[pocomoonskyeyes]

Just so everyone knows. (Honesty is the best policy after all). I am copying and pasting this from another Forum I am a member of. I conferred w/Ron and the mods before I would do anything of this sort. I am the author of this. It is not plagiarized in any shape, manner or form. These are my words, unaltered and unabridged.

[pocomoonskyeyes]

Gems from the Gutter - part 1
The very first lesson I learned about being Homeless. -- Never think that it can't happen to you. I had considered myself "above" those that were homeless. I learned quickly that it could happen to me. I was "blindsided" by events that caused me to become homeless. I allowed myself to be put in a position that eventually I could not control. Result : I became Homeless.

My second lesson, Do not assume that someone, anyone will "help" you freely. I was "let down" easy sort of. My first stop Was at a Salvation Army Men's shelter where I stayed for a while. I had to pay rent to stay there, I think it was about $40- 50 /week. Until an altercation between myself and another caused my expulsion. It was over what the "rules" of the shelter were, the other "resident" was in violation and I brought it to his attention, this escalated to a shouting match. We were both expelled.

My third lesson- never assume that those who are "helping you" will follow their own "Rules". When we had to go see the "front office" personnel we were given the opportunity to explain our side of the story. I felt since I had been following the rules I was in the right.... Boy was I wrong. To make this short and simple.. The one who broke the rules was allowed to return to the Mens shelter, the one who followed the rules (me) was evicted.

You had better be prepared for the worst! Fortunately I was better prepared due to my gentle let down into homelessness. I had purchased some items and acquired others that were given away or thrown away. Due to my experience in the military and Boy Scouts and what I had seen thus far "on the streets", I chose a little different route than your typical homeless person. I spent my first TRULY homeless night as a "Street Person" in a discarded pup tent I was fortunate to "find" at the SA drop box.( Hey I felt they owed me anyway, they didn't follow their own rules.) First night was spent in a SMALL strip of woods next to the train tracks.

Another thing that was in my favor, Some of those who had been long time residents at the shelter were on my side. Chief among those was the SA Cook, who provided me "on the sly" with some of my food. Others contributed some small items that they could afford to part with. So this is another lesson. It pays to have friends that are in a position to help,and are higher up in the hierarchy of homelessness. There is a hierarchy, among the homeless.

Learn the hierarchy!! If you don't it could get you hurt,or worse. People (yes homeless are people) have seniority in regards to choosing the best spots,gettng in line for the "soup kitchen" etc. You had better be able to take care of yourself ( or make others think you are able to) if you try to butt in line. Some are just Posers, some are real. Observe and find out who is who. It could mean your life, or loss of life. I realize most people think that homeless people are just "bums" and some won't even give them the time of day literally. That just ain't true. I've met people that would surprise you that they are homeless at all. I've met a former NFL player (who I won't name as that is his business) who got into drugs and lost everything - everything, including his dignity and pride. I've met a former university Professor, who CHOSE to be homeless ( he had a home and money).When his Family came and picked him up he would go and stay a day or two then return to the streets. My point here is this - NEVER assume that someone is this or that, you could be wrong and it could even cost you.

I started looking for a place to call home. I had an Army Duffle bag of clothes and other items that I wanted to keep. There were many places to choose from. Abandoned buildings,alleys, just look in your own town(no matter how big or small) and think about if you were homeless where would you stay. All of a sudden you will see many places that a homeless person could call home. Oddly enough I found a place not far from where I spent my first true night as homeless. It just took a little looking to find. My biggest fear was of being arrested for trespassing or vagrancy, that could mean losing everything I had, little as it was. I couldn't carry around my meager possessions all the time it was just too heavy and bulky. I found a spot on the railroad strip that had an old slag pile from some long past undertaking. It could've even stopped a .50 cal barret sniper rifle. It would hide my tent and fire from anyone passing by. Some chose underpasses and other spots that most would consider unlikely. Graveyards, under trailers from big rigs,alleys in trash piles, dumpsters,below ground entrance ways to buildings,behind parking garages,etc.etc. I was considered "Rich" by homeless standards. Look at my duffle bag compared to the bookbag backpacks most carry.

