under the protection of her umbrella as she waits for another member of the homeless encampment on the island in the South End of Waterville on Tuesday, September 6, 2022. Juliano and her new friend, Amanda Frasier, back right, are going to visit an assortment of dumpsters and donation bins as it rains. The two women met through common interests and lifestyles. They are both homeless and addicted to heroin and fentanyl.
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.