Another quick thought, about the first comment from Uncle D… Family-owned farms? In China? Ha, ha, ha! The Chinese government owns that land, and they have been kicking families out in order to build ghost towns. They’re creating jobs and GDP, while millions of farmers starve and attempt to revolt.

I have a whole bag of libertard cliches like this if you want to hear more.

Yeah, the drug thing was silly, the side effects alone will make you homeless with that shit.

And…. last but not least, a car can have some cost, but it is well worth it, shelter, some privacy and downright transportation when really needed….. and… find a way to make money with it.

John, maybe you should have pimped yourself out down on the corner… LOL!

Getting a McJob while overqualified is ridiculously easy with a little dishonesty. If Dolan had possessed a little pragmatism, energy and ingenuity he’d have been working in a warehouse, a gas station or a cheap restaurant instead of re-enacting a Steinbeck novel.

Here’s how to flip burgers or stack boxes as a PhD:

1. Rewrite your resume to match that of a hard-working proletarian drone.
2. Make sure that your tenure at your last phony job is at least 11 years.
3. Have a friend who is willing to lie and can sound halfway professional on the phone.
4. Tell your friend to respond to reference inquiries with an apology about the company’s policy to not give references beyond verification of employment while making it indirectly clear via tone and inflection that he views you favorably.
5. Run around town with resumes.

I can personally attest to the strategy’s success in three cities. I also had several other friends serve as the personal references but only one place out of dozens I applied to bothered to contact them.

@Immortalsane:

I filled the cash gap while spreading my phony resumes around by working for Labor Ready. Work today, paid today and if you’re friendly and bust ass, sometimes the clients will give further under-the-table work. Also, a full year unable to score even a mcjob is pretty harsh. were you living in a small town?

Now, that said…

Before anything else, no matter what walk of life you’re in, DRUGS BAD!!! It’s the only thing in Dolan’s essay I absolutely disagreed with. Unless they are a medical necessity, stay the hell away from drugs.

First, McJobs really are that impossible to get. I went almost an entire year without a job last year, and I live in Oklahoma where the recession has yet to get that bad. I applied at a minimum of 3 places a week, and a maximum of 15-20 on the times when I was able to find enough places to maintain that rate of applications. I used internet, walk-in’s, scheduled interviews, talked to managers, joined temp services, you name it, I tried it. I only managed to get a job when my last employer called me to see if I wanted some part-time holiday hours. I worked my butt off, and they’ve kept me on. Fingers crossed that I don’t lose this one.

Second, the cops. Many of them are amazingly decent human beings. Unfortunately, the majority of them are just that, human. And we’re an incredibly nasty species as a rule.

Most cops will not go out of their way to make your life miserable. But the people signing their checks are home-owning, job-holding taxpayers that consider homeless people an eyesore. So, while they may not be malicious, one should be extremely wary of the boys and girls in blue.

Third, the issue of the car. I would say, keep it if you can. If you still owe money on it, or it’s a maintenance hog, ditch it for what ever you can get. But if you have decent car that doesn’t require $75 bucks to fill the tank, or has $500 a month payments, or needs ungodly levels of upkeep, keep the sucker. Having transportation and personal shelter can save your ass.

Tips for holding onto a car safely:

1) it may screw you for a couple of decades on decent insurance, but get kids insurance, like Safe Auto. It’s cheap, and it’ll keep the cops off your ass.

2)Use ethanol fuel. It gets less mileage, but if you’re driving like you have a job, then you’re probably gonna lose the damn vehicle to your own stupidity anyway.

3) Maintain, for the love of god. Checking the oil, tire pressure, and other various things is a hell of a lot cheaper than replacing parts.

Finally, a phone. Keep it on if you can. Ditch the sucker if you can’t. Get a nice little pay as you go phone. It’s cheaper to maintain, and will save you life.

I have many other things that I might suggest, but those are the basics. And above all, get off the streets at the first opportunity. It sound ridiculous, but street life is soul-crushing. I’ve known dozens of people on the streets, I used to take $20 in ones and go walk around downtown at night, giving people cigs and what money I could.

The #1 reason most of them were still on the streets was that they’d given up. They’d fought to get off the streets, and when they couldn’t catch a break, they gave up. It’s nothing against these people, these are good people. But they either didn’t or couldn’t get out fast enough, and it got to them.

To any homeless who read this: Good luck, god bless, and I hope something here helps.

I tried getting just any job for some money to get on my feet. But what happens when you go into a McJob and show them your Resume that has all the education and experience doing IT and Marketing jobs. The manager looks at you and realizes that you will leave at the drop of a hat , if you get another job offer. So instead of hiring you , he hires the teenager or the guy who doesnt have any experience or education. they don’t like wasting thier time with people who obviously are looking for something better. They have to train you , fill out your new hire paper work. etc. They don’t want to waste their time.

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.