please let me say this as respectfully as possible. I have seen a few posts on here about how someone can not have this or that, and be homeless. Frankly some of the worlds smartest hackers and most knowledgeable computer security experts were homeless for quite some time - during which they had this knowledge. Anyone ever hear of Kevin Mitnick? Maybe Lamo? Regardless these people were homeless for a time. Lamo travelled the country. Any computer guru would love to know him. Anyone interested in IT or social engineering would love to meet Mitnick --- for years after mitnicks arrest ATM machines would show up randomly hacked with the words "Free Mitnick" among other machines. They carried laptops. I myself helped teach Unix and Linux at the Cisco Academy I attended. Unfortunately my epilepsy caused me to have seizures which shattered my memory, which I only now am picking back up. I am still very intelligent, just not in that area (RF comms and Satcomms is more my area now...but only for fun) and I am well on my way to homelessness...technically I am, bouncing from house to house, always afraid I will be in the extreme, on the street. The point here is that there ARE intelligent, capable people on the street and if they keep their laptop so they have some measure of intellectual stimulation what is so wrong with that? It may get them out of their hole some day. The more of society you give up the farther you fall.

On another note --- the free house the guy is talking about on the video is called microhousing, yes you can do this for incredibly cheap, and some do it in the city too. Also another similar option....and similarly priced option is living on a yacht. Yes I said it folks. I have one picked out actually if it doesn't get sold, it costs 8,500 dollars for a 35 foot center cockpit diesel engined monohull sailing yacht. These things can be lived on (comfortably) and cross oceans, taking you to wherever you want to go. Oh...yeah...the living can be just as free as a microhouse except more lavish. Slip fees are 400 bucks for the nicest one in texas...bill gates type houses everywhere, spa, pool, yacht club. It's all possible peeps, don't give up. I'm not. oh yes, you can anchor off the coast for free if you have a small boat to get to shore. Power can be derived the same way as a microhouse. Nehoo....getting off topic.

I would like to see more about what to do if you may be homeless soon and DO have a few items such as a tent but no car (epilepsy here, cant drive).

ALSO ONE ITEM I DIDNT SEE BUT CAN SAVE YOUR LIFE.
A ham radio. Get your ham license for 15 bucks if you can scrape the money together. Then scrape some more and get a cheap puxing 777 or similar no name asian brand from ebay for 30 -50 bucks. These have much better range than a frs radio and are free to use. There is always a local ham on the radio and if your life is truly threatened you have the right as a ham op to use ANY FREQUENCY be it fire, police, military, cia, anything, to save your life or that of another. I keep the local police and sheriffs frequencies on mine in a memory bank with input frequencies and pl tones so I have it if I need it. Also there is the option of a cell phone, they will always dial 911 --- but why do that when you can have the same in a direct line, and the entertainment of talking to friends. You can even have them (other hams) pass traffic (messages) to someone a long way away. In any case this has been a life saver for me. I was able to procure extracting from a very bad situation at one time using this, when I had no cell phone. I can stress enough though that communications are vital. Look at any disaster and comms is one of the first things to be set up. Also a ham radio on 2 meters can give you weather usually (if you get one of the radios i just mentioned). Yes it is a bit of money, but it's an investment. I have 2 handhelds on different bands and they work wonders.

A thread on homeless survival in the woods would be useful. Also i think a bike would be useful if you can get one.

Just wanted to give my thanks to Lloyd for creating this guide. I'm going to be ringing in the New Year homeless. To be honest, I have never been homeless, but I did spend 3+ months living out of a backpack while hiking the Appalachian Trail. Not exactly the same thing, I know, but I do feel like I am at least somewhat prepared for the lifestyle. I do still have some of my equipment (backpack, tent, little propane burner)... I don't have my sleeping bag anymore though, which is the biggest downer, because it was lightweight and could be compressed down to almost nothing. I've got 2 blankets and layers of clothes. Thankfully this winter has been very mild so far in PA, but I hate the cold so my biggest issue will be keeping warm.

My plans are to camp out in a little wooded area right outside of town. I plan on burying food in plastic containers and such so I don't have to haul the stuff around all the time. I was thinking about burying my pack as well, so I can travel light during the day, but to be honest, I'm terrified that someone might find it and I'd be left with nothing.

I was also thinking about staying in some foreclosed houses. Maybe getting out to Radio Shack and picking up some of those remote alarm sensors where you put them on the door or the windows and when they seperate (the door is opened) the alarm goes off. Or a motion detector alarm of some sort... Just something to give me a heads up that someone is coming so I can crawl out a window. I looked up the penalties for criminal trespass though and they aren't light... Second degree felonies and stuff merely for trying to keep warm... I don't really want to go to jail, so I'll probably just stick to the woods for now.

Thanks again for the guide!

Also another great thing to do is if your homeless is visiting old iron dumps, there are alot of usable materials you can find there like old knives and spoons.
And if you have a little bit of money you could also visit thrift stores, they have really cheap used clothing there for almost no money.