Houseless mutual aid and resource thread

[Ele'ill]

There are users frequently posting about being houseless, on the verge of being houseless, being in a living situation they have to get out of, facing eviction, facing hour cuts and financial ruination. Currently at the place I work we are facing severe hour cuts with already minimum wage and related conditions with four of us facing or in unstable/unconventional living situations. One of the workers is now houseless and asked me 'where do I go, what do I do'. I think a resource for everything from the simple (like what to do during weeks of rain, I am out of my old apartment an hour ago where do I go what should I start doing) to the more specific (legal support/groups/projects offering options in your specific location, their reputation and how to get into contact with them), can help. Don't want to paint a specific spectrum of purpose for this thread so I'll end the thread into here.

[HoboHomesteader]

one of my go tos is to seek out the local food not bombs chapter, there i find yummy healthy food and companionship. FnB is a great way to plug in with the dumpster diving, squatting crowd, fellow poor folx, etc.

[Creative Destruction]

We were houseless in Portland for a bit. One center I'd recommend for people who find themselves in that situation in PDX is to hit up Dignity Village (http://www.dignityvillage.org/). If you can't find a space to make yourself home there, at the very least they have resource information. The Red/Black Cafe is also homeless/houseless friendly. Spanging is a thing in some parts of Portland, but the white (this is the whitest large city in the country) hipsters and yuppies are starting to crow on about the "safety" issue around homeless/houseless folks in downtown. Still, I've seen successful panhandling in west Portland, downtown and even in a couple of the suburbs. Portland is also a fairly friendly busking city.

Luckily, my wife and I had a car so we weren't nearly in the same straits as other folks were and I was able to get a job fairly quickly. If you're a rubber tramp, there's a friendly and safe rest stop along I-5, about 15 or 20 miles south of the city called the Baldock Rest Area. The rule is 12 hours in, 12 hours out, but that's a fairly loose restriction. it's also fairly easy to park in one of the neighborhoods, draw your blinds and catch some Zs.

There was also, at least a few months ago, a pretty reliable FNB chapter here that shared food at Col. Summers Park. We haven't visited them for a while because their location is prohibitive for us, but I imagine they're still giving out food.

Another add: if you find yourself in one of the suburbs, Aloha and a big chunk of Hillsboro are the friendliest to working people. Some parts of Beaverton, but most of that town is the cookie cutter suburb type. They all kind of run into each other, though. There are non-profits that help with rental assistance in Aloha and there are food pantries spotted at various points which are fairly easy to get to on the bus.

[Ele'ill]

We were houseless in Portland for a bit. One center I'd recommend for people who find themselves in that situation in PDX is to hit up Dignity Village (http://www.dignityvillage.org/). If you can't find a space to make yourself home there, at the very least they have resource information. The Red/Black Cafe is also homeless/houseless friendly. Spanging is a thing in some parts of Portland, but the white (this is the whitest large city in the country) hipsters and yuppies are starting to crow on about the "safety" issue around homeless/houseless folks in downtown. Still, I've seen successful panhandling in west Portland, downtown and even in a couple of the suburbs. Portland is also a fairly friendly busking city.

Luckily, my wife and I had a car so we weren't nearly in the same straits as other folks were and I was able to get a job fairly quickly. If you're a rubber tramp, there's a friendly and safe rest stop along I-5, about 15 or 20 miles south of the city called the Baldock Rest Area. The rule is 12 hours in, 12 hours out, but that's a fairly loose restriction. it's also fairly easy to park in one of the neighborhoods, draw your blinds and catch some Zs.

There was also, at least a few months ago, a pretty reliable FNB chapter here that shared food at Col. Summers Park. We haven't visited them for a while because their location is prohibitive for us, but I imagine they're still giving out food.

Another add: if you find yourself in one of the suburbs, Aloha and a big chunk of Hillsboro are the friendliest to working people. Some parts of Beaverton, but most of that town is the cookie cutter suburb type. They all kind of run into each other, though. There are non-profits that help with rental assistance in Aloha and there are food pantries spotted at various points which are fairly easy to get to on the bus.

If I accepted every drug, liquor, food, offer I got every day just by sitting somewhere relatively public I'd probably be dead in two days.

