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General Discussion => WHATEVER => Topic started by: shpongle on February 20, 2021, 09:58:09 AM
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im curious how you got homeless, where you stayed, how it was, and encounters you had that were good or bad!
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Yes
I was a bit of a slut at the time so I had a few women that would let me stay over.
and when that didn’t happen I slept in parks. I used what little money I had to buy a 24 hour fitness membership and took showers once a week at the gym. It wasn’t the happiest part of my life but I’m retrospect it wasn’t that bad. I spent a lot of time walking around all night and sleeping in the day.
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Was homeless on and off for a couple years in my early 20s. Always had a place to crash tho, friends couches and floors, so never had to sleep outside thankfully, except for maybe one night. Had little to no cash at all in those couple years. Had an EBT card at the time so I just used that to get food.
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i've definitely flirted with it during a couple of especially hectic points in my life, but i never have had to sleep outside out of necessity or gone too hungry...
...which says more about the incredible and priceless friends that i've been blessed to have in my life, than any capacities or aptitudes i've possessed--i was a thoughtless and selfish fucker at points as a young man...
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I was homeless but living out of a car for a month back in 1998ish. My now ex-wife and I separated so was down and out.
I've shampooed my hair in a waffle house bathroom.
Eventually one of my friends moved out and I took his spot in his apartment.
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Part of my therapy is to let thing’s go and forgive so here’s a brief rundown on my experiences with homelessness.
I was neglected by my dad as he had 10+ kid’s by the time he got around to me it was too late. So I’m 16 and I’ve been to over 12+ schools and had maybe a handful of friends I’ve met and palled around with.
My dad wasn’t the kindest person so I got the boot when I was 16 much like JT & Stevie Williams I went out west to seek my fortune in skating world 96’ to 99’ San Francisco was my spot for a while and it was good for me. I lived all over East bay Oakland Berkeley Richmond.
Spent my 20’s and early 30’s on the streets now I have seen some shit that’d turn a tough guy go green. Murder suicides sketchy robberies all types of violence and shit.
Now it’s not all been bad went to Europe Scandinavia and Carpathian Mountains and jungles in Brazil. Met all kinds of people and had fun.
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2013, got kicked out form the rehab and spent some time on a dude's couch. It fucking sucked.
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Never homeless, but when chasing after my degree, I slept on sofas, in extra rooms, and all that. I leaned pretty hard on a few friends.
However, I burned through a friendship during that time. I overstayed at his place and I haven't really spoken to the dude since I stayed in his extra/storage room for too long.
Orwell was homeless in London and near homeless in Paris... it is a pretty amazing story.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Down_and_Out_in_Paris_and_London
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Most of my life.
I did a semester of college outside in winter.
Shelters are for families. I'm core homeless/couch surfing
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I'm technically homeless rn
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(https://i.ibb.co/xHLDb8Q/16138640972973401539309627041236.jpg) (https://ibb.co/xHLDb8Q)
This is me. Living the dream. Completely sideways but I'm not outside.
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i served a few tours of duty. a combination of no adult skills, not much parental guidance and a romanticization of bukowski, jack london, my own private idaho and lots of other references from books nobody would get.
are you doing a survey or looking for tips?
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I spent a lot of my twenties “in between homes”. Luckily had friends with couches and girls who’d let me sleep with them and shower. Only had to sleep outside a few times and nothing sketchy ever happened.
Also. When I was 24(?) I hitch hiked and hopped trains for about six months. Slept in a tent on the side of the highway, behind the maintenance shed at a high school football field, and in a bunch of random people’s houses and backyards. Somehow ended up in a really strange church commune that was in a renovated warehouse in OKC.
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I only had to live out of my car for a few months after I got kicked out of my grandmothers place in NC when I was 21. I spent the days skating and drinking beer/smoking tobacco. This chick Amy was really cool about getting me gas, food, and beer all the time but I couldn't stay at her place because she had a boyfriend.
I've been blessed otherwise to have had people/families take me in at various points from 25-30 when I would otherwise have had to continually figure some quick shit out or sleep in the forest every night. But that's really just the traveling life and it's not anything like being destitute homeless and what not.
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yeah. ran away from home as a teenager and spent a lot of my late teens thru mid 20’s homeless at least part of the year in a few major cities.
i always had work so i can’t complain too much. shit happens.
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Many times. I can't commit to work because of some health problems so had to learn to squat houses when I couldn't afford rent. Spent many nights outside too. I learnt how to be frugal throughout the whole ordeal and I wouldn't have a chunk of savings if I didnt go through it all so I think I can make peace with it now.
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For a few months when I was around 18 just one of those things, got kicked out of my mum’s place
I mean I was totally blowing it it’s not like I didn’t have it coming but I got this tent and had it in a park sort of hidden away
I don’t remember all of it anymore but I remember being bored a lot, sometimes I would skate or go to mate’s places during the day. Sometimes would stay on mate’s couches but I think I was always not wanting to push my luck. I remember getting lonely sometimes too. It was just drugs really
I reckon I was lucky for a few things I mean I never saw weirdos or anything around my tent, I don’t think anyone apart from mates knew I was there Also I was not in the city more in the suburbs so less people anyway. Also I was on the dole so I got money in my bank every two weeks
I don’t remember exactly what caused it but I ended up just having a gut full of my situation and over like, three doles I saved up money to get a room in a share house and just sorta went from there
I remember running socks until they were cardboard
I threw all my clothes away when I left the tent
I remember having a real good wash right before I left and when I was washing the shampoo out of my hair the water went this red colour I thought it was old blood for a second but it was just dirt
But yeah looking back and especially comparing it to some of the stuff I’ve seen in town I reckon I was fairly fortunate
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I once got to a hotel at like 11:30am only to find check-in time to be 3:00pm. It was no Swiss picnic, I can tell you that.
