What would you do if you suddenly became homeless?

In My Humble Opinion
41

I don’t know what I would do, but I recall listening to a CBC Radio documentary about how easy it is for an apparently comfortable middle-class individual – even one who owns his own home – to become homeless.

It starts with losing your job at an advanced age where you’re not readily employable. Or it may even start with a normal post-65 retirement with little or no retirement savings. Sure we have universal health care and a social safety net, but it’s not enough to maintain a house plus property taxes. If the house falls into disrepair, it can be hard to sell for any sort of decent price. And that money can quickly disappear. It’s true that some of the homeless have mental health issues, but only some: even a middle-class person can sink, little by little, into poverty and homelessness. It was a rather scary documentary. Its basic message was not to look at the homeless as mentally ill or drug-addicted or otherwise degenerate, but to look at them and say, “there, but for the grace of God, go I.”

42

Not fighting the hypothetical, but the OP seems to be “if you weren’t you, how would you react?” Because if you take away friends, family and savings as choices, then that’s not really realistic.

When I was 22 and living paycheck to paycheck, I had friends and family. When I was 40 and had a mortgage, I had some savings and friends. Now that I am old, I have no mortgage, a camper, and savings, things I can sell, and friends.

I’ve always been afraid of being homeless, so I took steps.

43

That’s one of the reasons I don’t like my odds. About 5 years ago, I called a candidate to schedule an interview and realized she was living in or gave me the number of a homeless shelter. I didn’t share with anyone else in HR or the hiring manager this information because I don’t share information unless it’s needed. I don’t remember if she was hired or not.

Though as others mention, I don’t think most employers really look closely at someone’s address. I know I don’t.

44

Suicide.

I’ve lived long enough to do almost everything I ever wanted to. Now it’s mostly about comfort and pleasure, which my home affords me. If I lost that (along with the means to find another), why would I want to live on, in constant struggle, without the comfort and pleasure I find so fulfilling? Thanks, world, it’s been fun, bye!

45

I would probably find a restaurant and try to get whatever job I could and perform at an exemplary level. Starting as a dishwasher you can prove yourself a reliable employee and end up doing lots of different things. Plus, in the short term it can be a source of cash and food. Tips are sometimes split with the kitchen staff and the staff may get a meal while at work. The manager may be sympathetic to my situation and help out with food after work. With the number of restaurants that have a “Help Wanted” sign with “Start Today!” on it, I would think someone could have a few opportunities without too much trouble.

46

I’ve never really looked at an address, especially not to check to make sure an applicant lived there. Sometimes I’ll look up zip codes, to see if it’s a reasonable commute for them.

Anyway, to the OP: I’d pack my laptop, some toiletries, dog food and dogs into the car, and go camping. I’ve watched a bunch of stealth camping videos, so I think I could probably get away with it for a while. Between camping in state and federal parks, and just sleeping in the car, I’d find shelter.

Maybe if I get my hands on a guitar, and brush off my singing voice, might try some busking. I’m a little old and out of shape for day labor, but if that’s what I need to do, then I’ll do that. Fast food jobs, especially right now, would actually pay plenty to maintain that sort of lifestyle. As for address, I’d just give them one, easy enough to google up some addresses in the general area, if they are the one in a thousand places that actually check up on it somehow, then I’d go to the next place.

Phones is the bigger issue than address. But, I have a tracfone that I used for business purposes long enough that it actually has almost 8 years of service left on it, so as long as I’m not too hard on the minutes, I’m pretty set there.

May try to trade up my car to a van, or even better, an actual camper van or a pickup with a truck camper. I don’t need much.

May as well take it as an opportunity to do some traveling. Could try doing something with Youtube, documenting my journey, and possibly pick up some money there.

47

Right, I can’t imagine this happening as posited. If I have a long enough illness that I need to spend all of my retirement nest egg, it would be so severe and have enough advanced notice that I’d be able to find alternative arrangements. If it were a natural* disaster so severe that there is a huge spike in homeless, the normal routes of government or non-profit support wo no longer work as they currently do.

I guess that, rather than just two unexpected occurrences, it would have to be a conflation of several at once, such as a job loss coinciding with a major yet sudden illness coinciding with sudden deaths of my relatives.

*Or man-made disaster, these days, such as political instability

48

A man I knew had this happen to him, except for the “suddenly” part.

He was married, lived in a nice townhouse, had a good job, and between him and his wife had a six-figure retirement account. However he had a medical condition for which he was prescribed a medication that had the side-effect of exacerbating tendencies for compulsive gambling.

Three years later his wife had left him and he had “borrowed” so much money from his family and friends that they too abandoned him. In that span of time he also had a problem with his eyes that resulted in him being nearly blind, so he could no longer drive and was pretty much unemployable. He did get some disability income, but not enough for him to live on his own.

For a time he lived in an apartment with a roommate. The apartment was in the roommate’s name and the roommate died. He ended up on the street.

