Denver

Likely the same misconceptions I had before I became homeless -- All homeless people are drug addicts. They're lazy and choose the "lifestyle". They must have "burned everyone they knew" in order to end up like that. They choose not to work. They're all guilty of a crime so horrible nobody will hire them.

The reality is 180 degrees from what most people think. Most homeless (myself included) don't use drugs at all. Many are disabled. Able-bodied homeless come and go, many of those are back in housing of some sort in 3-6 months (they usually still have a car to sleep in and use for work). Many homeless are orphans, zero family support. Others, like me, are just older and came from small families that are gone.

The fact is the homeless you see are addicts. The homeless you don't notice stay clean and stay hidden. The latter outnumbers the former, and on the whole you wouldn't know they were homeless unless they told you.

I was born in the early 70's, so the whole "work your way out of it -- pull yourself up by the bootstraps" still rings in my ears. But the reality is nobody hires a homeless person. I've taken jobs before the stenosis got bad. As soon as someone found out I was homeless (someone always does), that was it. "We really feel bad about your situation and we wish you the best but we just can't have this kind of image..." and you're cut loose before you even have the minimum number of hours to collect unemployment. Back to square one, only with your pride hurt that much more. The flip side is you do take a job, issued uniforms, and then an addict steals them (or police sweep your camp) while you're at work. Occasionally you get the "nice guy" who offers to pay you to paint a shed or something else on his property. Only after you finish he refuses to pay and then calls the cops on you. That's happened to me twice.

About the drug issue -- there is one and it is a real problem. But I do have to say that in my 13 years I've seen plenty of people who otherwise never would have touched a drug end up addicted within a 6-month time frame. It's always the same story. Starts with "I'm going to get out of this" and ends with futility. After a few months the reality sets in. Too damn hard to shower and panhandle to eat everyday and then try to get a job on top of surviving. And many have the same employment experiences I just wrote about. After that, they lose hope. Starts with weed, ends with meth or heroine. Just last month I got a phone call from a guy I know in Houston. A young kid we both liked was found dead under a bridge with a needle hanging out of his arm. Turned out to be fentanyl. He was 22 years old. The mortality rate for young people on the street is far greater than for older people (to a certain age). There is a dynamic there but I'm already a little off-topic.

So to sum things up, there's really no "biggest misconception" about homelessness. It's the entire view of homelessness that is a misconception. You don't need to be a criminal, you don't need to be an addict, you don't need to do anything wrong, you don't need to be lazy -- it can, and does, happen to people from all walks of life. Once you're there, you're generalized into extreme negativity. You're viewed as an addict even if you've never touched a drug. You're viewed as a criminal even if your record is clean. You're viewed as lazy even if you're a very hard worker. Heck, I have a 738 credit score and 4 major credit cards, all with zero balances. Most housed people don't have that. But I'm less financially responsible, somehow. Thank you for your question!

My application went in for HUD/VASH last month. But the stenosis isn't considered a service-related issue so I don't get VA health benefits, and HUD/VASH has a long line of vets on it. People with service-related disabilities go first (as it should be). So it's basically a lottery ticket.

Sadly enough, there is no place in the United States with available housing vouchers. Section 8 and the like have 5-10 year waiting lists in most cities. Yes I've applied. Another lottery ticket!

The tiny home idea is good, but both solutions completely ignore the same problem that ultimately makes shelters fail: Concentration.

Basically, there's 3 kinds of homeless. One third have psychological issues, one third has physical disabilities, and one third are homeless because of addiction issues.

When you put all of that together in one place, bad habits begin to multiply. As well, the people who run the places begin to dehumanize the people that live there. Shelters always fail. You'll never read about a successful one. Concentration is the main issue. Disease, theft and drugs move in with many of the clients (and is also the reason I'll never stay in one).

To really make a dent in the homeless problem, you have to eliminate the drugs first. If you can eliminate that, 1/3 of the problem goes away by itself. Granted, current addicts may never recover but at least we won't be making any new ones.

Affordable housing needs to happen. If my SSI case is approved sometime this decade, my income will be limited to $900 per month. You'd be amazed at how many homeless that are actually receiving disability but can't afford to live anywhere. Sure, you could rent an apartment. But then how do you eat and pay for other necessities?

