Has anyone ever been homeless with no money? How did you / would you survive?

Originally posted by IAMIAM
I am homeless and without money my friend. It is a chosen lifestyle. I survive by going house to house doing handyman work for what ever is offered as payment (usually food, shelter, and good conversation). I do not accept money myself, but if it is offered, I give the name of someone who still needs money who will receive it for my work.

Been living this way for a year and would never look back.

With Love,

Your Brother [/quote

you will be one of those who will be ok when the SHTF. Also your a good man through and through.

Originally posted by lbndhr

Originally posted by Blastoff
Just a bit of advice, but it will not apply to everyone: go to another country and become an English teacher there. If you are a native English speaker, there will always be language schools willing to take you in.

You see, even with hardly any special skills you can still earn an honest living and be respectable.

Creativity is the key word here.

If a person is homeless or on the verge of being homeless how will they get the funds to go over sees to get this english speaking teaching job?
How will they survive until they get there first check if they even managed to get the thousands it would take to get to this job?

Not to mention immigration fees and all that crap. Ask me how I know.....

Originally posted by IAMIAM
I am homeless and without money my friend. It is a chosen lifestyle. I survive by going house to house doing handyman work for what ever is offered as payment (usually food, shelter, and good conversation). I do not accept money myself, but if it is offered, I give the name of someone who still needs money who will receive it for my work.

Been living this way for a year and would never look back.

With Love,

Your Brother

Interesting and selfless,. quite inspiring - May I ask if this situation was due to something that could be avoided or did you choose this way?

Originally posted by mr-lizard
Interesting and selfless,. quite inspiring - May I ask if this situation was due to something that could be avoided or did you choose this way?

It is chosen my friend.

hi op

i dont know how to describe this
but being born in glasgow in the 1970s i was already streetwise by the time i was 7
then i got put into care and kept running away and livin of the streets for a few days at a time
i can understand now that if i were homeless id be up the creek without the paddle
i admit wen i was a child if i was hungery i would steal from the shop or rake the bins for thrown away food
eg
wen i was around 9 (1985)
we would go to the back of the supermarket and help ourselves to the thrown out food that expired that day
nowadays you get arrested
there was a thread a while back that showed a woman going through the skip at the back of sainsburys
she got arrested and charged
i dont know what my point is accept that this crappy government will arrest you
for taking thrown away food
what a sad state this world has become

I was homeless for 2 years as a youth, living in my pick up truck. Traveling around, doing odd jobs, playing guitar on the corner [busking], finding rich girl friends to sponge off of, extra in the movies, house sitting, pet sitting, exercising horses at the race tracks and sleeping in horse stalls, and at times eating out of restaurant or grocery store dumpsters. It was one of the most wonderful times of my life.
No responsibilities, no worries, freedom.

Then I got married.........

Originally posted by IAMIAM

Originally posted by mr-lizard
Interesting and selfless,. quite inspiring - May I ask if this situation was due to something that could be avoided or did you choose this way?

It is chosen my friend.

I admire who you are as a person. I see you as a man who dont take up much space in society, who understands the need for materialistic things is zero. No mortage/rent, no utilities. You probably have many friends who are more family-like then friends. You need your breath to live, you need to put a little food in your stomache and you need clothe for your body, all that can be found within any city-forest or desert, what matters is hwo you look at your enviroment what you see in it that can help you.
MY inner desire of the perfect life for myself is being lost in the wilderness, heck even the desert,( im a born and raseid Desert rat). Being female I live within the 4 walls of my structure but if I had a man that wasnt afraid of having nothing Id be out there living freely without bills that haunt me daily. Before modern civilization changed life to advance into large homes money money money, new cars, new clothes, cell phones, computers, televisions, we lived off the land, made shelter from the elements, did you know you can eat tumble weeds? ya I read up on this, it is the flower part of the weeds that are eatable, cactus has those flowers that bloom great source of a fruit like food. plus many of the cactus themselves can be eaten, but be careful because some cactus is poisonous, seeds can be found everywhere on the ground. catails that grow by the edge of rivers and lakes you can eat them. ya there are thousands of eatables right out your door within the greenery

reply to post by mr-lizard


It would be a challenge but not impossible to survive. Anyone can beg and as a social experiment I know a man who was given a challenge as part of some "group" he was in (no not the Hare Krishnas) but was to go to people and say he was destitute and had nothing to see for himself fellow human beings actually will come through for you in a time of need.
Trouble is they don't always SEE need and so it passes them by but my friend found when he walked up to strangers and told them a sad story almost every one of them offered him help of some kind. He was shocked to discover this himself since you would think strangers in Miami of all places might not be so willing.