In this area, the homeless shelters are set up to be emergency housing for people – they really don’t want long-term residents. (That’s not to say there’s not an acknowledged need for long-term housing, just that the available shelters aren’t designed for that.) The shelter is set up so that on Monday it’s in one location, Tuesday some miles away at another location, etc.

So every day this man would take two or more buses to get to the shelter for the next night. He’d stop at convenience stores or fast food joints to get some food (and probably if he had an extra dollar or two a scratch-off lottery ticket).

Eventually, with the help of his wife, he ended up in heavily subsidized housing. She ended up in a separate apartment in the same complex, since her own health conditions put her in financial straits (although she was never homeless). Sometimes she’d buy him cigarettes or food.

Sadly, they are both dead now. He had a stroke, and then a second one which killed him. Her ovarian cancer returned.

49

Assuming I had a little time and any resources left, I would prioritize making sure that I could keep my phone on. Once I made sure of that, trying to keep my car, both as a place to sleep, and transportation to find work would be my next priority. There is nothing approaching reliable public transportation in my area, so not having a car means not having a job.

I agree with the other posters above that a pay address at a mailbox place would be a good enough address for most entry level employers, but if not, I would reach out to all the churches in the area. I would explain that all I need is a reliable place to put as a mailing address for job applications. It may be naive, but I would hope that at least one would step up to help.

For a $10/month membership fee, I could have access to a shower every day at Planet Fitness.

At that point, the priority is completing a dozen job applications a day. Even a room to rent costs around $700/month, so I would be looking at 2 or more minimum wage jobs before housing becomes realistic. In the spirit of the OP, I assume that finding a job in my profession or a related job is out of the question, otherwise I wouldn’t be homeless. I would not bother with shelters or public housing lists, as I understand the waiting lists in my area for single men are typically multiple years long.

50

I own a restaurant a couple blocks from the local shelter. If I see that address on a application, it isn’t an automatic no but I make a gut call if they are homeless due to bad luck or mental illness/addiction/criminal history.

As far as the original scenario, I would live in car/shelter and look for work such as dishwashing or construction laborer where there aren’t a lot of questions beyond can you do the work. Then save towards getting a room. It’s possible to pull yourself back up but very hard as at that level everything is a struggle. It’s hard to eat cheap without a kitchen, hard to save for deposits for housing, phone, etc.

51

I’ve hired people at several jobs, and have never once checked whether an address was not a real home. Nor did the HR depts at any of my other jobs. At the last place I worked, one of the warehouse guys lived in his pickup truck nearby. They knew that when he was hired. Occasionally he’d bring his crockpot into the kitchen area in the morning and slow-cook his dinner.

52

I find it interesting the reasoning of those who have been homeless in the past. The reasoning seems to be either “That is not ever going to happen to me again.” or, like me, “Meh, been there done that. I can do it again”.

I will assume I lose everything except my health, experience, & the ability to think, faulty as the last is. I will also go with the OPs terms, no friends or family.

This would make me want to live in a warmer clime. Waking up in the snow gets old fast. Thus, I would work on moving south & east. The western desert is very cold at night.

Getting a job is not hard, almost every other cafe or restaurant is in need of a “pearl diver” or a bus boy. I have even waited a time or two. I have been a cook, a job I would take, but only as a last resort. My hat is off to Chef Guy.

Mechanic shops also need grunts to do grunt work. I can change oil & clean parts. I can do much more but in a pinch, sweeping floors needs done. Hotels & motels need maids, janitors, desk clerks, & laundry workers.

Warehouses need swampers to load & unload trucks. Not only can I run a forklift, I can rebuild it & I enjoy sweeping out trucks. I can also load trucks by hand. All good skills to have in a “homeless” situation.

As far as having a good address, IME it is not needed. I have never looked one up while hiring & I have used a few bogus ones in the past. I always got the job.

A place to sleep can be found. I can stealth camp. KOA camp sites used to be cheap. BLM, The real one, Bureau of Land Management, land is free or cheap to camp on as long as you follow the rules. The homeless camps are an option but one of last resort. It is amazing where in a city or town one can find to sleep that no one will bother you. I personally prefer small towns or farmland.

Even as big and ugly as I am, hitchhiking works. I do smile a lot which helps. Junkers that do not run well can be had cheap. I have traded labor for a few just this last year. As a mechanic, these are cheap transportation as well as shelter or income.

Worst case, scrap cars are running about $150.00 a ton right now. So a scrap Honda is worth about $200.00 at the scrap yard. $200.00 is room & board for a week or two. Tip: fill the car with scrap metal found in alleys & creek beds. The yard wants this metal. Just do not increase the weight with brick or any non-metal items. The yards have seen it all & they will deduct for rocks & bricks. The same Honda full of trash is worth $50.00 a ton or less.

Scrap yards will buy loose scrap. I supported myself & my VW Baja with loose scrap for over two months. I made a good profit doing this. Drive around on garbage day before the garbage trucks & collect toasters, trampoline frames, washers, driers, bed frames, steel mop handles & anything metal. These items will have some plastic, so it will be bought at shred or baling scrap prices, closer to $40.00 a ton, but that money still spends. As you go you will learn what to separate out for more money.