I started to feel vulnerable being alone and isolated. I started looking for a campmate. One of my friends from the SA shelter was getting kicked out since he couldn't afford to pay his room and board there. The weather was fair so he joined me in a slightly larger area about 20 yards from where I had been. A hobo camp was started.

We could get two meals a day from the "Mission" soup kitchen. So we weren't hurting there. a couple of times a week a group from the local churches would come out and provide meals and sometimes give stuff out,as well as churh services. The services weren't mandatory but it seems the better stuff was given out immediately following these services. So even those that hated religion would come and sit through them,to see what would be given out. Being homeless you depend on a very LARGE part on the generosity of other human beings,whether it's intentional or not. You scrounge,you Dumpster dive you do what it takes to get the things you NEED. You hope someone burns something in a pot and throws it away. You hope someone is evicted and their stuff thrown out and you can get some blankets or clothes. You target SA or Goodwill drop boxes. I think you may get the idea now.

My Hobo camp started to grow. Some I said no to, some we accepted,some came and went drifting with the wind,looking for a better place. All contributed. Some things we needed we had to buy. We would Panhandle to get money, one of our members got a disability check at her mothers address. We got by,we survived. It is not easy, it is not pleasant,it is not safe. But we managed,as there is safety in numbers. We got water from a scrapyard that had a faucet outside by the door, we were on camera when we got it every couple of nights. They knew where we were,they could see our camp, they never said a word and the only thing we ever took was water. One place very close by, got broke into one night,we stopped them from leaving with what they took. We went and told the Police,They were surprised we did what we did. One of the nearby businesses gave us some food.

Some of you may not know this, but the Railroad has their own cops.I found out the hard way. One morning as we were getting up and starting our coffee(compliments of the SA cook), Into our camp walked a Cop and another man and 2 others who stayed kinda' close to the road. As they walked in I said "Morning! Coffee?" The Cop started looking through our tents and walking around as if he were looking for something or someone. He said "No. we just do this about 2 times a year". I said "do what?" He said "we come in and run you off!" I said "well where are we going to go? we don't have anyplace to go!" he said in his best tough cop,boy are you in trouble now attitude as he got right up in my face- - "You don't understand do you boy, We ONLY do this about twice a year. We'll be coming in in about an hour and bulldozing this camp. So you have that much time to get what you want and get out!" While trying to perform his duty, he was in fact giving us a break. He was buying us time. We started scrambling and got about 95% of our stuff out before the bulldozer leveled our camp. We moved a whole 50 yards and waited 'til they were gone and set up all over again. The other man with the Cop was a railroad detective, I saw him one more time. He came back and told us that he could have all of us arrested for trespassing. My reply was -yeah you could, but the way I see it we are doing you a service and clearing all this land of combustible material and we are doing it in a slow and safe manner. One dead log at a time and preventing a potential fire hazard that could shut down these tracks and halt your trains from coming this way. He agreed and left and never bothered us again.

Now I've entitled this "Gems from the Gutter part one" for a reason. There is some I'm sure I have forgotten that you will have questions about. I also want to give others the opportunity to contribute, therefore each can entitle their contributions part 2 part 3 and so on. This is not about me,although I have told you my story. This is about a type of Survival that I fervently hope none of you has to experience. I look back on my time as being homeless as being a sort of Spiritual Sojourn, a time I got to get to know my Creator as I understand my Creator. It helped me grow in ways that I never thought possible. I got closer to Mother Earth, I lived, I learned. Although It was a very sad and depressing time, it was also enjoyable to a degree. You see any survival situation,Urban or Wilderness is what you make it. The better your attitude the better your chances are. I hope you both Enjoy and learn from this. I'm sorry it is so long and takes so much of your valuable time. But this is one of the lessons you learn being homeless, Time is not important,you have no schedule except that dictated by survival and learning. Thank you for reading.