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Technically I wasn't homeless but some would say so. When I was 20, I lived out of my car for a few months. I had two jobs and was going to college, so I made enough money to get by but had no savings to get a place. I had been renting a room from a friend's Mom and she had some sort of midlife crisis and was going through a rough time. She flipped on me once and asked me to move out. I swear I did not do anything to provoke it but she did apologize some time after and told me she got professional help. Anyway, I would hang out in the library during and after classes as long as I could. I worked as many shifts at my jobs as I could. This was so I wouldn't have to worry about where I would need to sleep at night and what not. I would also nap in my car before and after school. I'd just park as far as possible from crowded areas. I wasn't doing anything suspicious so security never said anything. This went on for about two months then friends realized what I was doing and offered me their places to crash at. I can still remember my schedule, Mondays and Tuesday's at one friends house, Wednesday and Thursdays at another, then Friday, Saturday, and Sunday's at my Uncle's apartment. I was so lucky. Neither my friends or Uncle accepted any money from me. I would buy them beer and food though. I was able to save enough money during this time to be able to rent a room soon after from my uncle who had his spare bedroom. I even saved up enough to finish paying for my car. It was a humbling experience yet I don't wish it on anyone. I'll never forget the look on people's faces who would see me between classes while I brushed my teeth or got ready for work and or class from the trunk of my car. I'm sure there's worse cases out there but this was mine.
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I was homeless but living out of a car for a month back in 1998ish. My now ex-wife and I separated so was down and out.
I've shampooed my hair in a waffle house bathroom.
Eventually one of my friends moved out and I took his spot in his apartment.
Not the worst thing to happen in a Waffle House bathroom.
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Jobs? NEVER!!
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I've shampooed my hair in a waffle house bathroom.
Sounds like a line in a Sheryl Crow song
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I've shampooed my hair in a waffle house bathroom.
Sounds like a line in a Sheryl Crow song
I tried not to laugh but I couldn't help it. I was thinking more like Alanis Morissette.
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i lived in a van once too, in SF by soma park. idk if that “counts” or whatever but it was sick actually minus the crazy bum scene
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funny to see SF and the bay area come up a few times in this thread--i grew up in an around Detroit, but the times when i've been the closest to being out on the street and going hungry have been both of the periods of my life when i lived in SF...first time through '97 and '98...halfheartedly chasing some janky ass dream one might say...
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Mine was self inflicted, out of hesitance to sign a lease solo, in a rapidly gentrifying city (PDX) after a relationship fizzled. First was in a tent on the patio of an apt I lived in, but had subletted my room for the summer. The tent was suppose to be a few weeks max and I wasn't paying patio rent, but turned to 2.5 months, so then I bought a car when the lease ended and lived outta that for another 2.5-3 months. I had a storage locker near one of my 2 jobs, which made the whole thing funnier. Saw folks who were on the same program, lived outside or elsewhere at night and just kicked it in a living room sorta thing they had in a self-storage unit. I found the whole experience pretty funny and liberating but was definitely glad when it ended.
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I managed to keep an apartment or room from 2004-2016.
In the end I tore my acl and was used by 3 kids or more while I was gone.
Tann Eddy and that fucking asshole girl who worked at max hesh who was NOT supposed to be there at all killed the house.
I fucking hate them. I have been civil with the fucking bitch who worked at the skate shop but only because she's a stranger and I can't deal with her flexing her privilege.
I hope all Three of them die a horrendous death after reading this post.
Fuck you. I still haven't been able to replace all the shit I lost in this deal
FUCK YOU
Her name is Stephanie.
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I managed to keep an apartment or room from 2004-2016.
In the end I tore my acl and was used by 3 kids or more while I was gone.
Tann Eddy and that fucking asshole girl who worked at max hesh who was NOT supposed to be there at all killed the house.
I fucking hate them. I have been civil with the fucking bitch who worked at the skate shop but only because she's a stranger and I can't deal with her flexing her privilege.
I hope all Three of them die a horrendous death after reading this post.
Fuck you. I still haven't been able to replace all the shit I lost in this deal
FUCK YOU
Her name is Stephanie.
how'd they get your place? sublet to them?
assflea carried on w/ his same old stuff
w/ stephanie like a whammy he pressed his luck
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I've shampooed my hair in a waffle house bathroom.
Sounds like a line in a Sheryl Crow song
I tried not to laugh but I couldn't help it. I was thinking more like Alanis Morissette.
I wore a ball cap going in and coming out. It's not like you can go in with a bath towel. I had to to be quick and dried my head sufficiently with paper towels. My hair smelled like vomit from not being washed in a few days all while skateboarding almost daily.
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I've shampooed my hair in a waffle house bathroom.
Sounds like a line in a Sheryl Crow song
I tried not to laugh but I couldn't help it. I was thinking more like Alanis Morissette.
