Help! Please for the love of God help me

[Mute Fox]

Is there anyone on this forum willing to take in a stray for a little while? I am being faced with homelessness if I do not find somewhere to stay very quickly, and I am freaking right the fuck out. I don't even know if this is the right place to post this kind of thing, or if it's allowed, but I literally am running out of options, and am hoping that there are comrades out there who may be interested in practicing some real-life mutual aid.

The short version of my story, is that I currently live with a friend and his parents in Philadelphia, and am waiting on another pair of friends (a married couple with kids) to buy a house in Detroit, where they expect me to move in with them (we're starting a sort of commune.) Unfortunately, my friends don't have very good credit and are being faced with delays and issues regarding the purchase of a house. They live in New York in an overcrowded apartment with my one friend's mother and sister as it is (if the landlord knew they were there they'd be evicted), and can't take me in. My friend's parents (the friend I'm currently living with here in Philly) are on the cusp of kicking me out, for various reasons which have nothing to do with my behavior and would take too long to explain here. You can PM me for details anyway. So, if I don't find somewhere to go to wait out while my friends from New York sort out their shit and get a house, my ass is out on the street. I have severe social phobia, have avoidant personality disorder, have no work history, been out of school 2 years...I will not survive on the street. I need to be living with friends who will help me become independent.

I have enough spare cash on me to afford a train ticket to almost anywhere, but it needs to be a place not far out of the way of a car trip from New York to Michigan. It would be a temporary arrangement, one or two months at the longest as far as my necessity is concerned, but of course entirely up to your discretion if you'd be willing to take me in in the first place. I can honestly say that I am a superb house guest; I have been earning my keep through cooking and cleaning and doing oddjobs and chores for almost 2 years now. I am quiet, I don't drink, smoke, or do drugs. I don't need much space as I only have what I can carry on a train (a backpack and a large duffel.) I'm male, and you can PM me for personal details, but I will say that I'm not a big guy, or very physically threatening in any way. I'm an anarchist, I don't have any special needs, dietary or medical or otherwise (or political, for that matter.) I like to think of myself as a nice, quiet fellow who minds his own business, and like I said, I will pull my own weight around the house. As I said before, PM me for any other relevant details.

Please - I know this is absolutely insane, asking for help from anonymous strangers on the internet, but I'm that desperate.

[Weezer]

:( I'm sorry about your situation. Sadly, I live on the other side of the country. My suggestion is try living with a relative for some time. Do you have any other close friends that you could live at?

I know this doesn't help much.

[Dr Mindbender]

are there any youth hostels where you live?

I managed to get into one run by a religious charity after a messy break up.

Good luck finding somewhere, i know how it is in that situation. :(

[Mute Fox]

Thanks for the sympathy, it's something at least.


My suggestion is try living with a relative for some time. Do you have any other close friends that you could live at?


Unfortunately, the reason that I am in this kind of bind in the first place is because I had a severe falling-out with my family. They don't even know if I'm alive, and probably don't care. I have a friend in Flint who is talking with his roommate about the possibility of me staying, but their financial situation is precarious and I'd only go there if I had no other options, even if they decided to let me stay.



are there any youth hostels where you live?

I managed to get into one run by a religious charity after a messy break up.

I don't know, I'd have to do some looking. Do youth hostels have an age limit? I'm 20, so I dunno if that's pushing it or what. Also, how long do they typically let people stay, and what are their criteria for letting you in? Is there a waiting period or can you just come in off the street?

Thanks for your advice, but I'm still hoping there's someone out there willing to take in a stray. Private persons are much more reliable than charitable institutions, in my experience.

[Dr Mindbender]

I don't know, I'd have to do some looking. Do youth hostels have an age limit? I'm 20, so I dunno if that's pushing it or what. Also, how long do they typically let people stay, and what are their criteria for letting you in? Is there a waiting period or can you just come in off the street?
I'm really not sure. I'm from the British isles, not the US for a start, and i suspect that since theyre rarely government run, so theres no fixed policy it will be at the discretion of the hostel in question how long they're willing to take you in and how old or young you need to be. The one i stayed at had an upper age limit of 26 though.



