International Photographer SARAH BONES


 
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After spending the last 50 years of his life behind bars, 75 year old Earl Reinhardt is about to be set free. He is completely unprepared and has no money, no destination, and no family or friends to help him when he walks out the prison door.




Earl thinks that if he keeps a low profile and stays quiet they will forget to release him.




Since his release from prison , Earl is homeless and living on the streets of Reading, Pennsylvania where he spends most of the day on this park bench.




Earl flashes his prison ID photo card when approached. It is all that he has to show for himself.




We visit the local deli to catch up since we last met in the prison.




Earl talks about how much he misses being in prison.




Still wearing his prison jacket only now with his name crossed out, Earl stands underneath an abandoned storefront roof to stay dry.




Earl walking around the city of Reading where there is a large homeless population. He eats at local soup kitchens and spends much of the day keeping warm in the library.




Earl visits the welfare office to ask for help. He is homeless and needs medicine for his blood pressure. The lines are long and he does not wait in them.




Earl fell down a stair case and is being treated in the local hospital for broken ribs ,emphysema, high blood pressure and malnutrition.




After an 8 week stay in the hospital, social workers place Earl in a state funded nursing home. Earl is comfortable and is getting excellent health care again.




Earl passed away in the nursing home within a year of arriving.


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