Definitely took some bird baths and/or brushed my teeth in restaurant bathrooms while hitch hiking. Got a lot of strange looks
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I've shampooed my hair in a waffle house bathroom.
Sounds like a line in a Sheryl Crow song
I tried not to laugh but I couldn't help it. I was thinking more like Alanis Morissette.
Definitely not trying to poke fun at the struggle, just that particular sentence, when read in Sheryl Crow or Alanis Morissette's singing voice, is funny.
I have been privileged to have never been in that sort of position and I'm sure it takes a lotta strength to get through it. Shalom to you and everyone else sharing their experiences!
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Kicked out at 14. I mostly stayed at different peoples houses, slept on a bench at a church, and briefly at a shelter. For survival, stole food from groceries, raided tip jars to buy food at same restaurants, and eventually found a morally acceptable solution: ate uneaten food at McDonalds. This is the period in which I perfected the one minute full shower by using the bathroom at peoples houses.
Long term effects: unhealthy eating patterns that would lead to adult obesity; had almost no material items until about 27 years old (everything packed in a duffel bag, even for long term living situations); slept with pants with keys and wallet well into my 30s; general pessimistic outlook on life due to seeing the worst of humanity; failed relationships due to previous problem.
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Just to add a bit on this topic, these are a few good books I've come across on homelessness.
Needed by Nobody: Homelessness and humanness in Post-Socialist Russia
https://www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9780801475931/needed-by-nobody/
Hobos, Hustlers, and Backsliders
https://www.upress.umn.edu/book-division/books/hobos-hustlers-and-backsliders
(I met the author of this book randomly, she is this awesome British hippie lady who is super cool and super friendly.)
On Hobos and Homelessness
https://press.uchicago.edu/ucp/books/book/chicago/O/bo3636851.html
and, Down and Out in London in Paris
https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/385323/modern-classics-down-and-out-in-paris-and-london-by-george-orwelldervla-murphy/9780141184388
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I've been in this situation a couple of times in my life.. All that decadence and livin' in the free world, was nice in retrospect and it made me but for sure it took a toll on my mental health..
First time I lived on peoples couches for like 18 months. I should have ended it earlier but kind of got used to it. Hardest part for me was the constant uncertainty about my sleeping arrangements and being broke as fuck. Luckily I had a friend who let me sleep on his couch most of the nights. I managed by thinking this is the skate life, no worries, day by day, "Arto, Arto wake up let's go skate man" all that bull.
The second time was a bit rougher as I lost my job, apartment and broke up with my girlfriend in the span of 6 weeks. I had no life savings or anything to hold on. Basically I was alone in the city, had lost most of everything I had in life. This let me to a dark twisted life for three months in the dead of winter(-22F to 32F). Had a lot of unhealthy encounters with women at time. On a later note I feel like I had sex and relationships with these people for very selfish reasons. I was this filthy stray dog and these upper class women would try to "save" me with their daddys money and I was all in to be "saved". I kind of felt like it was the only thing going on for me at the time so I felt I had to do it. I still feel bad for some of them and how I couldn't give them what they deserved.
I still occasionally think about leaving all this materia and responsibility behind to go back to being a nomad haha as if life was simpler back then.. Certainly it's more stable now and also boring.
Nice to read about your experiences too. Taking a bath at the gas station and scavenging for food brings back memories of a life lived.
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For a few years In my late teens/early 20’s I worked in the forest service n the rest of the year lived outta my car the rest of the year till I got called back. Couch surfed with friends from high school who moved away, went to shows a lot, skated any spot I wanted to go to in southern ca at the time, drank/smoked reefer all day every day, basically living like a modern day pirate.
Have found it easier to hang out with strangers when I’m by myself rather than a friend or two. Maybe because I’m an only child, I dunno... Because of that I would sleep on the streets with rad gutter punks I just met or party with people I met during a show n crash at their house for a day or two.
One move I useta do was wait at night for somebody to go into a gated complex n go right behind em, park in any visitors area, then good night. Would always wake up whenever the sun came up cuz my car would instantly turn into an oven during the summer, go to the nearest fast food restaurant, take a bird bath/mexican shower whatever u wanna call it, then go to whatever skatepark was in that town then repeat. At that time in my life I was all about going to shows.
I remember the year before I moved here I was in my car thinking how rad it would be to live at the beach. Been here for 15 years...
Lots of good memories from that era of my life.
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i was couchsurfing the heck out of my circle of friends from 16 to 18, but i wasn't really homeless, just didn't want to stay at my parents.
then when i moved to my current city i used to have connections to crash but in the summer i would just sometimes sleep outside. it was a thing where i had stashes of clothes in various friends apartments so it wasn't like all my stuff could get stolen. my first summer in this city was just being outside with my skateboard, drinking and smoking and just passing out wherever. come winter i moved in with a dude i knew from work.
basically wasn't really homeless, i could always have crashed on someones couch if i wanted to i guess, at the time i found it an interesting experience tho.
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I managed to keep an apartment or room from 2004-2016.
In the end I tore my acl and was used by 3 kids or more while I was gone.
Tann Eddy and that fucking asshole girl who worked at max hesh who was NOT supposed to be there at all killed the house.
I fucking hate them. I have been civil with the fucking bitch who worked at the skate shop but only because she's a stranger and I can't deal with her flexing her privilege.
