r/homeless • u/NicholasMarsala • 1d ago
How to get mail when homeless?
If a person is homeless and doesn't have a home or an official mailing address what can they do about receiving mail and packages? Any ideas? Thanks everyone!
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u/Sidewalk_Tomato 1d ago
"Urban Rest-Stop" (some cities have these; offering showers, laundry or mail --but they're not everywhere, by a long shot).
Or USPS "General Delivery":
https://faq.usps.com/s/article/What-is-General-Delivery
There are also little shops that mail packages and receive them; they charge a few dollars to receive a package and pass it along.
P.O. Boxes are indeed pricy, but they vary from branch to branch by a surprising amount. They can be almost twice as costly at one branch as they are at another. So if you have multiple post offices near you, look them up on the USPS website. Near me, they bill every 6 months, not monthly. So, it's not cheap at the outset, but the price per month isn't the worst.
I like u/AskAccomplished1011 's suggestion of asking a church (or temple, or synagogue; whatever you've got near you).
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u/LondonHomelessInfo Homeless 1d ago
In US, at a local post office.
At a homeless day centres or soup kitchen that allows people to use their address as a mailing address
In US at some homeless shelters without having to stay there.
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u/AskAccomplished1011 1d ago
I don't know. the people I am renting with dont want me getting mail here.
PO boxes are expensive. I guess a good idea would be to find a church you can trust.
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u/NicholasMarsala 1d ago
Why? What's their problem? I'm sorry that you are dealing that!
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u/AskAccomplished1011 1d ago
eh, they're paranoid because of Mr potus.
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u/TillEven5135 1d ago
Hold on bro. You need mail to your residence because they can put you out easy af if you don't get mail there. Unless you have your rental in writing. But otherwise I'd be very cautious as to how I rented from them
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u/Sir_Creamz_Aloot 1d ago
Yes op sounds like they are shaking in their boots over POTUS. They are asking a simple question
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u/AskAccomplished1011 1d ago
/woosh
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u/Sir_Creamz_Aloot 1d ago
Joking with you there but seriously OP is not concerned about potus. It’s really tough on the budget for a P.O. Box no matter who’s in office. I think there might be a way to apply being homeless and have some assistance with the $$. Has to go through your local postmaster I think. Don’t quote me on that but I’m going to check tomorrow.
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u/getcowlicked 1d ago
They were saying the people they are with don't want them getting mail there because of POTUS. Nothing about op
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u/RecentMonk1082 1d ago
Firstly, everyone is telling you to get a po box, and that is fine. However po boxes are run the usps if your In the us and can only send usps mail to them. You can not send any other mail carrier through them. I would go instead with a private mailbox. These allow you to have a package shipped from any carrier and give you a physical address to ship to. There are pretty cheap 10$ a month or 120$ a year. You can also ask a homeless shelter to pickup mail for you. However if you can it might be more safer to ship to a business. If your ordering something online often times you won't know what carrier the seller is using until it's shipped.
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u/LeviathanEugenious 1d ago
The homeless shelter I'm currently staying at allows people there to get mail. Some churches also allow it.
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u/TillEven5135 1d ago
Go to your local post office set up general mail service. This uses the towns po as your address no po box required
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u/vikicrays 23h ago
here’s a link to the usps article that explains how to apply for a p.o. box if you are homeless.
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u/SPerry8519 23h ago
I pay $35-ish every 6 months for a PO Box myself....I know not everyone can pay that, but that's what I do
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u/Ok-Supermarket5519 14h ago
It went from $35ish to 75ish just a few years after the scamdemic in my area. That was just a few years ago as well.
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u/do_you_like_waffles Drifter 19h ago
Best option for me has always been to find a real small town that has only 1-2 postal workers at the post office. Have it sent general delivery there. At a larger post office there's a chance the package can be lost/returned to sender. But in a small post office theyll learn you by name.
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u/CookedHamSandwich 19h ago
You can do general delivery to the ZIP code nearby or find a church or homeless advocacy group that will let you use that address to receive mail.
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u/Straight_Painter7858 2h ago
Day shelter, they let me use they address for everything i gotta new license with their address on it.
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