July 20th, 2009 / 3:08 am
Snippets
Snippets
Justin Taylor—
“Ten Things You Need to Know to Live on the Streets” – a handy guide for the dispossessed, conceived by Walter Mosley, at The Nation.
5 Food and clothing are easier to find than a safe place to sleep–the first truth of homelessness is sleep deprivation. Always have a blanket. Whenever possible, sleep in groups with staggered schedules, so you can look out for one another, prioritizing children’s needs over those of adults.
As someone who lived on the streets for a year, lemme say a few things about this list:
It is difficult to band together with other homeless people. They are a family. Newcomers are usually not welcome. Meaning, you can hang with them, but following them to their sleeping spot is a no-no. If you find a good spot to sleep, TELL NO ONE. It will be over-run and you will potentially be outed from your own spot.
3) isn’t completely correct. I never met a homeless person who used public restrooms to wash up. Although, there are many multi-service centers or missions or city aid buildings which have showers and bathrooms for you to use. Bring sandals. They are nasty sometimes. But finding the best restroom’s to take a shit in are fantastic finds. This is the unknown reality — finding a place to shit is one of the most difficult situations you will find yourself in. If you’re young (25 or below, normally), ‘nice looking’ (in the face) and homeless you have a better chance of using the restrooms in Hotels and other very nice places.
5) is correct. But BUSSES and METRO LINES are excellent places to sleep. Bus driver’s understand (usually) and are pretty cool about it.
7) Cops are jackasses. Cops are nice guys. But cops have short fuses for bullshit and will fuck with you if you hang with the wrong group of homeless peeps. RIDING SOLO IS THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO! If you’re by yourself you are not affliated with any one homeless group and have more leadway.
9) Squatting will get you arrested unless you hide it well. Sometimes squatting will only get you kicked out by a security guard. But have MULTIPLE PLACES TO SLEEP so you can bounce between the few as to not draw attention.
10) Get food stamps. Get weflare money. Sometimes, you can trade your welfare check for housing in a hotel for a month. But learn which hotels in which cities are good or bad. Good being not in a bad neighborhood deep with other homeless (like Skid Row. Weingert is a bed to stay but it is not a good area. It will eat you alive given the chance). No matter what there will be heavy drug usage in these hotels. Be prepared for it.
11 (my own) Get with your local centers who will train you for free and find you jobs for people with police records and who are homeless. They will also give you first and last months rent to find a place to live once you have three paychecks. Some missions will allow you to stay, for free, for up to a year if you are working.
As someone who lived on the streets for a year, lemme say a few things about this list:
It is difficult to band together with other homeless people. They are a family. Newcomers are usually not welcome. Meaning, you can hang with them, but following them to their sleeping spot is a no-no. If you find a good spot to sleep, TELL NO ONE. It will be over-run and you will potentially be outed from your own spot.
3) isn’t completely correct. I never met a homeless person who used public restrooms to wash up. Although, there are many multi-service centers or missions or city aid buildings which have showers and bathrooms for you to use. Bring sandals. They are nasty sometimes. But finding the best restroom’s to take a shit in are fantastic finds. This is the unknown reality — finding a place to shit is one of the most difficult situations you will find yourself in. If you’re young (25 or below, normally), ‘nice looking’ (in the face) and homeless you have a better chance of using the restrooms in Hotels and other very nice places.
5) is correct. But BUSSES and METRO LINES are excellent places to sleep. Bus driver’s understand (usually) and are pretty cool about it.
7) Cops are jackasses. Cops are nice guys. But cops have short fuses for bullshit and will fuck with you if you hang with the wrong group of homeless peeps. RIDING SOLO IS THE BEST THING YOU CAN DO! If you’re by yourself you are not affliated with any one homeless group and have more leadway.
9) Squatting will get you arrested unless you hide it well. Sometimes squatting will only get you kicked out by a security guard. But have MULTIPLE PLACES TO SLEEP so you can bounce between the few as to not draw attention.
10) Get food stamps. Get weflare money. Sometimes, you can trade your welfare check for housing in a hotel for a month. But learn which hotels in which cities are good or bad. Good being not in a bad neighborhood deep with other homeless (like Skid Row. Weingert is a bed to stay but it is not a good area. It will eat you alive given the chance). No matter what there will be heavy drug usage in these hotels. Be prepared for it.
11 (my own) Get with your local centers who will train you for free and find you jobs for people with police records and who are homeless. They will also give you first and last months rent to find a place to live once you have three paychecks. Some missions will allow you to stay, for free, for up to a year if you are working.
This broke my heart:
‘To succeed, be creative, funny, engaging’
The absurdity and calamity that this economic structure has provoked…
This broke my heart:
‘To succeed, be creative, funny, engaging’
The absurdity and calamity that this economic structure has provoked…