I hope all Three of them die a horrendous death after reading this post.
Fuck you. I still haven't been able to replace all the shit I lost in this deal
FUCK YOU
Her name is Stephanie.
assflea carried on w/ his same old stuff
w/ stephanie like a whammy he pressed his luck
Nah my sublets sublet to them behind my back while I was away doing volunteer shit.
My acl was torn so I only came back to make sure the rent was paid.
I came back and Stephanie started being an asshole.
They hung around a while but left without saying anything.
Took me almost 2 months to clean the house up to the standard of the court alone on crutches.
Then I went to free up the escrow. They had taken back there money.
I do not believe in tanking people's houses. These upper middle class yuppie punks suck.
They are all privilege and are counter revolutionary cucks
Fuck you 3.
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Kicked out at 14. I mostly stayed at different peoples houses, slept on a bench at a church, and briefly at a shelter. For survival, stole food from groceries, raided tip jars to buy food at same restaurants, and eventually found a morally acceptable solution: ate uneaten food at McDonalds. This is the period in which I perfected the one minute full shower by using the bathroom at peoples houses.
Long term effects: unhealthy eating patterns that would lead to adult obesity; had almost no material items until about 27 years old (everything packed in a duffel bag, even for long term living situations); slept with pants with keys and wallet well into my 30s; general pessimistic outlook on life due to seeing the worst of humanity; failed relationships due to previous problem.
That's so messed up. I couldn't imagine kicking either of my kids out of the house like that. Although experiences like this are reassuring to know you are a survivor because you've made it through, it's terribly traumatic and scarring. Even in the relative safety of sleeping in a locked vehicle, my brief vagrancy would have me shook up with the sound of gun shots a few blocks away regularly. I can't wrap my mind around the idea being without any shelter.
It was tricky enough finding somewhere to sleep where the cops wouldn't bother you so of course it had to be in the hood and not the suburbs. Eventually, I got used to sleeping in the backseat under blankets and looking like a pile of dirty laundry. I had to crack the windows even though it a freezing winter because the fogged up windows were a dead giveaway someone was inside. I would sometimes have to move from a spot if a crackhead or other street people found you in there to harass.
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Yah we have NEVER repeat the mistakes of our parents/us rule in place.
We will never kick out the kids no matter what.
I got kicked out the 1st time in 7th grade and bounced back and forth till I was so far gone it took 20 years for me to get something together...
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I bought an inflatable bed and slept in my office for about 3 weeks while I was in between places in my mid-20s. When work got out, I would go find things to do for about 4 hrs while the cleaning staff did their thing, then sneak back in and inflate the bed. Then, I would wake up at about 6, deflate the bed, go take a shower in the gym and go to work before repeating the whole process each day. I was on pins and needles...but made it work.
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Never experienced total homelessnes but I grew up in critical circumstances. My parents didn't have a home for themselfes when I was born so we lived in a small two bedroom apartment with my grandparents for some years. When we moved to Germany we lived in shelters for asylum seekers for some months until the government rented a hotel room for us.
Big hug to everyone who struggles or struggled!
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Yup, 16-17yo, in NZ at the time if you wanted to get unemployment money from the government you had to be over 18, or get your parents to say they didn't want / couldn't have you at home. At 16 ihad a job and a room but lost the job and the house, my mother didn't want me at home but was too proud to sign the form, and I had problems with my stepmother so didn't want to stay with my dad. I could occasionally tick some drugs off a friend of a friend at a high price, and make enough for a little food, but mostly survived on my friends leftovers. I was skinny as hell. I had friends who would let me crash most of the time, I'd get a shower here and there, but occasionally I'd leave things to late to sort somewhere and I'd end up crashing in some random garden shed that I'd spot over a fence or something. Was caught once or twice, but never got arrested or my ass beat. Once crept into what I thought was a friend's house and crashed on a sofa, woke up to strangers staring at me. They were surprisingly nice about it and let me just get my things and leave.
i was terrible at keeping up with my laundry, in particular my underwear got pretty stinky, and I'd just cycle through 3 or four pairs in my backpack when the pair i had been wearing got too bad. I had a friend at a shitty clothing store who would look the other way when I needed a clean tshirt. All up it could have been much worse, i was lucky to have some support. When I hit 18 I got that government money and cleaned up enough to land a job, but eventually moved to another city for a fresh start.
This is the first time I've spoken or even really thought about this in almost 20 years, i kinda blocked out a lot of these memories. It feels cathartic, thank you for this thread.
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I'm glad for your catharsis. It is quite a bit of stigma to being homeless and it looks like some of us had a lot of understanding and generous friends. In my times of plenty, I was happy to let friends have an extended stay rent free with the only stipulation is they pay for long distance calls they made until they got on their feet.
I also wanted to clarify that I was homeless in Atlanta. Athens, Georgia in that time frame had five different police departments that would patrol the city because of the large college population. It made finding a place to park overnight on a regular basis to sleep near impossible.
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i served a few tours of duty. a combination of no adult skills, not much parental guidance and a romanticization of bukowski, jack london, my own private idaho and lots of other references from books nobody would get.
are you doing a survey or looking for tips?
bukowski really do make a mofo want to be an alcoholic bum at times
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I slept in my dodge stratus from November 2008 to February 2009ish. I kept my clothes in a garbage bag and slept on whoever's couch that would let me. Most of the time it wasn't awkward if we weren't already skating/hanging out, but it got weird to ask to use the shower.