I would check out this thread too...How to Survive in your Car. Some tips there.
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Here is another thread on a pet peeve of this "liberal" - Vets in Homeless Shelters
Homeless shelters, VETS, Mentally ill, Car Living, How to Help
www.abovetopsecret.com...

Originally posted by mr-lizard
Just a few question really:

Say your situation suddenly changed and you found yourself without much money, without means of transport and few job opportunities as well as no home, how would you survive?

There're hundreds of thousands of people all across the country that're living this life. There're thousands of homeless every night in most larger cities. They can hitchhike for travel but some of them can't move around well because of bad knees or ankles or other such things. So they stay in certain areas to avoid having to move around too much. A few crazies have walked, though. I met one guy that told me he walked 100 miles. I walked a large amount even when I was settled. I may have been able to take the bus. In the inner city only some cities offer free rides. But if you want to travel outside of that you have to pay - and there were a lot of things outside that area of the city.

Would you steal or beg to survive? Would you try and busk or hustle or would you still try and maintain a clean image and apply for jobs (how would that work without a mailing address?)

Some of them beg, but many don't. There're shelters and churches that have food. Many homeless people have part-time jobs while they're staying at shetlers. There're also low rent shelters where you can stay (only at night, not during daytime, i think) and you have your own locker for private possessions. Some people will offer you work - for example, i was offered a small job for $70 but since I didn't know the area at all (was my first time there) and I had blisters all over my feet, I declined him.

Would you apply for a hostel, or rely on friends?

Hostels are too expensive. People sleep on the street or they go to shelters. I slept at a trucking station on a rockpile one night - i'm lucky no trucker said anything or that I didn't get covered in rocks (hey, it could have happened). It was freezing cold. I also slept on a walking bridge. Again, it was freezing cold because it was on a bay. You need 2 or 3 covers to sleep more than a few minutes. I don't think I slept at all those nights. I did try sleeping in a park and think I had more like, but woke up a coulpe times and saw rats scurrying around. Some shelters don't ask for money but you have to compete by showing up early. Others require you to do certain tasks for them.

What and how would you eat? drink?

Shelters, food banks, churches, etc. There're a lot of places. Mostly bread and other non-perishables. I was with a guy that was eating fried chicken and other things from a dumpster. The fast food restaurant there would throw out the food at the end of the day - the food was still warm.

Thoughts?
I was homeless for almost a month to see what it was like. It's not as hard as you think, but neither is it glamorous. One of the biggest thing you have to cope with is not having privacy and not having a real sense of security. And finding a nice place to sleep on the street at night where you feel safe can take a while... I never succeed in finding a place where I felt comfortable.

Originally posted by whaaa
I was homeless for 2 years as a youth, living in my pick up truck. Traveling around, doing odd jobs, playing guitar on the corner [busking], finding rich girl friends to sponge off of, extra in the movies, house sitting, pet sitting, and at times eating out of restaurant or grocery store dumpsters. It was one of the most wonderful times of my life.
No responsibilities, no worries, freedom.

That last part is the truth.
When I was homeless, at first I felt lost, but once I found a way to eat and drink, I felt freer than anytime in my life.
I remember siting out on top of an old shipping container in the rear of a store at 2:30 AM watching the cars go by on the highway. I could see the whole city from there, and I felt like I could do anything. Just sat there in the cool air eating a stale bag of Cheetos and the remainder of a flat 2 liter Pepsi.

No rules, no limits, no cares. Funny how we see things even when times are really bad, or supposed to be.

By the way guys, in case you want some easy food thats fresh.....

Chinese buffet restaurants often times throw out huge quantities of food. If you find one sometimes they will give you a bag of egg rolls and whatever other stuff was left over MORE THAN YOU CAN EAT.

Also if you have a CICI's pizza around you can ask some of the kids working there to spare something. They are not supposed to but I found they are a lot more LAX about breaking the rules. Pizza hut will just call the police.

