Have You Ever Lived On The Streets?

I agree with you 100%. some has to do with not knowing how to budget, wasting it on foolishness, and not knowing one's limits. but there are some out there that do out of pure greed. although they can pay the landlord, they prefer to find something for practically nothing. there are some out there that just hate to pay the cost and prefer to boycott the system until they find what they want. some, believe it or not, are living in RV'S.

The USA is Not the 'Richest country in the world'.
It is 22 Trillion in debt.
Printing fake money doesn't fool anyone.
Except American taxpayers.

What do you think would be the effect if instead of selling Treasury Bills to raise that 22 Trillion, they actually just printed the money?

Keep in mind, All money is 'fake'.

Me and my sister are in a transitional housing place right now. I was able to stop for awhile, but I'm back hooking just to afford the rent and get food and stuff. I've learned I'm not too good to do whatever I need to make it. And to trust no one

I homeless right now and feel so hopeless. I can't get a job because I don't have a place to shower or keep clean close. I just found out I'm pregnant. My husband has a job but it's impossible to save money because he only make at most 70 bucks a day. 20 for gas 20 for food and every few days 60 on a hotel. We are about to loose our car because we are behind on payments. A vicious cycle with no good out come. I wish I was dead every day and can't imagine why God would.give me a child when I can't even take care of myself. My life was okay for the last ten years until 30 days ago. Didn't think I was able to have children because my husband and I tried for 8 years. I think about walking in front of a bus and jumping off a bridge everyday. Wish I.could actually go through with it. If you pray I would appreciate your prayers for my husband baby on the way and myself.

Find a social services organization in your city. They should be able to assist you to find boarding and food.

After I graduated high school, I didn't have any plans, so I moved to Chicago and lived in a small room that accommodated only one small bed. I worked at a wholesale company, McClurg, as a biller making minimum wage, and living paycheck to paycheck. I had my fill of Chicago hot dogs, so I hitch- hiked back to California. I started going to community college on probation, and eventually earned my degree in Accounting at CSU Hayward. I went to work for Florsheim Shoe Company as a traveling auditor in the seven western states. After 3.5 years, they promoted me to Audit Manager, so we had to move to Chicago. We bought a beautiful home in Naperville (rated the safest city in the US), and I took the Burlington-Northern train into Chicago every day for work.
After three years, we moved back to CA to be with family and friends. I did consulting work for small businesses and made pretty good money. I was able to retire early, and traveled the world, having traveled to over 80 countries, and made many friends in many countries. I still keep in touch with some of them.
The moral of this sharing is that it's not too late to make something of yourself if you work hard enough.
Good luck and best wishes for your endeavors.

When I've gone to look for jobs, after finding out I was homeless, I got questions like how much do I charge? Is giving head once a week ok if I hire you? others are just, we dont hire hookers. And that was before I was hooking. I'm glad you made it out, I'm trying.

The best way to get out from your current situation is to continue with your education. If I can do it, anybody can. I barely graduated from high school, because I played hooky and watched tv at a friend's store back room where they had that rare tv that many didn't own during that time. The best decision I ever made was to enlist into the USAF, because they assigned me to work with conventional and nuclear weapons. That assignment gave me some confidence in my ability to learn, because they're not going to assign somebody who doesn't have the wherewithal to handle such dangerous weapons. I didn't immediately go to college after I got my discharge from the air force, but eventually started at community college and finished at CSU Hayward/East Bay. It was more or less "easy" from there, because I ended up working in management for over 80% of my working career. If I can do it, most people can also.

Its funny, I loved school, it was a place I could escape and I had some teachers who watched out for me. I had my life planned, going to college, thinking about nursing, being a paramedic or firefighter. My grades were mainly A's, active in church, all the right things, then mom got back into drugs, we were on the street again, living in our car, with mom's b/f of the night, hotels, shelters, and more hotels. Been almost a year I've been out of school. When my sister is old enough to take care of herself for a few hours, I'm planning on going back, just not now.

I lived outside on and of for 12 years between 1991 and 2003...

And, I learned a LOT of things, but it wasn't until after the first couple years that the shock, the hope it would just be a temporary situation wore off and I really started to evaluate and really think about homelessness.

At one time I had a great job in electronics as a repair tech, did bio-medical, aerospace in the Air Force and finally industrial automation, robotics.

Our company went from 240 employees to 45 in less than 2 years, this a company that started in 1948 and made parts for IBM, HP, Digital Equipment corp, even had a couple parts on the Space Shuttle...

This was in So. California... I tried to hold onto my house as long as I could, I struggled to find work, eventually any kind, but eventually I ended up outside in El Monte California, a depressed area where a lot of homeless dwell.

Anyway, here are a few of the things I learned:

1. The cheapest and most direct and most expedient way to change and hopefully improve your situation is to MOVE!

We see folks clustered in San Diego and San Francisco etc... disperse!

