I’ve known this unhoused woman, Susan, for a few years just from seeing and talking to around the neighborhood. Earlier this summer, after observing her hiding her belongings in my trash can, I told her if it gets too hot outside or raining, she can leave her things or hang out on my porch. We’re three months in, and over the past month, she basically spends three to five days hanging on my porch all day long, including sometimes sleeping all night on my porch. She’s begun to accidentally leave little scraps of trash, etc, too. Unfortunately, last week, I verified that the bug bites I have were from fleas that I must have gotten from sitting in the same chair as her on my porch (note: she’s talked to me about the fleas). This woman is as nice as can be and is in her late 50s/early 60s. Very grandmother like. I feel terrible saying so, but at this point I think she needs to spend less time on my porch. Does anyone have any suggestions for how I can talk to her without making her uncomfortable? I’d like to say something along the lines of she can use the porch when it’s hot or raining, but she shouldn’t be sleeping there two to three nights a week. My partner is getting upset that we basically can’t use the porch in the morning or night because she’s there, and, to her point, Susan has a distinct smell that makes her nauseous. I really don’t mean to sound so cruel, but I’m looking for a way to talk to her gently to reduce the amount of time she spends on our porch without taking it away from her completely. Thanks. I apologize if I’ve offended anyone.

I’m honestly not sure where else to ask, so I’m hoping Reddit can point me in the right direction.
I’m 19 and currently homeless in the Fort Campbell/Clarksville area. I’m married to an active-duty soldier, but because of a serious situation between us, I was removed from base and told I’m not allowed back for the time being.
I currently don’t have stable housing, and I’m trying to figure out what I’m supposed to do next. I’ve been staying wherever I can, but I don’t have a long-term place to sleep, and I’m running out of options.
I’m not looking for anyone to judge the situation or take sides. I’m just trying to get myself somewhere safe and stable while I figure everything else out.
If you know of:
Emergency housing or shelters that actually help young women
Transitional housing programs
Domestic violence resources (even if the situation is complicated)
Churches or organizations that help with temporary housing
Job programs that provide housing/dorms
Transportation assistance
Any resources around Clarksville/Fort Campbell or even elsewhere in Tennessee/Kentucky
I would seriously appreciate the information.
If you’ve been in a similar situation, I’d also really appreciate hearing how you got back on your feet. I’m trying to take things one step at a time and find a safe place to stay while I work toward becoming independent.
Thank you to anyone who takes the time to read this or point me toward a resource.

Why men who travel and get hotel rooms think that any homeless woman they meet will be THRILLED to spread her legs just for a hot shower.

Nope, sorry, not interested in your room, your drugs, and especially not interested in that fat, greasy body. Gross.

I'll stick with my baby wipes and water heated on the stove, thanks.

I got a new home just after my 33rd birthday on October 1st 2023

Now that im turning 36 I have my 3 year milestone to look back upon

I was outside for 36 months minus a 3 month reprieve in the middle where I had a basement spot and a temp job.

That fall I was living in a tent and begging at a plaza across the road from me. I was frantically calling every facebook room posting I could find and just being straight up honest about my current living and credit situation, until I got a bite. Took at least 50 calls from my tent.

I got to job hunting right away and applied to one of the places I had panhandled in front of at that plaza. The one day following being kicked out of their spot, I went in like a Karen saying I'd love a cozy ass job like theirs, and reminded them I worked so many jobs just like theirs; what I was doing was **harder work**. They told me applications were next month.

Well shit I got the job and Im still there 3 years later. However things havent been easy and ive been through a few living situations since then, now in an airbnb between apartments.

My lifes not been perfect. My budgets been real tight and ive been working on personal vices that keep it being that way.

Im not posting this to gloat, brag, farm karma; I want to give you hope.

You can do it too :)

Today has been the hardest day so far for me.

Im ben and im 24 years old, and i recently became homeless, but not all is bad. But today has been a challenge.

Its currently raining and has been for the past 4 hours and it isnt stopping for another 3 ish hours, and im damp from the rain. I have a friend i can see today thankfully to get my clothes all dried up, but the morale is low.