Thanks for your advice, but I'm still hoping there's someone out there willing to take in a stray. Private persons are much more reliable than charitable institutions, in my experience.
I know charities arent perfect, but a roof and bed certainly beats a park bench. I was thankful for it when i was down and out. You might even find a place that will help you out find something more permanent.

Besides which you ought to seriously evaluate the wisdom of asking for this sort of help online, you might put yourself in even more danger.

[Mute Fox]

I know charities arent perfect, but a roof and bed certainly beats a park bench. I was thankful for it when i was down and out. You might even find a place that will help you out find something more permanent.

Besides which you ought to seriously evaluate the wisdom of asking for this sort of help online, you might put yourself in even more danger.

I'm not sure what the situation is across the Atlantic, but here in the U.S., it's not a great place to be homeless, for reasons I could write several books on. I did check in my area, and there's a few places - a very few, who cater to people in my situation, and these are of limited capacity now since the recession hit. Even then, they are either based on a corporate "nonprofit" model (the "Resources for Human Development" folks), God-botherers who essentially imprison you for 35 days and set curfews (the Brotherhood Mission), or of very limited capacity (Whosoever Gospel Mission.) I need a safe place to stay and wait for my friends to get a house, that's all. I would not feel safe trusting myself to America's charity complex. I have friends who have had experiences with it, and it's really just depressing. I know it sounds crazy to appeal for help to anonymous strangers, but I have a bit of experience in that regard and actually feel safer doing that. I seriously doubt that anyone on this forum who'd consider taking me in is bent on making me into a coat, or some such nonsense.

[el_jones]

Hi,
If you are really really hard up, I am in the southeast. A little out of your way, but if push comes to shove...
I've got very little at the moment, but I do have a spare ma tress and running water.
All of this presupposing you are not a minor, that could start some shit.
Like I said. Out of your way, last ditch, etc.

[Sean]

I don't want to sound like a prick, and I know that you're pretty stuck, but the guy that just posted an offer has just signed up to this forum to offer you a place to stay and that seems REALLY fucking suspicious to me. I might be paranoid, but that could well be some kind of crazy coat making type there, theres noone on this site that can vouch for him/her at all.

[Mute Fox]

I understand that, believe me. I am not naive, and I have my ways of determining who to trust. In any case, I am already talking to a friend I know and trust who lives in Flint, Michigan, but his financial situation is rather precarious and things may fall through. I'm just trying to keep my options open. When it comes to facing homelessness, I need a plan C to cover my plan B, a plan D to cover my plan C, etc.

el jones, be warned - if I end up staying with you and you try to make a coat out of me or something, RevLeft will hunt you down and kill you (not to mention my friends, who I keep in touch with regularly) XD

Seriously though, thanks for the concern, but I'm a big boy and I can decide who to trust. It would only be for a short time, anyway. Although it *does* seem just the slightest tad suspicious that this is his first post. What say you, el jones?

[ellipsis]

i'd have invited you to Vermont, but i am on the road now.

i might suggest making it down to New Orleans and joining common ground.

[Mute Fox]

New Orleans, eh? What's down there, and what's Common Ground? I mean I'm gonna do my own research on it of course, but why are you pointing me in that direction?

[Sleeper]

I wish it was Summer.

I'd have two options for you, then. The first would be to go to the other hotel that the owner of this one owns where he'd find something for you to do (probably housekeeping) and you'd make $8.25/hour and have $15/night employee room rent deducted from your paycheck.

The more appealing option would be the loft above my workshop. The problem is that I have no means to heat my workshop, but in the Summer there is a window air conditioner in the loft. My trailer is too small for another person to live, I'm actually thinking about moving even though I'd miss my workshop and garden.

