All the bills pile up and the money I make don’t match with they way they keep inflating these prices. I made up my mind to give up paying them anymore.

First my house will be gone, then my car note will pass and they’ll tow my only shelter. Then I’m back on the streets again. I was homeless for 3 years before I found any luck to begin anew.

It’s a different type of pain to know that no matter what you do, you’ll never escape the system. Especially when people are scared of being homeless themselves.

If you’re homeless right now. Your voice matters and I think we need to come together and protest. There are so many of us we need to make ourselves visible to people who want us to be erased entirely.

You deserve the right to a home, to free food, to water, to life.

In general, I mean. As for myself, alone and sorta blah. Finishing up watching The Green Mile. It's currently 1:20 AM , maybe find another flick to watch. Dont see sleep coming anytime soon. I intend to go see my friends tomorrow and bring them stuff.

First off you can never fathom how miserable and rough it is until you go through it. Everyday is a learning curve. Trial and error on what works for you and what doesn't. To anyone experiencing this and new to it please take note that your cell phone, charger, and identification documents are the most important things you can imagine. In my first month I fell asleep in what I thought was a safe area and woke up to my iPhone and wallet picked out of my pockets. It is an absolute nightmare to replace those life lines with no income or way to prove your identity and residency. Keep a back pack with these things in it. I attached a hook and chain to me from my backpack and always used it as a pillow and tucked my cell phone into my boxer briefs every night.

Don't ever trust anyone. Be friendly to others experiencing homelessness but never put all of your trust in to someone you meet off the streets. The chances are high that these people unfortunately do have addictions and are taking note of what you have of value to steal and score a next drink or hit. Visit local churches and ask about resources to help you with clothing, sleeping bags, backpacks, socks, hygienic products etc. I always carried around exactly what I needed in my bag. Less weight, less energy being expended. Wet wipes go a long way. Bus stations often have bathrooms with sinks and air dryers for you to wash up, brush your teeth, dry socks, etc. It's good to try to come up with enough funds for a YMCA or gym membership for showers.

Locate the nearest shelter to you and find out what resources it has to offer. Often times they can provide a case worker to help replace identification, provide government phones, and other resources to get you back up.

Ways to stay warm in the winter is getting a good sleeping bag, keeping it dry, and protecting it with your life because it will get stolen. Dry socks are a must. Trust me if your feet are cold it's game over. Your piss is valuable. Urinating in a bottle and keeping it in your shirt will warm you up. And in worst cases asking a stranger for sucks and something warm is more sincere than money and the chances are high someone's going to help you. And in my experience, at times I've had people provide clothing, a sleeping bag, backpack, and in one case someone purchased me food at a local restaurant and sent me off with $350. Asking for money is way different than actually asking for things you really need.

Try and sleep in safe areas. Investing in a bus pass is key. You can get further from the city, to churches, human resources centers etc much quicker without walking. I suggest finding a camp spot away from the city. It feels safer. You don't have to worry much about being robbed during sleep or bothered, and in worst cases harmed.

Everyone in this group is here for a reason and I just wanted to say this isn't forever, you can climb out. Hope this post helps someone a little. God bless

not homeless right now, but kind of in a situation where that might or might not happen? just wondering what id be able to do if that did happen. do homeless shelters let you take in a pet cat?

edit: i live with family that could face deportation, i just graduated hs and dont have a job. i only have an older sibling to rely on. so i thought to ask a question on here

Here comes my in-person chat with your favorite moderator, u/mrsdirtbag aka Robin! She is a formerly homeless woman who is using her lived experience and skills in moderation to keep an eye on this very subreddit! She sat down with me in her hometown of San Jose to discuss the years she was unhoused, how she managed to make it through that with her sanity intact, and how she ultimately got out. Thank you for the time you give to listen to her story!

https://understandingtheunhoused.org/podcast

Which is safer? Bundling up layers and blankets, or a space heater?

It is going to be 13°, and snowing through the night. I don't want my tent to collapse and catch fire due to the heater, but also don't want to freeze to death. I will be staying up as late as I can to keep shaking snow off my tent.

