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Phoenix's Homeless Escape the Summer Heat to the Big Rock Candy Mountains of Flagstaff

By Martin Cizmar July 28, 2011

The guys should be here somewhere. Last time Nick Wood saw them, they were just past a clearing where the power lines hum, tucked into the pine forest on the other side of a downed section of... More >>>

7 Images

Randall Nicholson, blamed for last year's Hardy fire, was camped on the outskirts of Flagstaff, where a lot of homeless people spend the summer, thanks to the city's enviable summer climate and friendly, tolerant locals.

Transient camper Nicholson forced evacuations and cost taxpayers nearly a million dollars in firefighting costs.

Trash heaps left by homeless campers become a problem.

Sunshine Rescue Mission is the largest homeless shelter in town during the summer months. It sits on San Francisco Street south of the train tracks. The homeless who can meet the shelter's standards â�� no drugs or alcohol â�� tend to congregate here, especially when there's a special program, such as this performance by this Scottsdale youth choir.

Richard Andreassen is autistic and worked as a machinist until a severe arm injury made that career impossible. He's originally from New York but moved west with his mother.

When Andreassen's mother entered a nursing home, she and his doctor agreed the best place for her son to live would be the truck and trailer he used for his astronomy hobby.

New Times drove to several places in search of a campsite. We found only abandoned sites. As one Catholic Charities fieldworker told us, "If someone doesn't want to be found, they're not going to be found."

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Richard Andreassen is autistic and worked as a machinist until a severe arm injury made that career impossible. He's originally from New York but moved west with his mother.

Jamie Peachey

Richard Andreassen is autistic and worked as a machinist until a severe arm injury made that career impossible. He's originally from New York but moved west with his mother.

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