So thee you have it....Buffet places have an abundance, if your nice and don't scare the people waiting out back at night, they will just bring you a box with like 40 different pieces in there.

Little ceaser's throws out the bread sticks with the freaking marinara sauce thank you very much.

Anyway, that's what worked for me, made some friends doing ii also that helped me. As long as they know your not on drugs and not a criminal they will probably work with you.

I have been in that position for the last year.

My relationship up north went tits up along with my business. I could not afford the house i was renting so got evicted and ended up having to go back to the mids to sofa surf at my moms.

There are no jobs, no money and for a while I thought no hope. But I have just landed a Job in Dubai and am flying out soon.

You dont have to lose your integrity to get by

Just keep trying and keep going.

reply to post by mr-lizard


I was homeless and broke a couple times actually. Actually the entire family was, we depended on friends helping us, they let us stay with them and look for work and provided food for us as well, in return I watched their children, cooked, and cleaned for them. My hubby found work as did I, eventually, but before I found work I applied for (And was denied) government help. Eventually we got out of that situation, no thanks to the tax dollars the Government exploited from me to hand their corrupt system that they love to hand to worthless scumbags who never worked a day in their lives, though I paid into the corrupt a** system since I was 16. It sucked and the only reason I even applied was so that the other family wouldn't have to be burdened using their funds to feed my kids (so I wouldn't feel I was being moochy). I think thta it's true if you have some kind of intelligence, or show you are educated they dismiss you out of hand regardless of your circumstances, they automatically assume if you're well spoken that you must've been born with gold pouring out of your A** or something. Poor don't have to mean ignorant, but apparently that is still a very real misconception that these offices hold, it's a bias and it stinks!!! Should I lower myself and start speaking ignantly just so I can get help when I need it? No I shouldn't have to lower myself!

I stole from a convenience store, and the attendant knew I was stealing and allowed me to do it. I only stole Mr. Goodbars candybars because I was conflicted about stealing in the first place.
I slept in the bushes against a church building because I thought if I got caught they wouldn't call the cops.
It was not a very fun experience to be homeless and without any means to support myself, but it made me who I am today.
I never went to an established shelter because it is easy to be victimized in such an environment. I found the people in these shelters to be "lifers", and I wasn't about to become complacent and join their club.
It's amazing how easy it is to lose everything and how hard it is to get it all back.

There are some blogs about homelessness. I work with homeless, and have discussed with many the problems and options as well as the oral wisdom passed along...

* If no family to help, couch surfing. If no friends who can or will help, car living is, of course, the best.
* Cities usually have at least one free meal at some organization each day of the week.
* 24 hour stores for bathrooms.
* Tacos, soup and hotdogs are very cheap foods.
* Bars which stay open late provide plumbing, light, and shelter for the price of a beer.
* Books become highest level of entertainment and escapism. This is important-- reading and writing are necessary to warding off the despair and desperation which drives so many to drugs and alcoholism.

Many do have jobs, but insufficient for rent utilities, deposits, etc. So...
* Gym membership, for access to showers, and locker in which to keep a set of work (or interview) clothes.

If no job...

* Cell phone for any hope of job (libraries, coffee shops and restaurants to charge them-- pay bills with cash).
* No address is the number one hope killer-- potential employers know the addresses of shelters, and sadly, have a tendency to assume homeless are thieves, felons or otherwise undesirable (that a brutal divorce causes unexpected and sudden homelessness does not seem to occur to anyone). So, make a friend who will let you use their address.

Odds and ends:

It will vary, but there are restaurants whose employees actually have souls.
* Some will quietly package food and set it out on the dumpster out back. It is illegal (health department violation), so they have to be careful.
* I lived in a place where the homeless population was enormous. Offices would place the left-over pizza and birthday cake remnants from office meetings and such at the bus stops where he homeless would gather. Commuting home, I would see several pizza boxes and bags of food at several stops -- almost daily.
* Homeless camps on the outskirts of town provide some community and access to wisdom as to where meals and supplies may be obtained.
* Most, not all, who have hope of climbing back out will say they got away from the shelters because of the drugs and alcohol surrounding them as well as the stigma they attach to THEMSELVES. Interesting.
* Spiritual direction. Sounds odd, but finding no one cared enough to help before going homeless, changes a person, makes former outward and social norms turn utterly inward, and long terms of introspection have benefit as well as cause torment. Someone who helps with spiritual matters is often spoken of my the chronic homeless and credited with avoiding despair and even suicide.
* Get an email account, use library computers, a flash drive to hold resume and such.
* Seems obvious, but maybe not-- if no car to live in, shelters if you can stand it, otherwise, under bridges, in a tent on the edge of town, and in wooded sections of public parks.
* The homeless blogs contain useful equipment list as well as strategies to avoid detection whether in a car or out of a back-pack.
* Wits help, so do others who have been, or are now, in that situation.
* PTSD and depression are common. Being aware of symptoms goes a long way to coping.

reply to post by mr-lizard


When this happened to me I found a place to 'squat' looked for jobs and walked everywhere. During this time I stole food from people I was visiting. I hustled a little- blackjack and pool. I also maintained a clean image and looked for jobs- I had a mailing address. I relied on 'friends' very little- They were a resource to manage at the time. I once found a can of corn on the side of the road while walking home and about 50cents in a parking lot I carried the can home and used the 50cents to buy a pack of crackers and an RC cola at the schweggman's. I have taken food from restaurant trash etc.

I was in college at this time and NOTHING was going to keep me from finishing. When I Iost my apt I stayed w a friend but he got sick of the arrangement after about 3 mos or so and dropped me off at the dorm- my aid covered the first semester- but no more and no food. then the other people in my suite decided to move to campus apts. and since I knew I couldn't afford to live the following year I signed up to be in their suite and used my remaining aid money to pay the deposit to hold a room in the same suite. I never signed any paperwork to finalize living there. When my suite mates moved in I did too. I had to jimmy the lock to my room and had a key made. I also used my suitemate's key to have one made- It took 8 months before any of my suitemate's realized what I was doing- by then they were dealing drugs and wouldn't do anything to cause a stir.

I did graduate and got a fellowship to study for PhD in chem at a top school.

Longest I went without any food at all was about a week and a half while waiting for my first paycheck to come from one of the three jobs I just started. The other employees at the bookstore noticed one day and discretely handed me twenty bucks and sent me across the street to popeye's. I will never forget them and feel like crying when I think of them now- almost twenty years later. I hope I get a chance to see them again some day.

to sum it up- a person like myself becomes very tenacious tense and scheming- but not necessarily criminal due to this kind of stress.

Originally posted by mr-lizard
Just a few question really:

Say your situation suddenly changed and you found yourself without much money, without means of transport and few job opportunities as well as no home, how would you survive?

Would you steal or beg to survive? Would you try and busk or hustle or would you still try and maintain a clean image and apply for jobs (how would that work without a mailing address?)

Would you apply for a hostel, or rely on friends?

What and how would you eat? drink?

Thoughts?

Well... Since I have had that happen to Me, I can say that where I am, if it wasn't for food pantries, My husband and I would have starved. And the Red Cross. They put a roof over Our heads until the System could.

I still can't find a job after over five years of looking (old ladies are not much in demand).

I remember about 6 or 7 years ago, I went 1200 miles away from my home, to try a new life. Well, things did not go so well, and after a run in with the law, I went broke. And had to sleep in my car for some weeks. Then my car at the time shot craps, and the city towed. So then I was completely SOL.

I was very surprised by the good nature of complete strangers. I had one family take me into their trailer, and fed me and then found me a job doing construction. After a week of employment, my boss then worked out a deal with me and put me into a hotel. Then I wasn't homeless anymore.

At that time though, I did not expect my fellow man to help as much. And since then I will almost always help someone in need.

Great thread,i've really enjoyed reading all your stories.It really shows that when your backs against the wall your way more capable than you think you are.I've never been homeless myself but i did grow up in one of englands poorest estates and have many fond memories from times when i didn't have a pot to piss in.

I'm lucky enough NOT to be homeless. I wouldn't cope outdoors too well 'cos I need heat. However I have a friend who is homeless by choice. He survives by being one of the most cheery and gregarious people I've ever met. He knows people just everywhere he goes. He's living in a hammock in a tree over a river at the minute and likes it very much.