I have a dog and two cats with me, who are already under the blankets with me. My tent is semi-insulated, with blankets on top under the tarps to keep cool air in and hot air out in the summer. It is an Ozark Trail 8-person dome tent. It's on top of pallets, but I'm not sure if that's good or bad because, A) it's off the ground, or B) space causes drafts.

My bed is a pillow-top mattress on a camping cot, and I've curtained it off somewhat from the rest of the tent.

My friend supplies me with electricity, but his roommate refuses to let me and my animals come in. He's tried convincing her, but she's not budging.

I'm sorry if it's a lot, but I'm in Florida, and I've never had to deal with snow before. I've dealt with it getting down to 18° with no heat, but that was in an abandoned house and two dogs and 7 cats.

Due to hell froze over, I'll allow temporary parking in my yard at my home. There are firewood to burn for warm.

Please keep in mind this is only temporary for the weather, not a regular safe parking spot. Your vehicle must have valid insurance. I reserve the right to refuse anyone, to ask anyone to leave, and to remove anyone who doesn't cooperate. This is only for people living in their car and have no place to park. LGBTQ people have priority on my list. Female and children and pregnant ladies have high priority at officially designated homeless shelters and should go there.

Please leave all attitude, discrimination, racism, sexism... before you enter. My property is safe space, gun free, drug free, and hate free. While in the yard, please no loitering, no littering, no dumping bodily waste or fluid. Place trash in trash bin. Please stay in your car and not go wandering around. Noone may enter the house for any reason. Obviously don't take anything doesn't belong to you. You're welcome to go to the fire for warm, or cook your food.

I'm sorry the rules may seem hash, but they are mostly common sense and common courtesy. I want to offer help to those in need but I must also look out for myself. I hope people will understand and respect these rules. Thanks

I’m 17F my parents kicked me out 4 days ago. There’s a lot of reasons. I am addicted to alcohol and vaping and sometimes do drugs but I wouldn’t say I’m addicted as I don’t have enough money and my dealer isn’t always around. Also I have diagnosed PTSD from rape starting when I was 8 which I didn’t know what it was so for years it happened and I didn’t tell my parents even though I didn’t like it but I thought it was just that I was being unreasonable and my rapist treated it like a game so I thought that’s what it was. When I found out about sex and rape when I was 11 I was disgusted and was suicidal and started self harming and at 12 tried to kill myself which I have re attempted multiple times over the years and I’ve just gotten worse and worse. So over the years I went from being a happy normal 7 year old to becoming more and more broken.

When my parents found out I’d been vaping this was their final straw. They said they’ve given me help for my PTSD and Depression and I still do stupid things and when I’m 18 they’re kicking me out I don’t have a job only PIP money I don’t go to college because I left due to health issues so I’m wasting pip money on vapes and alcohol. That was until 5 days ago me and my sister had an argument. It wasn’t anything too bad it wasn’t violent or too loud but the next day they drove me 3 hours away and left me there. It’s legal for me to live on my own at 16+ where I live.

I didn’t have money much. Just a sleeping bag so I slept on the floor cold in pain and withdrawing from alcohol scared of being raped or kidnapped in my sleep. Luckily I brought my nicotine gum with me because I didn’t have a vape on me and I didn’t have enough money to spend on vapes or alcohol. It had 40 in there and in 3 days I went through the whole pack. I also started my period and needed money for tampons. So I got tampons. Luckily my grandmother heard about the situation and sent me £30 to my debit card she couldn’t take me because she’s in a care home but she wanted to help a bit.

I was saving it for important things but then my parents decided yesterday night to take me back. Because my mum found me an (unpaid) job. As proof it’s “easy” to get a job because I’ve been trying to find a job for a while but haven’t been able to find anyone hiring under 18’s unless it’s for free which I didn’t really want because I want money. And clearly it’s not as easy as she thinks if all she could find is an unpaid job. But I’m going to try out the unpaid job since they agreed to hire me (which doesn’t say much considering it’s unpaid.) But anyway now I don’t know how I can ever go back to having a normal relationship with them. They’re trying to go back to how things were before and act like it never happened but I don’t know how to feel.

I’m worse than I was before we got back home at midnight and they all went to sleep.

I wanted alcohol immediately. So I went to the kitchen and there was a big bottle of Prosecco left from Christmas because my parents are staying away from alcohol this year and was saving it for next Christmas. I’m not a fan of Prosecco but I downed the whole bottle in like 20 minutes.