[Admiral Swagmeister G-Funk]

still homeless in london and, when sleeping rough, i bunk a train to safer, more suburban areas on the borders between london and kent. i go to a specific park which has many trees as shelter and is relatively safe. i buy 5lr bottles of water which i refill at my university and bring survival food such as tins of beans, tinned tuna/other fish and anti-bacterial wash.

not ideal but it beats sleeping in rough urban areas. however, homeless outreach teams generally wont look for people in parks if they have been referred as i found, so if you're desperate to be found, you may have to be somewhere more public in order to be found.

great thread idea btw, will be checking frequently

[Ele'ill]

Just a couple non-geographically specific points. Churches can often be the last place you'd ever want to try to sleep around. They are businesses that have the poshest of reputations to protect and don't be fooled they serve wealthy neighborhood associations and 'anti-crime' (anti-poor) campaigns. The only time (this year) I've ever had a business related encounter where I hadn't done something to instigate it is at multiple churches where I've been threatened with assault, had my stuff briefly trashed (most recently), had the cops called on me by folks who use the church once a week for god talk shit where I had been sleeping and napping there every day for two months (out of the way but in a non-trespassing kind of way). Yeah I know they feed folks, sometimes. So does theft and food stamps, handouts and safe temporary spaces like food not bombs and many others. They will perform charity for quantitative capital oriented goals to get a big congregation base and then cut your throat in your sleep. Beautiful buildings, ugly people.

I think this is the most important thing here. Know the season, know the weather, and know the area. Plan your day a few steps in advance and know your comfort levels. Be 100% honest with yourself. Don't do the 'yeah well I'm gonna do stuff today and then last minute just go to the street over there down town and sleep under the overpass' when you've never done it before and are generally unfamiliar with that area. Areas change drastically from day to night. It might be very wet, or very cold later, and that area may be very unsafe and you will end up leaving, in the wet/cold to spend hours seeking out some other spot. This can be solved by building a grid and strategy for moving around. Build a routine and expand your days from there. This includes knowing places you can use the bathroom and seek shelter from shit weather. Also places you can head to for help if you are sketched out by something. 24 hour convenience stores can attract a lot of trouble but they can also be useful as you move about. Some grocery stores are open for about 20 hours a day, from very early in the morning to very early in the morning.

I guess last for now is consider the pros and cons of moving/living around others. A lot of folks want to buddy up or want you to move to the areas they hang out near by. I have found it detrimental unless I am traveling across the state/country and as a rule I refuse to buddy up with strangers.

[HoboHomesteader]

still homeless in london and, when sleeping rough, i bunk a train to safer, more suburban areas on the borders between london and kent. i go to a specific park which has many trees as shelter and is relatively safe. i buy 5lr bottles of water which i refill at my university and bring survival food such as tins of beans, tinned tuna/other fish and anti-bacterial wash.

not ideal but it beats sleeping in rough urban areas. however, homeless outreach teams generally wont look for people in parks if they have been referred as i found, so if you're desperate to be found, you may have to be somewhere more public in order to be found.

great thread idea btw, will be checking frequently

What do you mean by homeless outreach teams?

[Admiral Swagmeister G-Funk]

What do you mean by homeless outreach teams?
Organizations like this one which is run locally to me:
[/quote]
Single Homeless Intervention and Prevention

The SHIP service is a housing options centre for single people in Lewisham who are homeless or are worried they might become homeless.[/quote]

In Britain, most councils have them and there are also various charities that do outreach work, visiting homeless people and whatnot. I'm not too well-read on these organizations but I experienced the one mentioned first-hand as I was referred several times.

Here's a link telling you more about them http://www.lewisham.gov.uk/myservices/housing/find/Pages/homeless.aspx - its a state-run initiative.

[Leftsolidarity]

Thread stickied.

[Ele'ill]

I think this might be common knowledge among a lot of people on this forum but don't let tooth pain just go on and on. There are free dental clinics that offer free x-rays, free tooth extraction, free cleanings, sometimes at church spaces sometimes at the clinic. There is also the option of finding dental schools in your area and talking to them about letting some newbie drill your face (under supervision).

[HoboHomesteader]

folx might consider guerrilla gardening or foraging for wild edibles as possible food sources. sooooo many weeds are edible. just consider where they are growing and what might be contaminating the soil, especially in urban areas.

[Leftsolidarity]

take at least minimal care of your feet. try to have some sort of decent socks and take your shoes/boots off for a bit every once in awhile. its not only gross if you dont but a health risk and if you fuck up your feet its gonna make life hell.

[HoboHomesteader]

take at least minimal care of your feet. try to have some sort of decent socks and take your shoes/boots off for a bit every once in awhile. its not only gross if you dont but a health risk and if you fuck up your feet its gonna make life hell.

for realz, trench foot sounds a bit nasty.

[HoboHomesteader]

there are some squatter mutual aid groups in places, homes not jails in san francisco and a group yet to be name is forming to do the same thing in oakland/east bay. i think tthere are more on the squat sticky.