I know a fellow in my town that does scrapping with a bicycle & a kiddy trailer. His rig was picked up separately on garbage days. He repaired them with tools & money from scrap he hauled in in his backpack. He got the trailer first. Now he is on the look out for a pedal trike. He will find one eventually.

I do not relish the idea of being homeless again. Yet it does not scare me, nor did I find it all that bad. IME securing the place to take a shower or bath was the hard part. OTOH swimming pools & gyms have them. Creeks work well in the warm months. Bathing with ice is not fun. Truck stops will let you use their showers for a few bucks or with a fuel fill up.

53

I thought about this overnight and regret having posted it. I realized that @Czarcasm’s OP may well be genuinely seeking advice for himself or someone close to him, and my post constitutes really shitty advice.

It’s probably what I would actually do, but I’d never mention it to someone actually facing homelessness. Sorry about that.

54

Have I still got my car? Because that’s paid off and worth about $10,000, so I could sell that and stay in a cheap hotel for a bit, and if I’ve still got my laptop I can work freelance. If freelance is looking dry, I’ll go and get a job in a pub to tide me over – if I can do that for 3 months, then I’ve got the salary evidence to pout a deposit on a rental flat. Heck I could probably do shop work during the day and pub work in the evenings.

But without the car to sell, who knows.

55

If I know this is coming at least a week or so out, reaching out to one of those home flippers like “we buy ugly houses” may not be a bad idea. If I can get some cash out of a home that I’d otherwise foreclose on, that can go a long way towards digging me back out of the hole that I’ve apparently found myself in.

56

While you are applying for food stamps and medical insurance, ask about a free government phone aka Obama phones. They were cheap flip-phones when I was working but I’ve heard that they are smart phones with limited texting now. I’ve never heard if you can port your old number to one, but I wasn’t really trained on the program, just that it was out there and here’s the applications to hand out.

57

Thing is, none of this happens “suddenly”. A lot of people are homeless because they have alienated their friends and family with their drug use and/or untreated mental illness and the downward slide doesn’t happen all at once.

But if I were homeless with no options I sure as hell wouldn’t be in Wisconsin in January. I’d hike, hitch, jump on a freight train, etc. to get south. I see these people out in freezing cold weather and wonder why they hang around. It certainly isn’t to be close to friends, family, or work. I deal with the homeless almost everyday and are told about how they were in St Louis and Chicago. YTF do they come north? I never get a comprehensive answer.

58

QFT

My younger brother, now well into his 50s, has been homeless for 20 years. He gets junker cars and finds places he can park. As long as he has a car and a warm sleeping bag he can survive Salt Lake City winters. He’s homeless because he refuses to be treated for his mental illness and scares or alienates everyone.

I had to cut off contact with him 15 years ago because of his abuse but apparently living on the street that long has lead to schizophrenia-like symptoms which makes it that much harder to come back.

He gets food from shelters and foodbanks. He showers at a university field house which is open during the day.

The problem with the OP is that for most people, we have enough safety cushions in place with our own assets, work skills, relatives and friends that there isn’t much that is going to just push us over the edge on a Monday afternoon.

To lose all of that would require something more seriously wrong with one’s judgment or decision making process such as @pkbites has suggested.

Having my own struggles with PTSD and in the past having attempted to self medicate with alcohol, I’m somewhat familiar with the route but fortunately was able to stop before I slid down that far.

There was a period of time where work was problematic and needed to take a break for a few months. Fortunately, I did have enough savings and such where there wasn’t a danger of losing family or my house, but I can see that could have been the outcome had I not succeeded in quitting and getting better treatment for the anxiety disorder.

However, in the middle of it, my decision making ability sucked, to use a medical term. The relative value of various options just was not rational. The concept of acting in a particular way to save a job, for example, was completely alien. If I was angry, expressing that seemed to be extremely important. Long term planning held absolutely no value to me in the midst of that.

For people in that sort of situation, then it’s pretty meaningless to think of what a rational person would do in that circumstance because that person would experience too much irrationality.

However, assuming that homelessness happened, I didn’t have any friends or family left, I assume I’d eventually find myself getting deported back to the States. I’d also stay someplace warm.

There are various 12 step programs or churches that if you are trying hard, people will help you. If all else fails, I’d go that route.

59

I think my definition of “homeless” is quite different than some people’s here. It doesn’t mean having a bank account or equity in a home. It doesn’t mean being able to crash with friends or relatives or having a place to take a shower. It doesn’t necessarily mean having a car.

When I was homeless, I had nothing but the clothes on my back, and whatever I could fit into a small suitcase.

60

As an ex-food stamp worker, I can tell you that there are many, MANY definitions of homeless and yours is one of the harshest. I spoke to many homeless people over the years and while many did indeed fit your description, others did not. Couch surfers live with almost as much uncertainty as roofless people. Oddly enough, I didn’t talk to many people who lived in their vehicles.