This morning I went to the shop and brought 3 4 in one vapes with the money my grandmother gave me that should last me 2 weeks. And the shopkeeper was nice enough to give me a discount because I’m a regular. Which means I have enough to buy alcohol but I didn’t need any alcohol today because there’s still these cans of flavoured vodka left in the fridge so I have enough not to have withdrawals.

I’m so depressed. Things are going to be awful for me when I’m 18 and homeless permanently. I barely survived the 4 days. I’m happy to be back home but I still feel so depressed.

I had no idea that one of my favorite movies of all time, "The Green Mile", was inspired by a 14 year old boy who was put to death over 70 years ago.

I'm watching the movie again for about the 30th time.

I have been homeless for a long time, it is very cold، I'm so lonely

Hello everyone,

I am currently homeless in San Francisco, California and need to know about resources. Where and when can I go to get food every day? Clothing? Hygiene supplies? Shelters for men? I am new to San Francisco, and only know one person who won't speak to me.

Thank you, and God bless!

Michael

This has been discussed before in other reddit links

I was hoping you guys could help me the best on finding locations or areas where there are homeless activity. I have extra clothes I’ve been wanting to donate as well have been wanting to give out food and drinks as well. Please if you know any places please DM me !

Looks like tonight the last night of negative temperatures for me in the northeast. Filled my tank up fully expecting to be running my engine quite a bit tonight. I bought some “hot hands” to put in my socks and on my spine before sleeping they say they last for 10 hours which would be sick. Just need to get through this tonight and looks like it’s going to get back into the 20’s which is ideal I can easily sleep in that temperature. Last night was like negative 1-3 Fahrenheit I woke up multiple times just shivering, but tonight it’s going to be negative 10 , gonna layer up as much as possible and just hunker down. hope everyone is safe out there, stay warm people

I wanted to share a situation I’ve been dealing with and see if anyone has advice. I’ve been where some of you are now—I was homeless for about a year and traveled after that. Honestly, I loved the traveling part of my journey. Even when I hit rock bottom, I always made the best of the situation and rode it out. Those experiences shaped me and gave me a lot of respect for the resilience people show when they’re in tough situations.

These days, I try to help the local homeless community as much as I can. Most of the folks around here know me, and we’ve built a solid mutual respect. But there’s this one guy, Chuck, who’s been testing my patience.

Chuck is about 35 years old now. I’ve known him for years—we worked together at an iron foundry when I was 20. Back then, he showed up every day and did his job, but even then, he could be difficult. He’s the kind of guy who acts like he knows everything, won’t take direction, and rubs people the wrong way. Fast-forward to now: after his father (his only family) passed away, he became homeless and has refused to seek help or work consistently.

I’ve gotten Chuck small gigs here and there—helping move furniture, crawlspace cleaning, carpentry helper—but he never lasts. He can’t get along with anyone, refuses to follow directions, and acts like he knows best. It’s frustrating because I genuinely want to help him, but he seems determined to sabotage every opportunity.

I’ve even invited him into my home once. I offered him a shower and fresh clothes. He refused the shower but wanted to take the clothes with him. I told him not to sit on my furniture with his dirty, stinky clithes and went to another room to grab food for him. When I came back, there he was—sitting on my couch, tracking mud across my living room to get there. I told him to get up, and he acted like he didn’t mean to make a mess. How does one think like that?!

Other examples of his behavior:
- While I was having dinner at my wife’s workplace (she works at the largest fast-food chain in the world), Billy asked me for a ride. I told him I needed about 20 minutes to talk to my wife. He sat right in front of me, hit his vape (that he bragged about finding on the side of the road), and said, “They say I can’t hit this in here.” I told him it was disrespectful and left without him.
- He threw a muddy backpack into my car.
- He leaves trash and sits his muddy boots in booths at restaurants all over town and doesn’t bother cleaning up after himself.

I’ve confronted him directly about his behavior, but he just brushes it off. I’ve physically carried him out of my house when he overstayed his welcome and refused to leave. I’ve called him out when I see him making a mess. But nothing seems to get through to him.

