America is the a***hole of the world now isn’t it?

Your government hates you,

your police hate you,

fellow Americans cut not of the same ilk hate you

your media have you idolise the rich and well to do as something to aspire to.

they have you believe that socialised medicine is some sort of communistic idealism

Don’t get me wrong, I love American people her rich history and her culture, but everything else…
… F*** America!

…and unhealthy.

The first thing you need to worry about is the elements. AKA weather. If you’re down to this state of being, you have no vehicle, few if any possessions, and little to no cash.

Basically you’re at 0. Nothing to lose. If you live in a cold or wet climate, it’s time to get up and get moving. Sure you’ll miss your hometown… what? Heck, it got you in the gutter, tell that town to slag off, and head for greater comfort. Hop a rail, hitch a ride, or get a greyhound ticket and get to a warm city.

California seems obvious, and it is nice, but remember most cities there already have huge homeless populations, and cost of living for the non homeless is very high. If you plan to dig yourself out, this may not be the place to go. If you plan on changing your name to Squirrel or Scruffy or Dumpsta, there’s gold in them thar hills, but otherwise, another warm city may be better.

Even in warm cities, it can get cold at night. Shelters and other public service orgs will have free blankets. If you can get a sleeping bag, even better.

Cardboard truly is your friend. It is an insulator between you and the cold ground. NEVER sleep directly on concrete. Even in semi warm climates, cold concrete will rob you of body heat overnight. If you are ill or old, you may even die.

Visibility is another issue. You will be chased off. In front of a bank, or under stairs, someone will find you and shoo you away. Some prefer to find a secluded nook like a basement stairwell, others feel safer out in the open on a busy street. You will have to make this decision for yourself. Both have their risks.

Self defense is another very important thing when living on the street. Gangs, hooligans, and even seemingly ‘normal’ citizens will want to do you harm. A few tips:

- Know when you’re licked: If dude has a weapon and he’s trying to steal your shopping cart or something, let him have it. You can get new stuff.

- CRAZY!!!: Most people aren’t going to try to rob a hobo. Most people out for you are either trying to scare you out of their neighborhood, or are just having their jollies by kicking in your teeth.
For these folks, they are a lot less likely to attack if they think you’re stark raving mad. Scream incoherent babble. Throw things. Wave your arms around. hop up and down. If they still try to attack, RUN.

For the most part, you will be ignored by society. You have hit the skids, and nobody wants to be reminded that they could someday share your fate. For them you are a constant reminder of that, so they do their best to tune you out.

If you’re living on the street, don’t be afraid to take advantage of free shelter. No not the homeless shelter, but places like ATM Kiosks. They are usually pretty empty at night and rarely visited. You’ll get kicked out first thing in the morning, but you’ll have had a warm nights sleep indoors.

The two most important things to remember when living as a hobo on the street is

1: SURVIVE! Never mind that a security guard is going to eventually notice that you’re sleeping in that chair in the office building lobby. You have to live, and survival is the game.

2: GET OUT OF THIS SITUATION ASAP! The longer you are living on the street, the harder it will be to get out. Your health will deteriorate. Lack of steady sleep and depression over your state of being will eventually lead you to dementia. You may end up turning to drugs/booze, (By the way, John, self medicating, really? Prozac? This is your advice? Don’t do it people. Before you know it, you’ll be singing “Yellow Submarine” and throwing garbage cans at taxicabs.) you may get killed. A movie once said that eventually the survival rate for everyone becomes 0. It happens real quick on the street. Make it your daily goal to do what you can to bring you closer to stepping off the sidewalk and into a place with a roof, walls and a door that opens and closes. Your life depends on it.

Now don’t you wish you didn’t listen to John and you still had your car? Seriously do anything you can to keep yourself with any kind of roof over your head, even if it has wheels under it. Hopefully if you’re reading this, you haven’t gotten to the state where it’s too late for you. Do what you can to keep any kind of shelter, strength, and determination. Stay away from quick escapes like drugs, booze, gambling.

Stay strong and stay alive. This too shall pass.

Stubby

PS: If you liked this comment, next time you see a panhandler give them a buck and tell them it’s from Stubby.

While there may be small tidbits of useful info in this article, most of it is whining bollocks.

Having been homeless in the states on and off for the past few years, let me educate you on the real skinny:

1: CAR - Are you crazy? If you can keep and maintain a car that you don’t have to make payments on, you’re one step out of the gutter already. Heck, if you’re lucky enough to have a van, you’re in even better shape. Try to conserve fuel, consider your car/van more your home than your mode of transport. Use it for long trips, but when you can walk, walk. Make sure you know multiple safe places to park, (WalMarts are great for 1 night at a time, any longer and they ask you to leave) and invest in visors/covering for windows for privacy at night.

2:Hygiene: If you plan to get yourself out of this mess, you gotta keep clean and healthy. If you can afford it, a gym/ymca membership is best. Full showers and sinks, plus a workout to keep yourself in shape, and get the endorphins going.
For when you cant get to the gym, or if you cant afford it, public restrooms abound. You’ll be using these often anyway. Wet a rag or two and hit the toilet stall. Try to be discreet and not use the same BR too often to avoid suspicion or banning.