I was a fuckin dumbass and paid $10 EACH TIME to use the shower at a truckstop, but in hindsight (this may not have been available at the time) I should have gotten a "gym pass" at some hotel. Some hotels have excerise equipment/pool that goes unused during the week, so you can pay to work out, swim, & get a shower in thereafter.
If I did sleep in my car, i slept in my backseat with a down comforter & pillow. because it was winter, usually around 3-4am i'd have to start the car to get heat. Id sleep in Walmart or university or skate park parking lots & listen to books on tape to sleep.
Not having a kitchen or a shower is absolutely terrible and after a while people stopped hanging out because while id be buying food/booze/etc to hang out with people, they knew it was coming out of the funds I should have been stacking for a residence.
One night, I had to take a shit so fucking bad, but didn't have money/time to go to a restroom, so I pull over at George Webb and shit in the middle of two dumpsters. Unfortunately, i didn't look what I was doing and shit right in my pants & underwear. I was wearing an Undertaker- American Badass Shirt that I stripped off and used it to wipe my ass, and left all of the soiled garments behind as I ran completely nude back to the safety of the dodge stratus & the $10 truck stop shower
(https://i.ibb.co/VT4JYPj/P7.jpg) (https://ibb.co/pdFbj90)
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I use to go to REI load up on a bunch of outdoor shit and just walk the fuck out, no chase policy. I 'd grab a subzero sleeping bag single eye stove light. Random dodads and caribieners and tarps. Whole foods was great for deli foods especially if you could get them on EBT.
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I slept in my dodge stratus from November 2008 to February 2009ish. I kept my clothes in a garbage bag and slept on whoever's couch that would let me. Most of the time it wasn't awkward if we weren't already skating/hanging out, but it got weird to ask to use the shower.
I was a fuckin dumbass and paid $10 EACH TIME to use the shower at a truckstop, but in hindsight (this may not have been available at the time) I should have gotten a "gym pass" at some hotel. Some hotels have excerise equipment/pool that goes unused during the week, so you can pay to work out, swim, & get a shower in thereafter.
If I did sleep in my car, i slept in my backseat with a down comforter & pillow. because it was winter, usually around 3-4am i'd have to start the car to get heat. Id sleep in Walmart or university or skate park parking lots & listen to books on tape to sleep.
Not having a kitchen or a shower is absolutely terrible and after a while people stopped hanging out because while id be buying food/booze/etc to hang out with people, they knew it was coming out of the funds I should have been stacking for a residence.
One night, I had to take a shit so fucking bad, but didn't have money/time to go to a restroom, so I pull over at George Webb and shit in the middle of two dumpsters. Unfortunately, i didn't look what I was doing and shit right in my pants & underwear. I was wearing an Undertaker- American Badass Shirt that I stripped off and used it to wipe my ass, and left all of the soiled garments behind as I ran completely nude back to the safety of the dodge stratus & the $10 truck stop shower
(https://i.ibb.co/VT4JYPj/P7.jpg) (https://ibb.co/pdFbj90)
When I was hitchin around I ended up staying in Austin for a few days during SXSW. I lived off of lone star, md2020, and discarded pizza from the street. Last day of trip I had to shit between dumpsters two separate times. I lost two pairs of socks that day.
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I slept in my dodge stratus from November 2008 to February 2009ish. I kept my clothes in a garbage bag and slept on whoever's couch that would let me. Most of the time it wasn't awkward if we weren't already skating/hanging out, but it got weird to ask to use the shower.
I was a fuckin dumbass and paid $10 EACH TIME to use the shower at a truckstop, but in hindsight (this may not have been available at the time) I should have gotten a "gym pass" at some hotel. Some hotels have excerise equipment/pool that goes unused during the week, so you can pay to work out, swim, & get a shower in thereafter.
If I did sleep in my car, i slept in my backseat with a down comforter & pillow. because it was winter, usually around 3-4am i'd have to start the car to get heat. Id sleep in Walmart or university or skate park parking lots & listen to books on tape to sleep.
Not having a kitchen or a shower is absolutely terrible and after a while people stopped hanging out because while id be buying food/booze/etc to hang out with people, they knew it was coming out of the funds I should have been stacking for a residence.
One night, I had to take a shit so fucking bad, but didn't have money/time to go to a restroom, so I pull over at George Webb and shit in the middle of two dumpsters. Unfortunately, i didn't look what I was doing and shit right in my pants & underwear. I was wearing an Undertaker- American Badass Shirt that I stripped off and used it to wipe my ass, and left all of the soiled garments behind as I ran completely nude back to the safety of the dodge stratus & the $10 truck stop shower
(https://i.ibb.co/VT4JYPj/P7.jpg) (https://ibb.co/pdFbj90)
Honestly Austin is so tramped out off Guadalupe and 6th ave. You'd have a better chance for hooking up with a dude or gal. The place is rad but homeless nawww fuck that shit.. I did get to checkout easy 7 ditch so fun to skate and San Marcos was tight as fuck.
