Introduction To Homelessness
My name is Jason and I've been homeless for over 12 years.
I'm putting together this blog because I feel my over-a-decade long experience with homelessness holds information that might benefit others. Maybe you're new to the streets. Maybe a friend or loved one is currently facing (or soon to be facing) life without a home. Or maybe you're just curious as to the particulars of an ever-growing crisis that is showing no signs of slowing down. No matter what your reasoning is, I hope these posts prove to be of service. My account is first-hand, and in no way intended to represent anyone else's history or opinion. But many out there will agree my advice for survival is solid.
The hardest part about being homeless is the beginning. You don't know where to go, who to trust, where to sleep, or how you'll survive. It's a panic no one should have to face. But panicking will get you nowhere. And you can survive this. You can even survive it well. Take a deep breath, know you will survive this, and get ready for a journey that will surprise the absolute shit out of you.
The first thing to understand is that the homeless population comes from all walks of life. And not all homeless are the ones you see shooting up in parks and destroying property. In fact, those are the minority. I call them the "visible homeless". They crap and urinate in public, steal from everyone, live for the next fix, and camp in extremely visible places so they can easily collect money for drugs. Again, this is the minority of the homeless population. And the rest of us despise them even more than you do. They make it hard for everyone else.
Fact is most of us work when we can. We shower when we can. We don't panhandle unless absolutely necessary, and what money we do get never goes to drugs. We simply can't afford a place to stay. Many of us are disabled (I have spinal stenosis, CES, and chronic PTSD). It's usually our disabilities that keep us from regular employment and housing. But we still try. Many have developmental disabilities, and others are just too old to work physical labor and lack other skills to maintain solid employment.
As for the addicts, it is a sad sight to watch. Many people new to the streets don't know where to go or who to trust. So what do they do? Go to the first homeless encampment they find. Before too long all of their stuff has been stolen by addicts who live in or are associated with the encampment -- to include their identification and other documents. By the time they finally leave, they usually walk away with a new addiction they never planned on having or otherwise wouldn't have acquired. But it's too late. They leave looking to find a new encampment rife with their drug of choice and hopefully less theft. Before too long, they turn into they very thieving addicts that harmed them back in the beginning. I've seen this more times than I can count. The end almost always results in an overdose or murder.
But for the rest of us that avoid encampments like the plague, we manage to stay somewhat healthy. Regular hygiene helps. We maintain bank accounts. We use shelter addresses for mail. We guard our documents with our lives. We stay away from trouble. We don't camp anywhere near housing areas, parks or schools. We do our laundry. We stay kept. We sleep out of sight. And if you saw us in public (you likely have), you'd have no idea we're homeless.
So with all that, it should be obvious what you or anyone else needs to do to survive being homeless. Stay far away from visible homeless, encampments, and the problems they create. If you want to live a long, healthy life (housed or unhoused) -- you gotta stay away from the dope and the people who do it.
Many people are homeless because of a drug addiction, and a great many more develop a drug addiction because of their homeless situation. I've seen former military, people pretending to be former military (last one was supposedly an Admiral in the Army - no joke!), former skilled trades workers, former computer programmers, and even a news anchor woman I grew up watching on my local television station. Some moved on, some died, some are still addicted, and some got out. Sometimes in just days, and other times years.
Getting out of homelessness is a gigantic crap shoot where several factors have to be lined up perfectly, and at the same time. And they do not line up easily. The state of California spends $44,000 per year for each homeless person in the State. Yet there everyone is, still homeless. Where does that money go? Not to the homeless. They spend it on new office buildings for social services and their employees, who really can't do anything for homeless people. I've been doing this for over a decade, been to countless social services and charity offices funded by taxpayers in a variety of states. What do they do? Make you waste a day or more filling out paperwork so they can bill the local government for their "intake" process. What do they say? "We're sorry about your situation but right now we just don't have anything to help you. Have a nice day!" Every. Single. Time.
Social Services, on the whole, are a waste for both taxpayers and homeless people. Homelessness is a racket. So-called charities make millions in donations and government social workers connect only their friends and relatives with services like housing. Doubt me? Check out the investigations in New York. They're finding out it's corrupt as hell. And those investigations are coming soon to a city near you!
Now, you or your homeless friend or relative might have better luck than most with the shelter system. But the odds are against it. In my experience, they've always been full. And the two that weren't full were actually more dangerous than the streets. A bunch of strangers (many of whom happen to be addicts) crammed together like sardines in a tin can leads to theft, violence and disease. No thanks. Plus the system is paid to house people, not get them on their feet. Every shelter story is the same. Either their stuff got stolen, they got into a fight, or they managed to get a job but then got kicked out because their boss needed them to work overtime and they missed some stupid curfew. Shelters suck, they're unreliable, and they're dangerous. That's reality. Odds are, you'll have to find your own way out.
But in the meantime, you have to survive...
Next up: Immediate Needs
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Truth!
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