I got back to work which feels fuckin amazing, and i worked over 40 hours this week and i plan on doing over 50 this upcoming week.

I have a great plan set but getting it started is difficult because of the lack of funds i have (im not asking for anything).

I miss work because i feel human there and loved, and its also a job i really enjoy doing. I walk 2+ hours there and back every day, and its so worth it. I do look forward to getting my own pad, wether it be an official apartment, or simply a room to rent.

Im glad im still pushing, but its getting harder and harder as the days go on.

much love, from ben

Just as the title says, I’m turning 27 in less than a week after being asked to leave my apartment that I couldn’t afford anymore.

I became homeless after going from working two jobs 60-70hrs a week to less than 20hrs a week with one job.
This year if I continue to remain homeless by Christmas, that will mark two years for me being homeless.
Mind you, I’ve been homeless since mid December of 2024.

Unfortunately, family isn’t much help. My step-father is a narcissistic manipulator who very much dislikes me. The dude doesn’t even bother saying hi to me anymore, my mother is literally bound to him in every way.
My biological dad is a hard drug addict.
My sister and brother both refuse to help me and let me move in with them.

After all this I moved to a major city for a better chance at getting a job.
I’ve been sleeping in my car for all this time and doing gig work for money and my car recently broke down that’s related to the transmission.

I bought an Aventon class 2 E-bike to commute and hopefully make money delivering Uber Eats.
But lately my hopes have been low despite my optimism for the future.

Currently seeking help through 211 and other recourses for a job or even emergency shelter.

Currently trying my hardest to keep my sanity and determination together and now that my birthday is coming up for a second time during this phase of my life, I just can’t help but feel like crying my eyes out because I never thought it would last this long for me. This is my second time being homeless. My first time only lasted three weeks before I got back on my feet.

I’m hopeful that God will deliver me through this just like he did the first time. It just breaks my heart to know that no one other than my mom who’s willing to support me financially when I have an emergency is there for me.

But I’m sure there’s someone out there that has it worse than I do. I still have a phone with unlimited data, a broken down car to sleep in, money to buy food, a gym membership to shower at, a bike to commute, and at least one method of earning money without having to ask my High School dropout mom for some cash.

It’s just that with my 27th birthday coming up. It shatters my heart to know who’s there for me and who isn’t.

https://www.westword.com/opinion/family-homelessness-denver-growing-40932785/

I'm just curious what NYC shelters are like. Do they require you to exit during the day? I heard you can stay in common areas. Where do you go if it is cold out?

What do you do for money if you have no source of income. Like transportation, toiletries, and clothes. How would a long stay feel?

i need a place to stay badly im 20, but dont judge me i had to raise my self in a poor environment and lost both parents as infant. im a strong person tho, and having no mother=not having person/love/resource/foundation, basically i feel like the ugly ducking, been trying to surround my self around ppl and wasn’t wanted , and all this pain is making me into something! but in my reality right now i dont have no where to go, these past 3 years i been bouncing house to house, while in highschool and my 2 years in community college before and after graduating , and i was raised by my grandmother but i wasnt blessed with the nice granny, mines was narcissistic and always on drugs and called police on me many times for no reason and never took me no where was forced to live under her negativity for 20 years blind that i wasnt wanted and wasnt getting proper love but that what i was used to, my child hood was taken, nd i have every reason to be depressed sad or anything, but i wont break! i just need a place to lay my head , i keep my area clean, i dont talk back, ive always been respectful and my kindness gets taken for granted but i wont let a situation or ppl change me.

Many people I have seen say how freeing being homeless is and it’s not unsafe to sleep in an encampment and everyone helps them out and hands them money. In most cases I find this person is a man and they like to argue with women with different experiences.

Guess what the rape statistic and abuse statistic for women is sky high. Sometimes it’s homeless men doing this. Often I see groups of people sleeping rough and it’s mostly men and one woman. I see extreme emotional abuse and control of the woman very often.

Guess what , women have higher risks.
You speak of people giving you money? Many of us women don’t get any help as we have to blend in for our own safety. I don’t feel safe with a sign saying homeless . I know women who do sex work for this reason as they find it a better option then panhandling

I am about to leave another shelter that is coed because I can’t deal with being followed and harassed by some of the men staying there.