[Ele'ill]

http://sectionhiker.com/why-does-cotton-kill/

i passed out one night with boots on while wearing regular socks and it got pretty cold that night, woke up around 3am and couldn't feel my feet because of how cold I had gotten and it took about 30 minutes of walking before I could feel them again, switched to a really ragged pair of running shoes that vent moisture and it's a lot better and they're easier to take on and off/wear with or without socks/lighter

If I need new pants I don't buy regular jeans if I can afford a slightly more expensive pair of dickies work pants because they hold up relatively well and they dry really really fast (super fast).

[Admiral Swagmeister G-Funk]

not ideal but, if you're desperate, crash in a hospital waiting area. i was trying to hitch from stoke to london recently and, as is the nature of our paranoid society, no one picked me up. i walked to the hospital as it was way too cold to sleep rough. spent many hours reading in the waiting room and then actually found a spot under a flight of steps which was like a 5* hotel room in that situation.

again, only if you're desperate. if you're on the move and have nowhere to go, its acceptable and its better than sleeping out in this cold winter. dunno how well this would work in big cities like london but i'd recommend it to anyone over cold, rainy nights any day.

[Ele'ill]

not ideal but, if you're desperate, crash in a hospital waiting area. i was trying to hitch from stoke to london recently and, as is the nature of our paranoid society, no one picked me up. i walked to the hospital as it was way too cold to sleep rough. spent many hours reading in the waiting room and then actually found a spot under a flight of steps which was like a 5* hotel room in that situation.

again, only if you're desperate. if you're on the move and have nowhere to go, its acceptable and its better than sleeping out in this cold winter. dunno how well this would work in big cities like london but i'd recommend it to anyone over cold, rainy nights any day.

some essential things to get your hands on if you can would be a tarp and a sleeping bag i think these two things together can let you sleep relatively comfortably even in the open through constant rain and it's easy enough to find a piece of string or something to roll it up and tie it off to carry around both of these are the only two things I had during a recent cold front at night that dropped into the low 30's and I was pretty comfortable

[Admiral Swagmeister G-Funk]

got a cheap sleeping bag which worked in warmer situations but couldn't take this cold. i'd say its an essential though and worth getting one that's a bit more expensive as it'll likely be made to stand harsher conditions.

[HoboHomesteader]

also homies swear by bivy sacs to keep dry in the rain. steal one from REI

[Ele'ill]

got a cheap sleeping bag which worked in warmer situations but couldn't take this cold. i'd say its an essential though and worth getting one that's a bit more expensive as it'll likely be made to stand harsher conditions.

The sleeping bag I have is only rated between 35-40 and it's really cheap which from my experience means when its 35-40 degrees outside you'll be comfortable so long as you're somewhere else other than outside but with a tarp under it and wrapped over it, it dramatically increases warmth to the point that I think it's essential to have a tarp for safety/health reasons in the cold. Tarps are usually like $4-5 for a 6x8. Just tie the corners of the one end together to help stop it from being blown open in the middle of the night. I usually fold that end under my feet too.

[Trap Queen Voxxy]

I think this might be common knowledge among a lot of people on this forum but don't let tooth pain just go on and on. There are free dental clinics that offer free x-rays, free tooth extraction, free cleanings, sometimes at church spaces sometimes at the clinic.

Just a point of fact, if you're in the US and find yourself in jail, you can get expensive dental shit for like 5 bucks.

I can post some info for some cities in PA later on. Shelters, food, clothes, etc.

[Rugged Collectivist]

Does anyone have any advice regarding living in your car? Good places to park where people won't fuck with you, etc?

[Ele'ill]

Does anyone have any advice regarding living in your car? Good places to park where people won't fuck with you, etc?

I lived in a car for about a year. If you live in a city I'd find a city neighborhood and park it in with the other cars because there's usually tons of overlap where people park, in other words folks aren't parking directly in front of their apartments or houses. Move around often even just a block or two to avoid transit citations/tickets. If you sleep in the driver seat cops will have more of a reason to wake you up cause apparently a lot of drunk folks pass out in the driver seat upon pulling over so sleep in the back (I wouldn't even sleep in the passenger seat). I never felt comfortable going to a secluded place to sleep I'd rather be semi visible near other people. Maybe get a baseball bat to sleep with.

[Ele'ill]

I think this is a good run down of why you might want to avoid shelters.

http://kylyssa.squidoo.com/why_homeless_people_avoid_shelters

[Ele'ill]

from what I hear there are almost 8,000 vacant housing units here in this city

[BIXX]

from what I hear there are almost 8,000 vacant housing units here in this city


There are many many empty houses. I wish there was an active reclamation group here.