This is the only picture I have of me when I was homeless. I keep it as a memento of what has been and what could be.

[kevin]

copying and pasting what?? oops; there it is!! damn poco, sounds like an experience I don't ever want to have - a true survival story.

[Celticwarrior]

Thank you for your story, POCO. It is sobering and tells a tale of survival the likes of which most of us never imagine ourselves to be in. If there is a way to avoid the type of experiences you have gone through, perhaps knowing what you have told us might keep us out of that particular situation.

I appreciate your willingness to share something so personal. Thank you very much.

[Cajunlady]

Poco, that is quite an eye-opening story and sorry you had to go through this. About five years ago there was an article in our local paper about the plight of a homeless woman. The article centered on her living conditions under an overpass. Her belongings so meager. Her physique so gaunt looking. She was laying to sleep on a cardboard box with just the clothes she had on her back. No blanket to cover with on one of the hardest freezes we had that year. Her gaunt little body couldn't handle the temperatures and she died. She was only 23 years old. Each winter I think of this young woman and how sad that in this day and age she had no one who cared. Since then I put backpacks together for the homeless. I carry two in my van, one with female items and one for men. It doesn't take much to make a difference in someone's life. When I travel into town I'll take my time looking for the homeless offering them the backpacks. I shop at garage sales for winter jackets, and other warm clothing. Sometimes I luck out and find blankets and pillows. Just remember one thing too, 25% of all homeless people are veterans. Now that is truly sad. Everybody needs a friend and I try to do my best. Thanks for sharing your story with us. Glad things have turned around for you.

[pocomoonskyeyes]

I think the number of Veterans is under reported personally. 25% seems awful low but may be right. I know when I went to "Stand Down" I saw some that I had never seen before, and some I knew would not go. It is hard to get "hard" statistics. Some Homeless just do not trust outsiders and will not tell you anything until they know more about you. Some not even then. Some dodge the Statisticians.
I just hope this helps someone,somewhere.

[garret]

i think that most people dont realise how frighteningly easy it is to end up in a situation like that, ending up homeless in a filth squat sure brought me back to earth with a crash.

thanks for the pic and storu poco, hopefully we can all learn something from your experience (it is something i wouldnt wish on my worst enemy)

[tjwilhelm]

Telling your story is a great service to the forum, Poco. You're so right...it could happen to any of us. This illustrates, clearly, the reasons to learn primitive skills, to develop an attitude of self-reliance, to nurture constructive social skills, and to put together at least a small and portable kit of foundational, critical tools and supplies.

Thank you for the generosity and strength of spirit that are represented in this act of sharing.

[Omegaman]

Over the years I have picked up some pretty useful tricks from different street people, tricks that in bad times could save my life. I use to cook in a shelter kitchen and I met some great human beings and some real thugs but this was no different from people who have homes and jobs. Thanks for sharing.

[George]

It is pure survival, just different surroundings, and proximity of city’s structures against nature only ones.

Actually your story confirmed, what I thought all along, that having survival B.O.B. pack or not is only first part of the story.

To survive longer term you need a community.
Structure of that community will differ from one group to another and for example: robbers and criminals will probably have physical power as big part of their hierarchy, and those who simply want to get by will just have a pecking order more or less with some form of partially preserved human dignity woven into the fabric of that association.

Being agreeable and with no chip on a shoulder would help too, as part of the story showed in “brush” with authorities.


Of course different dynamics will apply where there is no “better off” part of the society, when all are in the same boat.
But even then some principles of survival when only some are homeless would still apply.

Understand this is well behind you now, are you “proofed” against that happening again?

And above all, thank you for the opportunity to learn in detail part of your story.