That'd be great if you ever needed a hand in the Summer. You don't have to do any housekeeping or cooking. There is a bathroom near the loft with a toilet and sink and you can use the shower up at the trailer anytime I'm home. You would get Room and Board, as much as you want to eat with breakfast and dinner prepared for you (if you want lunch you have to make it yourself) and $100/week, cash, for tending the vegetable garden and the lawn which averages two hours per day, six days per week. (Nobody is allowed to do any non-essential work at my house on Wednesdays, not a Religious rule, just my rule.)

The guy that stayed for three months in 2009 was an amazing fellow. He could talk about any subject for hours. I offered to find a way to get the workshop heated so he could live there year round, but he said he moves with the birds and heads South during the winter.

Unfortuantely, I have zero options now. I don't have heat for the loft and neither hotel needs anyone in the winter.

["Red Scum"]

Sleeper could he not just wrap up warm? Or if he has enough funds he could buy a small electric heater.

[Dr Mindbender]

God-botherers who essentially imprison you for 35 days and set curfews (the Brotherhood Mission), or of very limited capacity (Whosoever Gospel Mission.) I need a safe place to stay and wait for my friends to get a house, that's all. I would not feel safe trusting myself to America's charity complex.
you're probably going to think i'm a dick for saying this, but if you're so desperate maybe you should swallow your pride and go to one of these gospel missions. You havent got a pot to piss in so the last thing on your mind should be worrying about curfews. Id rather spend a couple of weeks with bible thumpers than freeze to death in a shop corner somewhere. At least you'll get a warm bed and 3 squares and not end up locked in a buffalo bill-esque cellar wondering what the fucks going on while 'goodbye horses' plays in the background.

[Mute Fox]

I wish it was Summer.
...
Unfortuantely, I have zero options now. I don't have heat for the loft and neither hotel needs anyone in the winter.

I wish it was Summer, too, comrade. Thanks for the thought, though.


you're probably going to think i'm a dick for saying this, but if you're so desperate maybe you should swallow your pride and go to one of these gospel missions. You havent got a pot to piss in so the last thing on your mind should be worrying about curfews. Id rather spend a couple of weeks with bible thumpers than freeze to death in a shop corner somewhere. At least you'll get a warm bed and 3 squares and not end up locked in a buffalo bill-esque cellar wondering what the fucks going on while 'goodbye horses' plays in the background.

I understand what you're saying, but it's not pride that's making me leery of these places. They are notoriously unreliable and the chances of there actually being room in one are slim, even if I felt I could deal with being locked up with a bunch of bible-thumpers. In my honest experience of over 2 years of couch-surfing and travelling, I have not met a single person who offered me shelter who turned out to be insincere over the short term. Problems only came up over the long-term when personal and financial problems have affected my benefactors. I seriously doubt that any offer of charity I get will be coming from a serial rapist/murderer. Besides, anyone who wants to take me in should know that I have friends who I keep in contact with regularly, know where I am at all times, and will call the police if they don't hear from me for too long ^^

Thanks for your concern, though, guys. I just got told today that I have exactly two weeks to find a place to stay, so that's till the 17th of this month. Not real long. I am hoping that my friend from Flint manages to work something out with his roomate, and I get the OK to stay with them. That's my best option at the moment, but I have to keep others open.

[Dr Mindbender]

well i hope you do find a place to stay. Do stick around to keep us updated regarding your well being.

Good luck.:)

[Sleeper]

Sleeper could he not just wrap up warm? Or if he has enough funds he could buy a small electric heater.

It would be inhumane for me to allow anyone to live there during the winter, and the workshop itself is huge with the loft being open, a small electric heater (or six of them, as six is the number of outlets in the workshop) would accomplish almost nothing.

The thing that works about the air conditioner is that it is a direct stream from the window unit into the loft, but a heating unit would dissipate too much and also present a fire hazard up there.

[Jimmie Higgins]

I'm on the West Cost, so unfortunately I don't really know anyone in the NY or Detroit areas who could put you up for a little while. Are you trying any of the anarchist or even just hippie or life-stylist networks in your area? If your friends can get the word out to their friends, maybe you can find a place you can crash for a while or even work out a kind of low-cost sublet deal or something.