[Sinister Intents]

from what I hear there are almost 8,000 vacant housing units here in this city

There are so many out in my area :( thousands just the same that no one is utilizing... People get arrested for breaking in to them during the winters

[Ele'ill]

There are many many empty houses. I wish there was an active reclamation group here.

Actually local news has run quite a few pieces on houses being squatted up north (NE), there are apparently neighborhoods with multiple vacant, bank sat-on, houses that are squatted. I don't know much about the specifics of it but it looks like its non-political type of practical squatting.

[BIXX]

Actually local news has run quite a few pieces on houses being squatted up north (NE), there are apparently neighborhoods with multiple vacant, bank sat-on, houses that are squatted. I don't know much about the specifics of it but it looks like its non-political type of practical squatting.


That is so cool. I should probably watch the news more.

[Creative Destruction]

Does anyone have any advice regarding living in your car? Good places to park where people won't fuck with you, etc?

Despite the horror stories, rest stops are generally a good bet. If you are lucky enough to have a laptop with you, the rest stops in... South Carolina, I think... there's free wifi there and not much of a time restriction. They've got nice showers, too. Some of the rest stops in Nebraska have showers, too, but they're a bit run down. But yeah, my wife and I were tramping cross country and the rest stops were usually our little motels, and no one ever really fucks with you. Surprisingly, cops don't mess with you unless you're really acting like a fool. However, be conscious of the time restrictions at the rest stops. They are usually posted (along with whether you're allowed to actually sleep there... despite it being a "rest stop" some places don't let you sleep there) and cops will sometimes do nightly rounds to record license plates, then return in the morning to kick people out.

If you're in a place that has easy access to rural areas, pulling off on a country road works a lot if it's not well traveled (this is usually going to be after harvest season, when the farmers aren't on the road with their equipment and trucks.)

If you're in a city that has a lot of walmarts, you can kick it in their parking lot and no one will fuck with you (only in the Supercenters or the large box stores. A lot of Walmarts here in Portland are these "neighborhood pantry" small groceries, and they will mess with you.) Truckers overnight there and sometimes the Walmart will partner up with local churches to reserve some space in the back for homeless folks in their RV or cars. But you don't have to go through all that hassle, just park. They've got cameras, but they're not going to do anything to you unless you're doing dope or something, or causing a ruckus. In which case, you shouldn't be there because you're just fucking it up for everyone else who is living in the lot.

If you don't have to stay in the city for work, then try this website out (or just go to a rest stop):

http://freecampsites.net/

The biggest piece of advice is to just be diligent. If it doesn't feel right, don't park there. If there's an inordinate presence of police, don't park there. If you're in a van with curtains, you can probably get away with kicking it in a nice neighborhood if your vehicle isn't too beat up. Don't stay in one place too long.

"Shower" with shower wipes and a spray bottle. If you have dishes, do your dishes with a spray bottle (this is generally good advice, as it saves water). If possible, get yourself an old propane stove off craigslist or pay attention to where garage sales are happening, or you can put an ad up on your local Freecycle page. If that fails, learn how to cook with a coke stove (http://marquardts.org/mindspring/can/) or a hobo stove (http://www.practicalsurvivor.com/hobostove). Learn to cook rice and beans. Seriously. If you're cashless and don't panhandle, and you're not comfortable with lifting from grocery stores, then get good at dumpster diving or make some friends who work at grocery stores. You can get some decent produce that's been thrown out because of cosmetic issues. Hook up with your local Food Not Bombs chapter, if there is one, to get some tips and to volunteer with them.

If you can swing it, do treat yourself every now and again. Get a private shower at a rest stop (usually 10 bucks); book yourself a night in a roach motel; have a nice dinner at a food truck or a restaurant. Don't go wasting your money on fast food...that'll just hurt you. If you have some cash to spare and don't need to lift any food, and don't feel like cooking (there are just going to be some nights where you really don't want to cook...try to keep this feeling at a minimum, but it just sucks so much sometimes that it's unbearable) find a taco truck. They're generally good, tacos are nutritious (if you're a vegetarian, get nopales tacos) and it's usually crazy cheap for filling food. You can also go around to some churches or urban agriculture organizations and see where you can get a plot in a community garden. Plant your own food.

Carry a knife and some mace with you. Not to get paranoid or anything, but there are situations that sometimes you're might have to get defensive. There's a chance someone isn't in their right mind where you are and while you should help them, you should keep yourself safe, as well. People are generally nice, good hearted and mean absolutely no harm, but there is the occasional person with bad intentions.