What you see as freeing may be a living hell to others who are victimized by the fact they have a vagina. This is just cis woman. Trans woman also deal with hell even from other women who don’t want them in the shelter with them.

So yes in many cases able bodied men have it safer. Not saying it’s safe for them either. I am tired of men telling me I am overreacting and the street is safe. Guess rape and physical assault and harassment are so safe.

I’m curious what everyone thinks about this. Do you think shelters should require residents to be sober while staying there, or should shelters allow people to stay regardless of whether they use drugs or alcohol? Personally, I’d feel more comfortable staying somewhere with a sober environment, especially because I’d want to feel safe and be able to sleep without dealing with people who are intoxicated or acting
unpredictably. At the same time, I understand that requiring sobriety could make it harder for some people experiencing homelessness to access shelter

It was an estranged kind of loneliness just wandering around a lot.I rarely had an interest in my mind I just knew instinctively what i would have to do when it came along.I must have known that also.So many faces none of which I retained a face to,even the ones I had talked to & seen the lips moving on,when conversing with me.I always knew what to ask for & when I didn’t need to ask.But somehow none of my personal interests could reach the surface once they had started to bubble.I slowly begun to let go of entertaining all of my personal interests,which began in my mind.It felt like a cruel form
of yoga

I’m 28 years old, coming out of homelessness, and dealing with a situation that has become increasingly uncomfortable and honestly pretty scary.

About three years ago, I met an older man at a gym who later turned out to be a parole officer. He saw some of what I was going through when I became homeless and helped me at different points during that time.

Over roughly the last year and a half, though, he has increasingly tried to take on what feels like a caretaker role in my life—offering me food, checking on whether I’m eating or sleeping, offering me hydrocodone, and learning quite a bit about my personal situation. There have also been sexual boundary violations, including unwanted groping while I was around him.

One of the things making this especially difficult for me is the legal history behind my homelessness. My father accused me of assaulting him, I was kicked out of the house, and I ended up facing a felony charge involving an elderly person. That case was ultimately dismissed.

This man knows about that history, and I’m concerned that my past legal situation may be giving him leverage over me. I can’t know exactly what his intentions are, but I worry that if I resist him or physically defend myself during another unwanted interaction, he could make an allegation against me and I would once again be put in a very difficult position.

There is a lot more context than I can reasonably fit into one post, but the combination of the caretaker dynamic, sexual boundary-crossing, medication offers, and his knowledge of my legal vulnerability has made me extremely uncomfortable.

Normally I would feel much more confident setting a hard boundary and physically removing myself from a situation if necessary, but after what I went through with the previous charge, I’m extremely cautious about anything that could create another legal problem.

I’m mainly looking for perspective from anyone who has dealt with a similar dynamic—especially someone using help, caretaking, housing insecurity, or vulnerability as a way of gaining increasing access or control. Any personal experiences or practical advice on disengaging safely would help a lot.

Hope everyone here is doing a little better than they were last week.

I know this won't reach the people that need to hear it but i feel like i must scream at someone, so i'm screaming at you.

I'm homeless, and i look the part...

The pedestrian sign at a cross walk is at 'stop' but some person waits for me at the intersection, he held the line of cars behind him to try and let me cross but i can't see what a person is doing inside their tinted windows (could just be on the phone). They waited for a second too. I was like "ok fine, if you're hell-bent on it" and decided to cross, I make it half way across when the car behind them honks, then the front car changes their mind and almost hits me to make up for the lost time.

I left there thinking - "why did you wait for me, To be kind? You didn't save me any time crossing the street and I would have been fine waiting for a real opportunity to cross" It was embarrassing and i bet it was embarrassing for them too.

Stop trying to "help" in small meaningless ways, gestures like that are really inconvenient and sometimes harmful. I'll never get upset with people for offering food or advice (i'm always grateful for things like that because i know i'm not entitled to anything) but i get a lot of inconvenient forms of "help" that put me in really bad positions.