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i did the live in your car thing for a few months as well. i didnt consider it as homelessness at the time cause owning a car is still pretty well off but its probably the most common form of housing insecurity people are experiencing with uber/doordash being enormous employers
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Tell him he’s dreaming
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Not even close. Family would always tell me if things ever got too hard I always had a place at home. I took them up on that offer twice and both times were some of the best decisions I ever made. The only time I was really struggling was just about a year now. I moved home March 1st last year and am about to move out this next week again into a really comfy spot courtesy of my job. But before I moved home just over a year ago I was in a really bad studio in a really bad area. People digging in the walls for/hiding drugs, answering doors in the middle of the night with a gun, car chases, shootings all the time, fights and screaming, cold as fuck in winter, hot as fuck in summer, tiny as fuck depression causing hell hole of a beautiful but stressful time in my life.
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I was couch surfing for most of my 20s in the rave and goth scenes. smoked a lot of weed and developed a bit of a coke problem during the brief period I was renting. I had friends that really took care of me. I was mentally Ill and ended up doing the rehab sober living california shuffle for a few years. I was totally sober for almost a decade. I finally got disability money and good medication and I grew up and transitioned from being an addict in recovery to the kind a guy who uses weed functionally and has properly prescribed medications and a part time job. I live on my own now finishing school late and have an amazing fiancee who keeps me responsible. being homeless or mental sucks and isn't something I like to romanticize as much as I used to. I got really lucky I got some angels watching out for me.
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i did the live in your car thing for a few months as well. i didnt consider it as homelessness at the time cause owning a car is still pretty well off but its probably the most common form of housing insecurity people are experiencing with uber/doordash being enormous employers
Man did someone delete a post or something cause I wasn’t taking about you, I full thought there was another post like right above mine, I remember it was something about saying how he’s got it soo good being homeless it kind of sounded like a piss take
Maybe I’m crazy
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yes, there was another post that got deleted. all good matty, you're not crazy.
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I got kicked out of college when I was 18 and my best friend enlisted in the marine corps to become a recon marine, I ended saying, “fuck it, I’ll go with you.” I became a regular grunt and he graduated recon school. He ended up getting medically retired before his first deployment, while I ended up doing three deployments. After my third deployment money was tight, my girlfriend at the time kept breaking up with me/cheating on me, and I was about to go to scout sniper school. So I said fuck it, I’m really good at this, I’ll reenlist and catch that 30k reenlistment bonus. My reenlistment didn’t go through and less than a month later I was living in my Ford Ranger with no job, in debt (I took out a loan expecting to pay it off with my reenlistment bonus), and no job skills what so ever.
I was alternating between my brothers couch and my truck in, crashing in San Pedro (where I’m from). My parents had moved to Dallas on my second deployment and I really didnt want to go to Texas, or have the funds to get out there. After roughing it for a few months I sold my home (my truck) and used what little money I got for it for a one way ticket to Dallas. Before I could leave though I was drinking A LOT and fighting a lot. I ended up spending some time in LA County Jail, then I made good my escape and crashed at my parents house for a little bit.
I was not doing well at all, but I knew a cute girl who lived in Austin and I always wanted to go there. So I said fuck it, I’ll go down there, kick it with her for a while, then swan dive off the clock tower, and it will be a wrap. I got black out drunk on the megabus ride from Dallas to Austin. The girl I knew literally found me in a gutter near the UT campus, and picked me up.
She helped me get on my feet, physically and literally.
Now we’ve been married for five years, have a daughter together and are buying our first house this summer.
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I got kicked out of college when I was 18 and my best friend enlisted in the marine corps to become a recon marine, I ended saying, “fuck it, I’ll go with you.” I became a regular grunt and he graduated recon school. He ended up getting medically retired before his first deployment, while I ended up doing three deployments. After my third deployment money was tight, my girlfriend at the time kept breaking up with me/cheating on me, and I was about to go to scout sniper school. So I said fuck it, I’m really good at this, I’ll reenlist and catch that 30k reenlistment bonus. My reenlistment didn’t go through and less than a month later I was living in my Ford Ranger with no job, in debt (I took out a loan expecting to pay it off with my reenlistment bonus), and no job skills what so ever.
I was alternating between my brothers couch and my truck in, crashing in San Pedro (where I’m from). My parents had moved to Dallas on my second deployment and I really didnt want to go to Texas, or have the funds to get out there. After roughing it for a few months I sold my home (my truck) and used what little money I got for it for a one way ticket to Dallas. Before I could leave though I was drinking A LOT and fighting a lot. I ended up spending some time in LA County Jail, then I made good my escape and crashed at my parents house for a little bit.
I was not doing well at all, but I knew a cute girl who lived in Austin and I always wanted to go there. So I said fuck it, I’ll go down there, kick it with her for a while, then swan dive off the clock tower, and it will be a wrap. I got black out drunk on the megabus ride from Dallas to Austin. The girl I knew literally found me in a gutter near the UT campus, and picked me up.
She helped me get on my feet, physically and literally.
Now we’ve been married for five years, have a daughter together and are buying our first house this summer.
i appreciated reading this this morning...wishing all kinds of blessings to you and yours brother...
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My parents couch surfed when I was a kid. I am reluctant to ever say I was homeless. I wasnt by the HUD definition anyway.
Now I run a whole-ass large Non-Profit org that works on homelessness and housing justice. We have a team of 35 doing this work every day. I also teach a survey course on homelessness at the local university.
the issue of homelessness is my whole professional life. AMA.