One of the worst problems homeless people face are other homeless... often newbies who don't know what to do and are of no use to anyone including themselves... they trash out any possible "bivvyy" spot, they pee in the alleyway, they do their best to stay filthy, or so it seems... keeping yourself reasonably clean is EASY and there is really no excuse for it.

One wants to practice "LNT," "Leave No Trace."

For instance, I pick a gas station bathroom where I can lock the door behind me, I strip down partway and "bird bath" it and wash my hair in the sink... use the hand soap for shampoo, and maybe even dry my hair under the hand dryer, you look like you got out of a salon...

Aaaaannnd, during this process water is splashed across the sink and all over the floor, what a mess. So I take some paper towels or just TP and wipe down the sink and the floor and my aim is to leave it better than I found it... I am "paying" my way as I go by doing them a small service in return.

2. "Location, location, location..."

After awhile it dawned on me that one actually wants to camp in the rich neighborhoods... counter-intuitive as it seems, it is your best bet. As long as you don't look "trampy:" and have all your worldly possessions slung across your back in an overstuffed frame pack: DITCH that stuff in the bushes as soon as possible, I used to keep 3 stash camps around town.

You want to pick a medium-sized town, not so small that it has no services, but not so large it has full-blown missions; you want a place with a hot meal program, a clothing/food bank a city park and a nice library, and maybe even a community swimming pool... say about 10 to 20 thousand in population, roughly speaking.

3. Practically every situation has it's advantages and drawbacks, it is no different for the homeless... what do the rich people do when they go on vacation? Some go camping...

Who is actually "richer" here, a person sitting on their Italian leather sofa (they are still paying for) in their McMansion which is way bigger than what they need, watching their big screen, watching WWF or "The Simpsons" or something...

Or, the person snug as a bug at the edge of town, curled up in a tent reading David Copperfield by candle light?

4. Most of it is in the mind, it really is.

I know people who struggled for years to get a stable roof over their head, others who prefer the "hobo" lifestyle and I can't say one is necessarily better than another.

I like to reminisce and go on Google Earth and revisiting my old neighborhoods and schools etc, and very often I go to places where I was homeless, So Cal when I was a newbie and it was hard, one might think a person would just want to forget it, but I often look back and smile.

(I live in the Seattle area btw, moved up here in 1991 after about 6 months homeless in So. Cal.)

I finally found an apartment I could afford 15 years ago in 2003...

There is a LOT more to it, but those are the points that stand out most to me, the things and advice I would and do give to newbie homeless, if you like I can elaborate further.

Oh, and nice to be here at my first post!

Thx

Great story and advice.

And welcome!

Thank you @Leadfoot, nice to be here and I enjoyed your posting as well!

(One doesn't realize sometimes just how wide-spread homelessness can be.)

A couple more tips:

Some homeless live or end up in hot climates, the southwestern US, Las Vegas etc... so what do you do to keep cool? (and clean...)

A spray bottle and some paper towels, easy-peasy.

What gets people "busted" most often?

Two things, campfires and having a trashed camp... you'd be surprised just how far a light can be seen in contrast to the dark woods... so never use a campfire unless you absolutely have to, and then learn how to make a "Dakota" fire and reflectors.

In my tent I might have a large candle, but I put cardboard on the sides of my tent to block even that feeble light.

Oh, and BREAK that camp every single morning just before first light, it takes 5 to 10 minutes and is vital "insurance" against the authorities and kids who might come across your camp during the day when you are not there, either trash it or come back in the middle of the night with friends and baseball bats.

(I had a very harrowing experience, close call really, squatting in an abandoned house. Ten teenagers with baseball bats, fortunately I remained undetected...)

So NEVER if you can at all avoid it stay in places that are too obvious, ie: abandoned houses and under bridges, stay away from those places!

I suggest a rich neighborhood for several reasons, one is that cops often don't see what they are not looking for in the first place, even if it's right in front of them.

You kept yourself clean and reasonably dressed, they are not expecting to see a "tramp" here in rich, "River City" and chances are you will never make contact with them.

I took a "hobo holiday" in Nashville Tenn. back in 2003. I took my 12-string guitar and played on the streets downtown and did pretty well, about $5 an hour, better than most. I camped in Belle Meade Tenn, one of the richest "old money" suburbs in America, very... "country club" atmosphere.

Rich people have bushes too, and more of them, I camped next to an old limestone mansion on a hill, right across the street from the dinky police dept, Belle Meade is pretty good sized, has nothing but money and yet must have very little crime, I counted six police cars.

I camped there for six weeks and was never discovered, never made contact with anyone.

In the morning about 10 am I get my guitar and walk down a beautiful neighborhood street, drinking in the nice lawns and landscaping along the way: "Life's simple pleasures," on my way to the Hillsboro library, where I tarry until it's time to go downtown to play.

I had fun there, and it was the first time I realized that you want to avoid places where homeless people just assume they "belong."

Pick the richest, most prosperous city available.

And, one more important tip, you can "pre-scout" a town with Google Earth, one of the greatest tools for homeless people, remember: "Location, Location, Location!" my friends.

Thx