If it were me, I'd make it law that any multi-family apartment complex has to have X amount of efficiency-type apartments (like we had in the 70s and 80s) that could be rented for $500 per month. No more first + last + deposit up front. And require that landlords accept deposits prorated. A $600 move-in price is achievable on minimum wage. A $3,000 move-in price isn't.

This would enable a majority of homeless to get themselves off the streets without having to spend any public funds.

But homelessness is a business. And a racket at that. The State of Colorado (and many others) spend greater than $40,000 per year for services for every homeless person you see. And they're still homeless.

The big issue I see now is AI automation, and soon robotics. The "low hire" job market is here to stay, and I see the homeless numbers increasing a lot before any significant change might be installed.

Thank you for your question!

It really does depend on location. If I'm in Houston, Central Park has a few buildings with 75-cent showers. Here in Denver the VA has an office off 35th and York with private showers. If I'm on the road, usually a creek or river. Worst case scenario -pay $12 at a truck stop.

I have spinal stenosis so labor is no longer an option. Right now I'm housed through a VA grant (started in January) but that ends next month. I prefer to be housed but without sufficient income it's not really an option.

Once you're homeless, there's really no "opportunities" to get you out of it. Need to take a shower? That alone takes about 3-4 hours including bus (and fare, which you have to panhandle to get). Hungry? You'll need to panhandle for 2-3 hours to fix that. Surviving is pretty much a 60-hour per week job in itself. Add to that other homeless trying to steal your stuff while your away, or the police doing the same thing via "sweeps", and you're pretty much ruled out of taking any kind of employment, even without stenosis.

Shelters are absolutely horrible. Disease, violence and theft. Plus you can't sleep with the snoring and having someone's stinky feet inches away from your face.

Nobody "works to stay homeless". Would you leave everything you have to go sleep on the street? Neither would anyone else.

As for my situation, I have applied for SSI and a lawyer is representing me. If it ever goes through (it can take years) I'll likely use the back pay to buy a van. SSI only pays $900 per month, so it'll be van life for me.

Of course. I've hitchhiked all over the US (North for summer, South for winter) and have camped in some beautiful places you'd never known existed. Plus I do ham radio (my gear is portable), so there's almost always someone to talk to. And I still have a 6-pack on Fridays :-)

Safety can be an issue, especially if you're in a city. I tend to camp as far away from any downtown area as possible. The biggest threats are addicts and police, both will steal the very things you need to survive. The trick is to stay light, stay mobile, and keep bear spray.

I have spinal stenosis and go in to the doctor again in a couple weeks. Medicaid has been a lifeline.

I usually take the bus to get around, unless I'm travelling. That's when I shift to hitchhiking.

In my travels I've only met a handful of people that are homeless by choice. In their case it's drugs, admittedly so. I'd prefer not to be homeless, but with the stenosis labor is ruled out. Sometimes I do house sitting, which is a nice break.

No worries about too many questions, it's an AMA!

On the whole, it's usually south to avoid the cold in winter, and then north to avoid the heat of summer. I have done a couple winters here in CO, but the Arctic blasts can be brutal when they happen.

Resources are pretty much the same in every city, meaning there are none. Every city is overwhelmed as far as resources are concerned. Anywhere you go is the same. They'll do an intake (so they can get paid), then tell you they're swamped with clients, out of funds, thank you for coming and have a nice day. For the most part, those "resources" are a waste of time.

As for other resources... Houston has public showers (75 cents) in most of their parks so that's a huge deal. Food prices play a factor, as well as transit. Cities that are popular homeless destinations (Miami, SoCal, San Fransisco and believe it or not Salt Lake City) are 100% no-go zones. The bigger the homeless population, the more a homeless person should avoid it. For me personally, it's less about the number of homeless people and more about the number of addicts. The former will leave you alone, the latter will cause problems

How long to stay depends on a few things. Weather is first, it can be life-threatening. If a city is "cracking down" on homeless (Most cities do every March, don't ask me why), it's also time to go. And if it's just not working out, time to move on.

Wherever you go, you have to keep in mind that it's temporary. Just like everything else.

I got in during the pandemic. There is a license test but once you get a study guide it isn't bad. I have a web page for new hams here: https://sites.google.com/view/ki5ona/new-hams?authuser=0

I'll probably head to Texas for the winter. Past years I've been in Houston but I think Corpus Christie might be a nice change. I have 6 weeks to decide, maybe I'll do both. The situation will be a one-man tent, sleeping bag, and the open road