We've been living in a tent for 5 months because we couldn't afford our $1,200 rent. Now we're preparing for winter in Maine.

• The Bahres have been living in a tent for the past five months.

• They're known as the working homeless because they can't afford rent.

• Bahre's story was told to Jane.

A conversation with Lauren Bahre is what led to this. It has been edited to make it clearer.

In Maine, I worked at a hair salon. Wealthy clients would talk about their second home purchase.

They would say that they wanted a big party before they went to dinner. I would think "I'm going home to a bowl of cereals"

We are living in a tent. We are worried about being homeless as winter approaches.

I stopped working at the salon in May. I was too stressed out to look presentable all the time. The owner yelled at me because I wore sandals with dirty feet. I had to decide if I was going to wash my body or not. I didn't have the money to buy nail polish or pedicures.

We are considered to be working poor. He is a barista at Starbucks and I am working at a cannabis dispensary. The hours we earn are not guaranteed. The average combined salary is over $2,500 a month. It isn't enough to make rent in the place we both grew up.

We didn't want a formal eviction notice on our records from a court

We don't have a roof over our heads because we can't afford an apartment. Rent in our area is high and utility bills are high. In the last two years, the cost has doubled. It's hard to find long-term leases because of short-term rentals. People who live in the city want a second home in a beautiful place.

After my mom started formal proceedings to evict us, things started to go wrong. We couldn't make rent for January or February. I didn't think my mom would kick us out of our relationship.

We had to make ends meet. I lost my job at a bagel store because of my illness. I ended up with a nebulizer because it made my asthma worse. My husband also received it. He didn't work for a couple of weeks.

My mom told me that the next steps would be taken in court. It would be nearly impossible to find a new place to live if we were evicted from the apartment in March.

We couldn't even start to pay for things. It was one of the worst experiences of my life when I had to drive my daughter to live with her dad. I didn't know when I'd see my child again. Our 18-year-old car needed a lot of repairs due to the high cost of gas.

You feel vulnerable when you have no place to retreat

We stopped at a rest stop on the Massachusetts and New Hampshire state line to rest. We went to the Walmart parking lot. The plywood was used as a base for the bed. We would pile on blankets.

There were signs that said you couldn't park overnight. We would use the Walmart bathroom to avoid being seen. When you don't have a place to retreat, you feel vulnerable.

We had to cut our belongings down to the bare minimum because of a friend's generosity. Being constantly damp was the biggest problem. We kept our clothes in plastic bins so they wouldn't get wet.

Towards the end of April, the weather began to improve. We received a tent, sleeping bags, and a tarp from Way Station, a non-profit in New Hampshire. We found a spot in the national forest. First come, first serve. There is well water, but no facilities to use it for bathing or showering.

Staying in one place for more than 14 nights is not allowed. If you don't comply, you'll be moved. You aren't allowed to camp after that. Some of the other campers are interested in why you are there. We've been moving at least seven times.

We have a small stove that runs on propane. We eat a lot of foods that are high in calories, like noodles, macaroni and cheese, and potatoes. Any that isn't going to ruin.

There have been moments when I can't stop crying because of our situation

At least for now, we've learned to survive. The river is close to getting washed in. We wear bathing suits to go in. If it's hot, we'll go nude. The heat is hard to handle. You don't have a place to cool down when you're outside. You can keep warm in the winter.

The first few weeks of camping were the toughest. Being away from my daughter for so long made me afraid of the unknown. There have been times when I can't stop crying. I'm done for the day, but I don't have a place to stay. There is a tent.

My husband has kept me calm.

We have not broadcasted our situation. It gets uncomfortable when someone discovers that you are homeless. It is frightening to them.

We got a lot of advice from the organization that gave us the tent. More than 4,000 homeless people were found in Maine. Only the ones who said they were homeless were included. They said it would take five to eight years to get Section 8 housing. We were turned away because our income was too high.

We are having a daily discussion about what to do next. We don't know how we would pay for a winter rental. We might lose an apartment at this point in our lives because I am 36 and my husband is 30.

The stereotype of a homeless person is a person who uses drugs. That isn't our situation. Poverty is getting harder in this country.

The Go Fund Me is a response to the many offers of donations.

Do you have a tale to tell? Please contact jridley@insider.

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