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Yeah oath, Freelancevagrant I’m glad you’re happy mate, reading this kind of made my morning too
I met a couple of your boys in a bar in Brisbane years ago, like their ship had stopped here, they were all top blokes hey. Even these days still get on the Sony with em sometimes
Respect mate
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I got kicked out of college when I was 18 and my best friend enlisted in the marine corps to become a recon marine, I ended saying, “fuck it, I’ll go with you.” I became a regular grunt and he graduated recon school. He ended up getting medically retired before his first deployment, while I ended up doing three deployments. After my third deployment money was tight, my girlfriend at the time kept breaking up with me/cheating on me, and I was about to go to scout sniper school. So I said fuck it, I’m really good at this, I’ll reenlist and catch that 30k reenlistment bonus. My reenlistment didn’t go through and less than a month later I was living in my Ford Ranger with no job, in debt (I took out a loan expecting to pay it off with my reenlistment bonus), and no job skills what so ever.
I was alternating between my brothers couch and my truck in, crashing in San Pedro (where I’m from). My parents had moved to Dallas on my second deployment and I really didnt want to go to Texas, or have the funds to get out there. After roughing it for a few months I sold my home (my truck) and used what little money I got for it for a one way ticket to Dallas. Before I could leave though I was drinking A LOT and fighting a lot. I ended up spending some time in LA County Jail, then I made good my escape and crashed at my parents house for a little bit.
I was not doing well at all, but I knew a cute girl who lived in Austin and I always wanted to go there. So I said fuck it, I’ll go down there, kick it with her for a while, then swan dive off the clock tower, and it will be a wrap. I got black out drunk on the megabus ride from Dallas to Austin. The girl I knew literally found me in a gutter near the UT campus, and picked me up.
She helped me get on my feet, physically and literally.
Now we’ve been married for five years, have a daughter together and are buying our first house this summer.
amazing...
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I got kicked out of college when I was 18 and my best friend enlisted in the marine corps to become a recon marine, I ended saying, “fuck it, I’ll go with you.” I became a regular grunt and he graduated recon school. He ended up getting medically retired before his first deployment, while I ended up doing three deployments. After my third deployment money was tight, my girlfriend at the time kept breaking up with me/cheating on me, and I was about to go to scout sniper school. So I said fuck it, I’m really good at this, I’ll reenlist and catch that 30k reenlistment bonus. My reenlistment didn’t go through and less than a month later I was living in my Ford Ranger with no job, in debt (I took out a loan expecting to pay it off with my reenlistment bonus), and no job skills what so ever.
I was alternating between my brothers couch and my truck in, crashing in San Pedro (where I’m from). My parents had moved to Dallas on my second deployment and I really didnt want to go to Texas, or have the funds to get out there. After roughing it for a few months I sold my home (my truck) and used what little money I got for it for a one way ticket to Dallas. Before I could leave though I was drinking A LOT and fighting a lot. I ended up spending some time in LA County Jail, then I made good my escape and crashed at my parents house for a little bit.
I was not doing well at all, but I knew a cute girl who lived in Austin and I always wanted to go there. So I said fuck it, I’ll go down there, kick it with her for a while, then swan dive off the clock tower, and it will be a wrap. I got black out drunk on the megabus ride from Dallas to Austin. The girl I knew literally found me in a gutter near the UT campus, and picked me up.
She helped me get on my feet, physically and literally.
Now we’ve been married for five years, have a daughter together and are buying our first house this summer.
Fuckin hell, glad you turned it around.
You apparently were karma rich and cashed in big time!! Keep it going...
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I got kicked out of college when I was 18 and my best friend enlisted in the marine corps to become a recon marine, I ended saying, “fuck it, I’ll go with you.” I became a regular grunt and he graduated recon school. He ended up getting medically retired before his first deployment, while I ended up doing three deployments. After my third deployment money was tight, my girlfriend at the time kept breaking up with me/cheating on me, and I was about to go to scout sniper school. So I said fuck it, I’m really good at this, I’ll reenlist and catch that 30k reenlistment bonus. My reenlistment didn’t go through and less than a month later I was living in my Ford Ranger with no job, in debt (I took out a loan expecting to pay it off with my reenlistment bonus), and no job skills what so ever.
I was alternating between my brothers couch and my truck in, crashing in San Pedro (where I’m from). My parents had moved to Dallas on my second deployment and I really didnt want to go to Texas, or have the funds to get out there. After roughing it for a few months I sold my home (my truck) and used what little money I got for it for a one way ticket to Dallas. Before I could leave though I was drinking A LOT and fighting a lot. I ended up spending some time in LA County Jail, then I made good my escape and crashed at my parents house for a little bit.
I was not doing well at all, but I knew a cute girl who lived in Austin and I always wanted to go there. So I said fuck it, I’ll go down there, kick it with her for a while, then swan dive off the clock tower, and it will be a wrap. I got black out drunk on the megabus ride from Dallas to Austin. The girl I knew literally found me in a gutter near the UT campus, and picked me up.
She helped me get on my feet, physically and literally.
Now we’ve been married for five years, have a daughter together and are buying our first house this summer.
what a fucking ending. and thanks for your service, as corny as that sounds. means a lot to me personally, dad and grandfather were in the service.
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I really appreciate all the kind words y’all. More than you could possibly know.
