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THIS YEAR’S PULITZER Prize in the “feature photography” category tells the heartbreaking tale of Strider Wolf.
Living in Maine with his grandparents, Larry and Lanette Grant, Strider (now aged six) suffered severe physical abuse from his mother’s boyfriend at the mere age of two.
Poverty-stricken, Larry and Lanette were evicted from their home when photographer Jessica Rinaldi began documenting their story for The Boston Globe.
During the summer, the family lived in various campsites out of their cluttered mobile home. The series was nominated by The Boston Globe’s editor Brian McGrory.
“In the chaos and deprivation, Wolf had a simple and abiding wish: to be loved,” wrote McGrory in his entry cover letter.
Displayed below is the moving series and The Boston Globe’s original reporting, courtesy of the Pulitzer Prizes:
Strider Wolf was born poor in rural Maine. When he was two, his mother’s raging boyfriend beat him nearly to death. He managed to pull through, ending up in the care of his grandparents who became homeless trying to provide for Strider and his younger brother, Gallagher.
After two years of not paying the rent, the family was given 30 days to pack their things and leave. On the night of the eviction, Strider’s grandparents move their possessions into a storage space.
On the night of the eviction, Lanette and her son’s fiancée Ashly take a break from packing up the family’s belongings. As the night goes on, it becomes clear that they are not going to be able to take all of their possessions with them.
With nowhere else to go, the Grants told the boys they were going camping and the family of four squeezed into the 24-foot camper with their cat and two dogs.
After moving into a campground, Strider struggles as he carries gallons of water filled from a spigot to the camper.
Strider looks for Lanette with a flower behind his back to apologise after she yelled at him for wetting the bed. His therapist has explained that his bed-wetting is a response to trauma, either the unfolding upset in their lives, or some resurrecting memory. Lanette knows this, but their living situation is starting to take a toll on her patience.
Lanette often laments that she and Larry aren’t able to be grandparents to Strider and Gallagher because they have to play the role of Mom and Dad, enforcing rules and making sure they are provided for.
According to the state, living in a campground means they no longer have a house payment. Because of this, their food stamps have been cut by $100 (€88).
Often left to their own devices, Strider and Gallagher played on an abandoned Ford at twilight. Strider holds a broken automotive hose to his eyes like a pair of binoculars and asks: “What’s on the moon?”
During Strider’s sixth birthday party, Lanette and her mother make the 15-minute drive to Walmart to pick up his cake. Having waited for them over two hours, a disappointed Strider sits beside Larry until he can return to begin his party.
During this unsettling time for the family, Strider wanders into his old bedroom and looks around at many of his belongings that will not make the next move and will be left behind.
After living in several campgrounds over the summer, the Grants appear in Maine District Court to try to retrieve their belongings from the mobile home. Without a lawyer, the Grants have few options for recourse against their former landlord. The Grants were only allowed to reclaim a few personal possessions.
Gallagher cools off with a drink as Larry and Lanette scramble to pack by the light of their car headlights as the midnight eviction deadline inches closer. The landlord has cut the power and put locks on the electrical boxes in an attempt to force them off the property.
After months of searching for a new place to live, the Grants finally find a home they can afford on Craigslist in Lisbon, Maine. Anna Cunningham arrives at the family’s new home with a donation of beds for the boys. Lanette grabs her and pulls her in for a grateful hug.
On the first morning, Strider plays in the backyard of his new home, an old rectory in Lisbon, Maine. The yard was fenced and tucked into a neighborhood, so different from the woods he called home.
Strider, who takes multiple medications resulting from his early childhood abuse, gets his morning meds from Lanette in their new home. “We haven’t been here 24 hours, and I’m tired already,” Lanette said.
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Heartbreaking. Is that the best that the USA can do, with its huge resources. So many live in abject poverty.
They’d sooner spend their billions on other children from far flung areas of the globe turning them into orphans and refugees. If they don’t care about their own children own whey would they care about anyone elses.
Kid needs to check his privilege.
Congrats to the boy
Poor little boy hasn’t had a great start in life, so many more out there like him, contrast this and the story about little Prince George and it’s just such a shame how one little boy has it all while another little boy has nothing!, hardly seems fair, hope his future is brighter!
Good luck to them all. Tis hard to be a child growing up without a proper home. Hopefully they can make it through.
And people give out about having to stay in hotels
Wow. Poor little guy. And sometimes we have a cheek to complain about silly things
Land of the Brave, Home of the Free. If you can cut it in the rat-race, never get ill, never get tired, never make a mistake. Given this country’s adoration of all things American, look out for a similar story in a venue near you – sooner rather than later.
Has already happened, SDCC evicted a 17 year old girl from her family home on Wednesday morning after the passing of her mother last year. They wouldn’t even let the poor child back in to get her mothers ashes and left her curled up in a ball, in her pyjamas, on the doorstep heartbroken. They told her she wasn’t their concern….. an orphaned 17 year old should be everyones concern.
Ann…i didnt hear about this..tell us more?
Please share more information on this story. Those responsible need to be called to account for their despicable behaviour. We can’t do that with sufficient information.
Scroll down their page – the media is too busying with other stuff!
https://www.facebook.com/Cairdeas-Homeless-Action-Group-768034629939704/?fref=photo
The girl wasn’t actually living in the house ..
You seem to know more than I do Suzie – do you know what the story behind it is? I searched the other night when I came across the post but could find nothing more about it. But the fact remains regardless of whether or not she was living there, her mothers ashes need to be returned to her.
Ann , the young girl is living wuth her grandmother and they were corresponding with her at all times , she knew it was happening so I would say she had her belongings in her grandmother’s house .
When this young ladies mother was alive she used to spend a couple of nights a week in her grannies and the rest of the time at home with her mother. When her mother got sick she stayed with her all of the time. Before her mother passed her gran was diagnosed with a terminal illness and when her mam died she stayed with her granny to look after her while she was sick (and lets not forget this young girl has school and doing her leaving cert). Her grandmother is now dying and in the hospice. In February the council wrote to her and told her that because she was a minor they could not leave her in the house and that as it was a 3 bedroom house it was needed for a family. So it will probably be back to square one when her granny passes.
Free to live in abject poverty. God bless America. It bloody-well needs it.
Contemporary sociologists have a nice cuddly descriptive term for this type of non traditional family unit – “a blended family”. Its essential…mandatory even,to be non judgemental about such social constructs so i will say only…well done.
You know the sad thing about this.
In a decades time some angry feminist or rights group activist will accuse him of having had a privilieged white male existence.
And social media will believe them.
Ireland 5 to 10 years on ?
Land of the free, home of the brave. Shocking how those in most need are let down by society.
For the love of God tell me if I can donate to this family. I don’t have much but I will send what I have. I can’t comprehend what these people have been through. Is this America?
Yeah.
Obama’s America.
Democrat’s America.
thejournal.ie you are way to PC with what people want to say, shame on you.
Ah god she left the buying of his birthday cake til the middle of his birthday party. …..that’s a bit odd
If only the Patriarchy would come to this guy’s rescue
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