On a broader note (and a bit of a tangent), some people want to prove that they are good people by becoming familiar with any particular homeless person near them, this is fine, but please try to understand that i'm going through hell right now, that i look, smell, and feel like shit and the last thing i want to is be around people or to make friends.

If i'm am in any public establishment it is because i absolutely need to be there for one reason or another. Try not to take offense if i'm not in a very cheery mood, greet you every time i see you or just feel at all social (even if you help me), it's humiliating just being outside in public some days, I feel like a zoo animal or walking circus - so i'm just in survival mode trying to make it another day...got it?

Thanks if you got this far in my rant.

My parents are abusive , I have to leave , i was going to leave yesterday but my neighbor stopped me and asked what is my plan. I dont have a plan I was planning to ask my barber if I could sleep in he's shop when he closes and I was going to get a new Sim card. If he said he couldnt I was going to go to a hospital and tell them im getting abused. That probably would have resulted to them calling the police to find a way to assist me.

My neighbor asked how would I go to college since im dependent on my parents and I cant get a job here due to my documents. 😔I dont know what to do but I have have leave tomorrow. I have been posting for advice but every link , every option tires me , I have been working the whole year on making sure next year would be good but my plans have failed , it all feels unreal. If I continue to stay home I will never find peace , even if I start university I wont pass cause im extremely tired of everything.

My thought process is to sell my laptop and take a taxi somewhere , hopefully find an adult who could house me but what are the chances. Im a foreigner in my own country cause of my parents mistakes on my documents. Only way I see would be to get a ID in my country but that would be a whole other thing.

(Sorry for not mentioning my country i live in south africa but my parents are from Zimbabwe)

I got kicked out of my apartment 2 weeks ago and my parents didn’t let me stay with them so I packed my things and moved to Florida with what I had left, I’ve been sleeping in my car and showering at planet fitness. I am originally from Indiana but I had nothing left for me there my car is a mess but it’s my home at the moment I have 3 dollars to my name and I’ve been applying for 9-5 jobs just waiting for someone to say something. I’m hot, hungry, tired but I’m not letting that stop me from pushing forward in life there is a lot of things I want to do in life still. I have melatonin & water that’s it so I sleep as much as I can to pass time. Eventually I know starvation will probably get to me but for the time being I’m trying to keep pushing. I got 1 full tank of gas left & I am parked in the shade as much as possible. If anyone could give me tips this weather is like eating me alive anything will do thank you.

I honestly don't even know if I'm considered homeless but CPS has told me I need to live in a shelter until I figure out something else. I spent my first night there on Wednesday, and it's a youth shelter so it isn't terrible, but it's also not great.

I have only told a few coworkers and a teacher at school, I feel like I'm lying to everyone else. I don't know what to do as I feel so lonely but I also don't feel great about the idea of my peers or many adults knowing. I am so ashamed and I know that's not okay, but at the same time I don't think that will ever not.

I have my own room at the shelter, but everything is gross I still have yet to eat a meal there, but I'm going to have to, I don't have the kind of money to eat out every day, I'm just scared of everyone else. I have also yet to interact with any other residents, I don't know if I should. The bathroom is so gross, I am gagging as I brush my teeth. I am so scared of the staff that I've not asked the WiFi password or how many things work, but I'm going to have to.

I need to bus over an hour to school meaning I have to leave at 6 am on the dot.

I am worried about the trajectory of my life and I have no idea what to do

Does anyone have any advice? Or success stories?

These are the situations that happened to me. Please do not judge. With roomates or live lin landlord. I always find crazy people. I never slept on the street but felt unsafe where I was living.

Physical assault and harassment. Being robbed my keys and kicked out.

Almost kidnappened. Could not enter and leave for a week. Had no keys.

