Re: Please Pray For This Man
Posted: Tue Oct 09, 2012 4:38 am
I've been homeless several times in my younger years, in small towns, in major cities, with and without a car.
The hardest part about homelessness is boredom after dark. If u have a car it is much much better than not having a car, u have a phone for work etc. if u have a cell phone, to get an address for job applications etc. get a mailbox at a private mailbox place, these come as a regular street address with a number afterward that looks as if it could be an apartment number, if u get one at the post office it is just a p.o. box address.
For showers get a cheap membership at a 24 hour gym, truck stops were once an option but are now too expensive.
If u need food find out wich churches give out food on what days and times. For work, and once u have a permanent job you will begin pulling out of homelessness, for work u go register at all the local day labor / casual labor places such as labor ready etc., this will give u cash money at the end of the day. For better work also register at all the local temp. agencys and let them find u a job, then register at all the local staging companies, stagehand work hires anybody with no experience and usually starts u off at $12 - $15 / hour, time and a half after 8 hours and double time after midnight. This can actually be a lucrative profession but they are very casual and always need people and pay well, other jobs that are ALWAYS hiring are taxi jobs.
Once u start working and saving money soon u might find u have gotten used to living that way and it's not as bad as u thought and soon u will be able to save a lot of money in a short time because u have no rent or utilities to pay, then u can start looking for an apartment.
There is a right and a wrong way to approach homelessness, if u approach it with a plan and research and look at it as an adventure / ordeal u must pull thriugh and have a workable plan to do so then it is much easier to face, as opposed to facing the unknown and with no day to day plan, at this stage it is all about day to day plans.
As far as sleeping goes, if u plan on sleeping in the car ( not recommended, it gets old fast ) then get a small storage area in a nearby location to keep the stuff u would have filling up your car, don't get too friendly with people, be self sustaining, if there are rural areas near town find a place to camp at night, get the smallest simplest tent u can find and a sleeping bag, coleman stove, water etc. if u plan on cooking and eating at camp.
Homelessness can be done cleanly, and one can make every day productive, weather and place are the biggest concerns, there are places where it is not feasible to be homeless.
Face it with a plan and strength and u will get through it, and in the process u may also discover a sense of freedom unknown to u before and also lose a lot of the fear associated with having to worry about such a circumstance again.
Public parks, especially those near a public library are good places to spend the weekends, I relaxed a lot in nice parks and read a lot of books, be careful who u associate with, there is a difference between bums and hobos, hobos work and travel, I met some very interesting, colorful, intelligent characters at day labor places and parks, hobos have a lot of knowledge of living that way, it can help to talk to some people and get information, the low down on the town, where to go for this or that, where to stay away from, etc.
There are actually some web pages for advice and tips on living in your car these days. If u are working u can pull out of homelessness in a month or so.
The hardest part about homelessness is boredom after dark. If u have a car it is much much better than not having a car, u have a phone for work etc. if u have a cell phone, to get an address for job applications etc. get a mailbox at a private mailbox place, these come as a regular street address with a number afterward that looks as if it could be an apartment number, if u get one at the post office it is just a p.o. box address.
For showers get a cheap membership at a 24 hour gym, truck stops were once an option but are now too expensive.
If u need food find out wich churches give out food on what days and times. For work, and once u have a permanent job you will begin pulling out of homelessness, for work u go register at all the local day labor / casual labor places such as labor ready etc., this will give u cash money at the end of the day. For better work also register at all the local temp. agencys and let them find u a job, then register at all the local staging companies, stagehand work hires anybody with no experience and usually starts u off at $12 - $15 / hour, time and a half after 8 hours and double time after midnight. This can actually be a lucrative profession but they are very casual and always need people and pay well, other jobs that are ALWAYS hiring are taxi jobs.
Once u start working and saving money soon u might find u have gotten used to living that way and it's not as bad as u thought and soon u will be able to save a lot of money in a short time because u have no rent or utilities to pay, then u can start looking for an apartment.
There is a right and a wrong way to approach homelessness, if u approach it with a plan and research and look at it as an adventure / ordeal u must pull thriugh and have a workable plan to do so then it is much easier to face, as opposed to facing the unknown and with no day to day plan, at this stage it is all about day to day plans.
As far as sleeping goes, if u plan on sleeping in the car ( not recommended, it gets old fast ) then get a small storage area in a nearby location to keep the stuff u would have filling up your car, don't get too friendly with people, be self sustaining, if there are rural areas near town find a place to camp at night, get the smallest simplest tent u can find and a sleeping bag, coleman stove, water etc. if u plan on cooking and eating at camp.
Homelessness can be done cleanly, and one can make every day productive, weather and place are the biggest concerns, there are places where it is not feasible to be homeless.
Face it with a plan and strength and u will get through it, and in the process u may also discover a sense of freedom unknown to u before and also lose a lot of the fear associated with having to worry about such a circumstance again.
Public parks, especially those near a public library are good places to spend the weekends, I relaxed a lot in nice parks and read a lot of books, be careful who u associate with, there is a difference between bums and hobos, hobos work and travel, I met some very interesting, colorful, intelligent characters at day labor places and parks, hobos have a lot of knowledge of living that way, it can help to talk to some people and get information, the low down on the town, where to go for this or that, where to stay away from, etc.
There are actually some web pages for advice and tips on living in your car these days. If u are working u can pull out of homelessness in a month or so.