3: FOOD He got this one on the money. Food banks are a great resource. Remember though to take only what you can use, and trade what you cant for what you can (Cant cook that chicken, trade it for some cans of pb.)

4: Communications - If you’re smart/lucky, you haven’t sold/lost your laptop. Even if you have, libraries are still available to you. If you do still have a lappy or a web phone, there is tons of free wifi available in cities. Seek it out, not just to find work, but to maintain normalcy in your life through social interaction with friends/loved ones.

5: Clothing - Hey, you gotta keep up appearances if you want to get out of this hole. The laundromat will be your friend. If you don’t have a vehicle, keeping more than a few things will be tough. WHY WOULD YOU DITCH YOUR CAR??? If you are limited on clothes, goodwill, Salvation Army, and other thrift will have clothes for next to nothing.

Ok, that covers the basic human needs. What’s that you say? You sold your car already? Well then you need some shelter. You have a few options.

First off this guys advice about the boat was baloney. Hey if you can get better digs, go for it. If it’s all you have though, it’s better than a cardboard box.

So here are your options if you DONT have a boat and you already sold your car:

-Friends/family Wear out your welcome if you have to with each one, or better yet, if they’re sympathetic, work out a couch surf tour. So and so has you for a week, such and such the next. Nobody has to get sick of you, and everyone contributes to getting you on your feet. (Much harder without the car you were told to ditch.)

-Boarding houses Yea, they suck. These could be straight up flop houses, sober living homes, ‘transitional living facilities’ (Aka ex con flops) and similar ilk. They are cramped, no privacy, shared room nightmares, but they are usually very cheap, and better than the street. Some will have strict curfews, and other prohibitive rules, but beggars cant be choosers… or can they?

-Squatting ‘Abandoned buildings… that’s where we live!’ Squatting has gone on for CENTURIES. In the current housing market, there is no shortage of squattable property. There are serious legal implications to squatting and you should know the facts before taking this risky venture. However, if successful, you may have a home for weeks, months, YEARS. You may even in some places be able to someday legally claim title to the property. Again do your homework before going down this road.

- Homeless shelter Man, it’s pretty bad when you’re down to this. Shelters are scary, rife with crime and cooties. In extreme weather, it’s better than the street, but not much. Avoid if possible.

- Tenting If your city has an expansive park, you may find a relatively safe place to set up camp. Again better than the street.

Ok, so none of that works for you? Street survival becomes the name of the game. Gotta warn you that taking the plunge into straight up on the street homelessness is a hole that is very hard to dig yourself out of and I recommend it to NOBODY. It is dangerous, maddening, depressing as hell, and unhealthy.

You may not know this but if you look in the most remote places, like desert, there are thousands of empty train box cars (what do you think they’re for) and each city has been issued URBAN ASSULT VEHICLES…what do you think they’re for. Open you eyes, there are 5,000 people abandoning there cars and homes in Daubi..hopping on a plane and getting the hell out. this is EVERY DAY. Its either that or sleep in a container. This is world wide. There are tent cities everywhere and the police are chasing them out if they are within sight. WAKE UP MAN!!!

God forbid you sink to the depths of working class. Fuck you, and every other useless middle class leech that would rather starve than work a McJob. If people like you are the casualties of the shrinking middle class, then good riddance.

Thats what I would think I would do just to live of cause I have no idea how I would get back on the ladder of a home,job and money.

Comparing it to cigarettes is funny; depending on where you live it varies, but on average a 1 pack a day smoker pays less for their habit than a person on name brand antidepressants with no insurance does in a month.

True, a hot shower has a certain delicious sensual quality.
But if you want that, why not go in with your neighbors and
put in a hot tub? Nothing like *soaking* in the warm water, if
you want that kind of experience. Trying to get that from a
shower is a huge waste: all the hot water (energy) just runs
down the drain. The experience of a rag-bath is much
different, and for most purposes better.

I know that hot showers are the American religion, and that
everyone (including me, formerly) thinks they are an absolute
necessity. But they’re not. I can see now that they’re just a
lazy rich-person luxury.

SEMI-HYPOCRISY ALERT: I joined the YMCA a couple years ago and
have not been able to resist the temptation to use the
showers, immediately after my workout. However: my
cool-to-luke showers run about ONE minute each — just enough
to rinse the sweat off. It is a convenience. I still use the
rag baths at home for real *cleansing*. I’ve now learned that
it is a foolish waste to try to get clean in a shower.

STATEMENT OF NON-SMUGNESS: The above notes are NOT uttered in
the arrogant/smug attitude of a well-off person, talking down
to someone of lesser means, perhaps desperately impoverished.
You know the drill: “well, why don’t you just _____” — the
blank being filled with whatever presumptuous bromides pop
into the speaker’s head, like “pick yourself up by your
bootstraps”, or “get a freaking JOB!”, or “learn to do
without”, or whatever. My suggestion of an alternative to
conventional showers is NOT given in that spirit. It is given
in the spirit of: “Here’s an idea. If it works for you, and
helps you, great. If not, then forget it.”