Good luck comrade, I've been there too and it was just word of mouth that helped me to be able to crash on friends and friend of friends couches until I got a new job and saved up for a deposit on an new place.

[ellipsis]

New Orleans, eh? What's down there, and what's Common Ground? I mean I'm gonna do my own research on it of course, but why are you pointing me in that direction?

First it should be warmer than NY. Common ground is/was(i am not sure what they are doing now, if anything) a collective-ish group that sought to rebuild new orleans after katrina. I have many friends who went down there to help rebuild. I am pretty sure that they provide(d) housing, meager at that to volunteers.

[Sleeper]

Id rather spend a couple of weeks with bible thumpers than freeze to death in a shop corner somewhere. At least you'll get a warm bed and 3 squares and not end up locked in a buffalo bill-esque cellar wondering what the fucks going on while 'goodbye horses' plays in the background.

With all due respect, Dr. Mindbender, this is a Leftist Forum, so I think that genuinely wanting to help people would be nearly a Universal Ideology.

Besides, if my intention was to lock someone in a buffalo-bill-esque shelter, essentially saying, "I'm sorry, but I can't accomodate you right now," isn't exactly the best advertisement.

[Dr Mindbender]

With all due respect, Dr. Mindbender, this is a Leftist Forum, so I think that genuinely wanting to help people would be nearly a Universal Ideology.

Besides, if my intention was to lock someone in a buffalo-bill-esque shelter, essentially saying, "I'm sorry, but I can't accomodate you right now," isn't exactly the best advertisement.

The silence of the lambs jibe wasnt aimed at you.

i was thinking more of that strange el jones guy who apparently joined the forum for the specific purpose of providing the OP with an 'offer'.

[Mute Fox]

Good news! My friend from Flint got his roommate to agree to let me stay with them! I'm not gonna be homeless!

I'm leaving Sunday morning, and I'm totally excited, as well as relieved. It'll be nice to visit with my friend for a while. In the meantime it seems as if my New York friends' house-hunting isn't as desperate as we seemed to think; they'll find something soon enough, so the dream of the commune stays alive.

I would like to thank everyone on the forum who responded to the thread. It seems RevLefters aren't all talk when it comes to mutual aid and solidarity, which is great to know, and is a credit to the left in general. Even the OI guys took notice! So again, thank you. I'll make sure to let you all know when I'm settled in, and then I can get back to being just another newb.

Peace,
Mute Fox

[ellipsis]

I am glad something worked out man. I was genuinely worried for you.:)

[punisa]

If you want to move to Balkans you are welcome to stay at my place for free as long as you like :)

[Sleeper]

The silence of the lambs jibe wasnt aimed at you.

i was thinking more of that strange el jones guy who apparently joined the forum for the specific purpose of providing the OP with an 'offer'.

I apologize, my mistake. When you said, "Freeze to death in the corner of a shop," I thought you were referring to mine.

[ellipsis]

Apparently New Orleans and Tuscon are THE places for street kids to wait out the winter.

[Dr Mindbender]

Good news! My friend from Flint got his roommate to agree to let me stay with them! I'm not gonna be homeless!

I'm leaving Sunday morning, and I'm totally excited, as well as relieved. It'll be nice to visit with my friend for a while. In the meantime it seems as if my New York friends' house-hunting isn't as desperate as we seemed to think; they'll find something soon enough, so the dream of the commune stays alive.

I would like to thank everyone on the forum who responded to the thread. It seems RevLefters aren't all talk when it comes to mutual aid and solidarity, which is great to know, and is a credit to the left in general. Even the OI guys took notice! So again, thank you. I'll make sure to let you all know when I'm settled in, and then I can get back to being just another newb.

Peace,
Mute Fox

Great news. :)



I apologize, my mistake. When you said, "Freeze to death in the corner of a shop," I thought you were referring to mine.

Fair enough.

I meant freeze generally, as in had he found no where to stay.