@matty_c Dude thank you, I’m glad it made your morning! There’s some darker parts that I omitted for the sake of not wanting to write a novel. But, that’s awesome you’re still talking to a few of em, I wish I still did. I got to spend a little bit of time in Darwin and Cairns back in 2013 and had an absolute fucking blast, I took my board with me when we went on the ship and I got to skate around and get blasted and hangout with the lovely people there. I introduced my buddy Gavin to a woman named Emma down there when I was doing my drunken schmoozing, and they ended up getting married and he lives down there now. I think they’re still together we haven’t talked in ages.
@Deputy Wendell and @nevrwasben you guys all made my day a lot better because it was a fucking rough one, thanks y’all very much!
@skate bored dude thank you so much, I know it may feel trite to say but it’s always super humbling and appreciated when I hear it, so thank you, and thank your father and grandfather for me, if you get the chance. It’s a weird cross generational bond that develops that’s hard to explain. To the younger dudes that fought we all talk about how much gnarlier it would have been to fight in the jungles of Vietnam, the mountains of Korea or the jungles of the pacific.
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I got kicked out of college when I was 18 and my best friend enlisted in the marine corps to become a recon marine, I ended saying, “fuck it, I’ll go with you.” I became a regular grunt and he graduated recon school. He ended up getting medically retired before his first deployment, while I ended up doing three deployments. After my third deployment money was tight, my girlfriend at the time kept breaking up with me/cheating on me, and I was about to go to scout sniper school. So I said fuck it, I’m really good at this, I’ll reenlist and catch that 30k reenlistment bonus. My reenlistment didn’t go through and less than a month later I was living in my Ford Ranger with no job, in debt (I took out a loan expecting to pay it off with my reenlistment bonus), and no job skills what so ever.
I was alternating between my brothers couch and my truck in, crashing in San Pedro (where I’m from). My parents had moved to Dallas on my second deployment and I really didnt want to go to Texas, or have the funds to get out there. After roughing it for a few months I sold my home (my truck) and used what little money I got for it for a one way ticket to Dallas. Before I could leave though I was drinking A LOT and fighting a lot. I ended up spending some time in LA County Jail, then I made good my escape and crashed at my parents house for a little bit.
I was not doing well at all, but I knew a cute girl who lived in Austin and I always wanted to go there. So I said fuck it, I’ll go down there, kick it with her for a while, then swan dive off the clock tower, and it will be a wrap. I got black out drunk on the megabus ride from Dallas to Austin. The girl I knew literally found me in a gutter near the UT campus, and picked me up.
She helped me get on my feet, physically and literally.
Now we’ve been married for five years, have a daughter together and are buying our first house this summer.
That's fuckin insane! Good on you(thanks for your service) and a huge shout out to your girl for being a great human!
What an end to a story! That's the type of shit that gives you hope in humanity. Also congrats on your daughter and I hope all is well!
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sometimes it just takes one person to show you love to make you realize your value- esp coming from a checkered background. i def had that experience as well and it really changes ur world for the better
@Freelancevagrant i’m really happy for you mane
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Like many in here, I too fall into the early 20's bounce arounds.
For the last 4 years now in the mid spring and summers I've been sleeping in the back of my truck for a few weeks on end by choice chasing around different aspects of western American ecology. It is an odd balance of knowing you've got plenty of stability but having society look at you like a dirtbag. Location to location makes the situation. Wyoming and Idaho were definitely a bit sus in terms of getting treated like shit consistently. Montana was overwhelming welcoming at times and adversely overly dickish in regard to the California license plates.
The methamphetamine and opio-etc. consumpstion rates and political divisions being stronger now makes it a bit different as well. Overall I think I had a blast bouncing around when I was younger with shit to do compared to willingly being Linus VanPelt while working.
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I got kicked out of college when I was 18 and my best friend enlisted in the marine corps to become a recon marine, I ended saying, “fuck it, I’ll go with you.” I became a regular grunt and he graduated recon school. He ended up getting medically retired before his first deployment, while I ended up doing three deployments. After my third deployment money was tight, my girlfriend at the time kept breaking up with me/cheating on me, and I was about to go to scout sniper school. So I said fuck it, I’m really good at this, I’ll reenlist and catch that 30k reenlistment bonus. My reenlistment didn’t go through and less than a month later I was living in my Ford Ranger with no job, in debt (I took out a loan expecting to pay it off with my reenlistment bonus), and no job skills what so ever.
I was alternating between my brothers couch and my truck in, crashing in San Pedro (where I’m from). My parents had moved to Dallas on my second deployment and I really didnt want to go to Texas, or have the funds to get out there. After roughing it for a few months I sold my home (my truck) and used what little money I got for it for a one way ticket to Dallas. Before I could leave though I was drinking A LOT and fighting a lot. I ended up spending some time in LA County Jail, then I made good my escape and crashed at my parents house for a little bit.
I was not doing well at all, but I knew a cute girl who lived in Austin and I always wanted to go there. So I said fuck it, I’ll go down there, kick it with her for a while, then swan dive off the clock tower, and it will be a wrap. I got black out drunk on the megabus ride from Dallas to Austin. The girl I knew literally found me in a gutter near the UT campus, and picked me up.
She helped me get on my feet, physically and literally.
Now we’ve been married for five years, have a daughter together and are buying our first house this summer.
This brought a tear to my eye after a rollercoaster of a story. Congrats my dude and wish you continued blessings.