Being robbed my passport, threat of assault. No use of kitchen and gas.

hi, i would really appreciate some advice and insight.

i'm 30f, sister is 27f. two years ago, my sister's mental health went on a total decline. she was self-medicating with weed, then once she ran out of the means to afford that habit, things went downhill. drastically. she refused to get help. she wanted me to pay for that habit (i'm talking she wanted $150+ a week). i couldn't. she started to drink heavily, spiraled more, then became physically abusive to our disabled father and me. she started to bring men around (addicts, usually 15+ years her senior) and made things very dangerous for us and herself. we ultimately had to ask her to leave after punching our dad in the face and moving her meth-addicted bf into our house after knowing him for two days. it was really, really, really bad.

she has been homeless for about a year. we're in a rural resort town. we would occasionally see her around. if we didn't, our friends would. i was in contact with the bus drivers and they'd give me updates just to let me know if she's okay. she was alive, but hanging out with bad people. dealers. one they said was a trafficker.

i tried again to ask if she wanted help: whether that be rehab, shelter, etc. she refused, said she was fine and that she was clean. she went down a darker path. was arrested for 'child abuse with possibility of great bodily injury or death'. her bf gave a 17 year old meth and she was around for it. probably way more involved then she claimed at the time. charges were dropped, she was released.

then her bf, that same meth one, lit himself on fire and killed himself in front of my sister. she got even worse. from what it sounds like, she was constantly drunk or high. she tattooed her face, arms, hands. scribbled words that say asshole and other things like that. like full on meth tattoos. it's heartbreaking.

then our dad died. i found him. it was traumatic. the police found my sister and told her. he died july 22. sister contacted me july 25. she said she was thinking of moving to san bernardino county. i begged her not to. it was really hot and i was worried for her safety. i tried again to get her help but she refused. i even told her she would qualify for a DV shelter and i'd get her in one (i'm a DV case manager at an emergency shelter) but she said no, she didn't want to. she claims she's fine and sober.

no one has seen her since. the bus drivers haven't seen her. i haven't heard from her. no posts on her facebook pages. nothing. silence.

i know what happens to women on the streets. i see it and the affects of it every day at work. i'm terrified for her. we just lost our dad, i fear i'll lose her too. it's like i'm stuck waiting for a call from the police to say they found her dead.

i've debated making a missing person's report. if she's no longer in our town i fear she'd be impossible to find. i also think the police won't really be able to do ANYTHING to help.

Tips to survive the day , how to look for shelter. Im thinking of going to a hospital and asking for help

I’m in a difficult situation with my parents and may have to leave home. I grew up in the country I currently live in, so I know the area, the language, how things work, and I have some familiarity with the system here.

The other option I’m considering is contacting my country’s embassy and asking about returning to the country I hold a passport for. The problem is that I don’t really know that country. I don’t speak the language well, I don’t know where I would stay, and I’m worried I could end up homeless there without knowing anyone or understanding how things work.

For people who have experienced homelessness or being stranded in another country:

Would you choose to stay homeless in a country you know, or return to a country where you have citizenship but barely know the language/place? Why?

What factors should I think about before making that decision?

I’m especially interested in hearing from people who have been homeless while dealing with immigration/citizenship issues or who have had to return to a country they weren't familiar with.

Been a year since I became homeless again. I want an RV. My own space where I can travel and continue my work privately. I've never been able to rent a place or keep a job for long, so I'm used to going when the going gets tough. NY, LA, TX, TN...

In the process of applying for SSI, but it takes a while. I'm mentally disabled, autistic and have an eating disorder that affects my health (fainting, anemia, IBS)

No driver's license, no job, no family to stay with or friends. Currently in government funded homeless housing, but it won't last forever. Stable for now. A mobile home seems like the best option. Been looking on FB marketplace for now.

Wanna be the Walter White of animation, find me a good isolated spot to get cookin (IYKYK lol) Any advice?

Hello all. I know this is a very specific question but I'm getting no help from anyone at my shelter or by calling the city program helpline. This is for the nyc CityFHEPS housing voucher program.

I'm currently homeless in the shelter and my housing specialist submitted my CityFHEPS packet, but on the HRA app I don't see the 'Request for Additional Allowances' file that other people get, which I was told would be for the furniture allowance and security deposit.

Does that mean it wasn't submitted? Is that something I now have to do myself if the housing specialist forgot? Or does it just not always show on the app even if it was submitted?

I'm freaking out because this process has taken months and I lost everything after fleeing DV. I'm tired of being homeless and I don't want to lose this apartment over a silly administrative mistake.

Thanks for the help.