For sleeping in the interior of your car:

How to sleep in the cold: BUNDLE UP. Get blankets and get some padding for your back seat or the floor or something. Buy or beg your way to at least 5 layers of moderate or really thick blankets. If you have access to sleeping bags that have been rated for freezing temperatures, get them. This is how my wife and I stayed alive in the freezing cold and snow of Nebraska and Colorado. There are Mr. Buddy heaters that are safe to have indoors, but they're kind of expensive and, well, they're still risky. Get used to the fact that even when you bundle up, you still might be a little bit cold, but at least if you have nice thick blankets, you're not going to die. DO NOT wear cotton socks.

How to sleep in the heat: tbh, if you can manage it, just drive to some place that has decent weather. Some people really dig on the heat, but for me, it sucks. I hate it. And it's easier for me to warm up than it is to cool down. I don't really have any good advice on this front except to tell you to move somewhere else.

Entertainment: Books. Lots and lots of books. The library is the homeless person's best friend. It's quiet, you can spend as much time in there as you want, it's relatively easy to fake an address to get a membership card (and most of the time it's free), generally uncensored access to the internet, bathrooms, water fountains. People don't fuck with you. Other than that, hit up the parks, get back into nature. Some cities have free shows playing and sometimes you can find movie theaters that will show movies for free (usually as a promotional night or something.) Just keep an eye out. Read the local newspapers, both the mainstream dailys and the alt-weeklys. There's a surprising amount of free shit to do in a city that's also fun.

One other tip: for cheap meals, go to the local college's cafeteria. Dress somewhat decently (how you'd expect a college kid to dress). You can get a decent sized burger/fries and a drink for like $5...and they don't usually card you.

That's about all I have for now, I think. Be willing to help out your fellow homeless/houseless folks, always. You'd think this would be common sense, but there's just something innate in people that tell them to not get involved in shit that they weren't involved in the first place. And we've seen this play out on the road time and again. You may already naturally be that kind of person, but I'd figured I would put that in here nonetheless.

ETA. One last thing: get organized. Keeping your car clean and organized will make your life a whole shit ton less stressful.

[BIXX]

RC, which portland are you referring to? It must be portland Maine because in portland Oregon all the walmarts are huge,

[Ele'ill]

afaik a lot if not all of the bigger walmarts no longer allow vehicle camping

[Creative Destruction]

RC, which portland are you referring to? It must be portland Maine because in portland Oregon all the walmarts are huge,

I'm referring to the ones in Oregon. I suppose it's relative. We come from Texas and every Walmart there is a supercenter. There's only two supercenters in Portland (one is actually in Vancouver) and I think they're building one more in Tigard. The rest of them are Neighborhood Markets or run-of-the-mill Walmarts with mostly the grocery component. Those aren't big...at least, not the "big" I'm used to. They're about as big as a Safeway.

[Creative Destruction]

afaik a lot if not all of the bigger walmarts no longer allow vehicle camping

That must've been a recent change (as in, within the last year.) It's still common to see trucks and RVs parked in the back. We lived in a Eugene Walmart parking lot for a couple of days, and there were no less than two families who were semi-permanent there, iirc.

eta. They've never officially allowed it, but it's always been tolerated -- and still is, afaik, judging from the Walmart parking lots I saw in Texas a couple weeks ago. Rand McNally still publishes trucker maps that have all rest stop and walmarts dotted along the way, for the purpose of letting them know where they can crash for the night. If you want to be super safe, it's generally suggested that you ask the Walmart manager if you can crash there, but we didn't and we've never had an issue with it. But, it just goes back to what I was saying above. Your instinct should be your guide -- if you don't like how it looks (if you think you're gonna get the cops called on you) then get out of there.

[Ele'ill]

This isn't mutual aid but it's an incomplete list, city by city, detailing the war on homeless and it becomes clear that what they are actually trying to do is 'remove' human beings from existence. From the blurb on Portland:


The Oregon Department of Transportation (ODOT) has also clamped down on common campsites under bridges and freeway overpasses. After spending $15,000 over time to routinely sweep campers off of state property and removing dump trucks of debris, ODOT maintenance and operations manager Karla Keller came up with a new solution, called "transient deterrent fencing." In the past two years, the state has installed about 27 cages over common homeless camp sites, using money for potholes to pay for fencing and planting roses in grassy dividers. "What we're trying to avoid is being a maid service," Keller says. "We don't want them just moving back in. It's a revolving expenditure for us."


When you can't sleep under bridges and overpasses, when you can't sleep in front of vacant or closed businesses, when you can't sleep at churches, when you can't sleep on sidewalks, when the shelters are closed or full or too alienating to handle, there is no where else to go and that is exactly when you end up with violence happening on the street, in neighborhoods, and that is when the prison doors open etc..