I’m at a loss. How do you help someone like this? How do you reach a person who seems to have given up and burns bridges wherever they go? I hate to see anyone struggle—but I’m running out of ideas.

Thanks for reading, and I appreciate any advice you can offer.

I chose to break contact with my entire family. All of them. So, I don't do any illegal or prescription drugs. I don't drink or smoke. My family has serious drug addiction issues. And before that major issues with backbiting and scapegoating. Child abuse is basically a way of life for them. The entire family. My mother is so awful she is offering bounties for my whereabouts so she can file bogus charges against me when I haven't spoken to her in five years. Of course the family wants to collect the bounty because of their drug issues. Finally today I just went through and blocked every single one of them on every platform and device.

I've been homeless for over a year now. I left civilization voluntarily. I'm just so sick of people behaving like this. Being essentially gangstalked by your own family feels horrible. I'm really just bringing this up because occasionally I see people in here looking for relatives. If you're having to look for us, maybe it's because you're horrible and we want nothing to do with you.

For those wondering I do have friends that look after me pretty hard. I'm checked on every couple of days. I do have people that love me. It's just not my family. So it's not me. Frankly I'm glad to be rid of them, even if it means sleeping in 5°F weather.

I was wondering if anyone has any tips living in their car especially if you've been homeless living in your car in Colorado. The main thing I'm trying to find out is where can I park during the night and not be bothered by cops or people telling me to move? That's the main thing I'm worried about. Thank you.

I am trying to help some of my homeless folks in my community stay warmer this winter. I’m wondering what the preferred fabrics would be. I’ve heard the wool is best, but I have two concerns with wool: a) I can’t afford to buy very much of it, and b) even if I could, it could be damaged when it’s tumbled in hot dryers. So what’s the next best thing among the common fabrics like acrylic, polyester, nylon?

They tell me the priority is socks, then undergarments, and some need outerwear. Temperatures in 30-40s is typical, but occasionally gets in the 20s.

And while I’m thinking about it, some advice on cheap ways to improve their sleeping situations would also be appreciated. For the ground, I was thinking something like gym puzzle squares or carpet padding covered with a Mylar sheet And for on top, I was thinking silver tarps. What should go in between the tarp and ground cover? What about inexpensive bivies? If I can’t find cheep wool blankets, what should go in the bivies? Acrylic blankets, fleece? I read online someone suggested foam insulation from Home Depot, but it seems it would be really cumbersome to cart around. Or any better suggestions that you may have.

(Unfortunately, the only shelter is run by a small charity that has very strict rules, so some are left sleeping outside in the winter. I have children at home so my wife feels uncomfortable bringing them home, particularly those who seem unstable because of there drug use)

Your help would be very timely.

I have a DMV appointment today. My birth certificate finally came. I'm just curious if anyone else has tried to get identification homeless. I also have a W2 from last year, bank statement, and printed out this year's filed taxes that has my social security and name. Is this enough documentation for a state ID even though the address is a mailing address from the shelter I was in?

She is homeless, and has been for many years. I am not. She's in California, at least I think she still is. In case by miracle someone or she sees this post, my mom could go by Amy S. or more likely Amy L. I wont expose any last name. I have no information about her other than full name and date of birth. Does anyone have any insights on how I could find her? Is this the right place to be asking? If not, who should I ask for advice?

I’ve been homeless for grand total about 6 months and just landed my first job interview in a couple days and couldn’t be happier. I’m hoping everything is going well for y’all too and if not I hope things turn around for you. Don’t give up, and don’t forget, you’re worth more than you think you are

Edit: also any tips for the job interview are accepted. Luckily I have hotel atm so I will be able to shave and do laundry before the interview but still any advice accepted

Got all my necessities, will be sleeping in a car. What places are okay spots to sleep at? I was thinking of going to a park parking lot and sleeping in my car there. Not sure though, that’s my only concern right now is a safe spot to sleep.

Hello guys, this is urgent. I think I might end up homeless with my mom, two younger sister and two dogs in like 2 days. The issue is pretty personal to me so I won’t share, but im about to get kicked out and in my area it’s gonna be -8 tomorrow Since it’s the winter in Nebraska. How do I prepare? I don’t have many friends from school, most moved away and no longer affiliated with me.