Which State has the best homeless resources in your opinion

[DikembeMuhobo]

i forget the name of the group, but it's pastor dave, they specialize in helping train kids find places to live and pay their rent

Bridge To The Mountains. Pastor Dave Lettrich. Good people. anyone can hmu if they need info on this.

 

[Nathanli]

I find Colorado Springs,COLORADO a easy place to regroup and get back on your feet…YOU CAN GET FOOD STAMPS AND MEDICAL VERY QUICKLY..YOU CAN FLY A SIGN AND MAKE GREAT MONEY AT HOME DEPOT,WALMART AND MOST OFF RAMPS AND TRUCK STOPS..BUSING IS DESCENT AND YOU CAN GET A BUD TENDER JOB EASY..FINDING A CHEAP VEHICLE TO SLEEP IN IS FAIRLY EASY.. and they have RV PARKING LOTS WITH SHOWERS FOR $30 a night..

 

[transcendentalhobo]

As far as services go, you're usually better heading out west. Salt Lake isn't bad is you can get past the book of Mormon vibe. Cali is also good for services and resources but a mfer to reestablish yourself at. Seattle is fun but Seattle is for when you've just accepted the life. Can't attest to Colorado. Only passed through. Expect for all the weed you can smoke. It's nice.

I've been wondering for years how the housing first program(s?) in Salt Lake City work, and if anyone here's had experience with them lately.

Most of the time I've been on the streets has been in Cali or Arizona, and I always try to make sure I've got at least enough money to get back to Tucson to be homeless there if push comes to shove. It's also where I got off the streets this time (housed in one way or another since November 2020). But the different parts of Cali and Arizona vary wildly. Like Riverside and Bakersfield, CA are kind of a drag and it gets pretty cold in Flagstaff, AZ where I got caught in a hail storm in August of 2012, which I didn't even know was possible in the middle of summer!

 

[Down and Out]

I mean its odd to say but I never really benefited much if at all from shelters when I was younger there was a youth shelter with pretty decent food. That note though I would probably say Cali because food stamps or gov monies are easy enough to get and if your homeless you don't need to do the crazy welfare to work programs. I would never overnight in a shelter unless it meant saving me from freezing to death. When I got older it became apparent that the sidewalks where cleaner safer and dumpster had better food than most shelters.

 

[takiya]

seattle has the same. orion youth center, roots, that day center over on 45th up in the U. counselors, legal help, free counseling and access to housing and college grants etc etc. long as your under 23-24. they got me off the streets.. then i went back.

Im in seattle right now and trying find a squat here. at a womens shelter for 2 months

 

[wonder]

Im 38, I just wanna settle somewhere and get my momentum back. A place that will give me enough longevity to get me another vehicle and my own spot for a while.

You know air conditioning can get a job any where in Houston San Antonio and Austin pays good if you know a little or a lot

 

[sevedemanos]

Im in seattle right now and trying find a squat here. at a womens shelter for 2 months

not been to seattle in a couple years. never squatted, just went to orion youth center and ROOTS up in u dist. and after leaving dt ymca housing just slept in random places for awhile before grabbing my first train south. and that was all almost 15 years ago now.

wish i could help w that sorry. never been particularly social

 

[MichelleA66]

Im 38, I just wanna settle somewhere and get my momentum back. A place that will give me enough longevity to get me another vehicle and my own spot for a while.

What about CoolWorks? They give you a place to live while you work. Just a thought 🤷🏻‍♀️ I'll find a link.

 

[MichelleA66]

Im 38, I just wanna settle somewhere and get my momentum back. A place that will give me enough longevity to get me another vehicle and my own spot for a while.

Yeah that seems to be a problem in all the places Ive been. Ive even tried transition programs but their rules hold you back from making money and getting on your feet. All Im looking for is a place to lay my head, a good job and a way to build back up and Im willing to go to any place that will help with that.

Find a Job

Search for seasonal jobs, summer jobs, and year round jobs in great places, like National Parks, ski resorts, guest ranches, summer camps, conservations corps, and many more

www.coolworks.com

 

[MichelleA66]

What about CoolWorks? They give you a place to live while you work. Just a thought 🤷🏻‍♀️ I'll find a link.

Find a Job

Search for seasonal jobs, summer jobs, and year round jobs in great places, like National Parks, ski resorts, guest ranches, summer camps, conservations corps, and many more

www.coolworks.com

 

[Colinleath]

I think avoiding the shelters is a good plan. But not so easy to figure out.


You need a place where you can camp out fairly easily.

You need a locker and a shower somewhere (gym membership).

You need to be able to easily get to temp companies to sign up with them and then easily get to the jobs they offer.

I personally think the car path out of homelessness is just an avenue to continued poverty and social isolation. . .

But then not everyone likes camping out and biking or walking around like I do.

One place not yet mentioned in this thread is Oahu.

You've got a ton of competition from large numbers of homeless locals, but I think it's good on at least one criteria: it's a dense city surrounded by nature and relative wilderness.

Also it's more diverse than the rest of the US and white people are a minority and often on the receiving end of discrimination for government jobs at least--


You'd probably need enough for a storage locker there. Beach showers are enough.


But that is a lot of work to earn some money: camp out, walk to shower, walk to locker, etc, repeat. Easier with a bike, but rather hilly.


Curious what you figure out.

I can't bring myself to tell you the best place I actually found though -- the place I'd go back to if I had nothing.

But that's obvious enough. And maybe not as easy as it once was.

 

[Dogwater]

Been awhile now since I was there but Jax Beach area in Florida seemed pretty decent. Lots of resources for homeless. Weather is warm all year round. Only issue with weather is the daily thunderstorms and humidity. Takes a couple of weeks to get accustomed to it but once you are you can tolerate any heat anywhere. I wasn't traveling or homeless when I lived there. But I did work a job that took me all over the city. I would talk to homeless and the traveling kids almost everyday. None of them were starving and most of them seemed to be happy or at least content. When I drove home along I-295 everyday there would be lots of them at the major exits leading to westside and the towns surrounding the city. The ones I talked to claimed to panhandle my daily salary in just a few hours at the morning and afternoon rush hours. The police do not really bother them from what I know.

If you're willing to work a regular or part-time job there are plenty of opportunities in the city. I did landscaping work there for a couple of years and the pay was decent. Did not need a bank account. There was a check cashing place right next to our home base. Got hired off the street and started the next day. They hire in August and September every year. If you can make your way into the city soon you should easily find something. If you don't want to work out in the heat there are plenty of indoor gigs in the city as well. I was making enough to support myself and a girlfriend. Rent isn't insane like other cities I've lived in. Lots of people looking to sublet. Public transportation in cheap and decent. Most of the city and outlying areas are walkable. The roughest areas and open air drug markets are easy enough to avoid.

All that said I left that area for a reason. I will probably never return and I've heard on here that it's hard to get into and out of Florida without a car of your own. I just thought I'd mention JAX because it sounds like you want to settle somewhere for a few months and stack cash. JAX treated me fine in that respect and the lack of cold/bad weather excluding the daily thunderstorms appeals to me. Being stuck out in the elements isn't that bad when you don't have to deal with the cold. Lots of people I met in JAX were camping either in the woods or right in the city. The cops didn't bother them from what I saw. There aren't massive tent cities like out west (yet). JAX had a lot of places handing out free food to homeless, offering shelter, and employment. One of the old crack heads on our crew would throw an old jacket on and get a bag of the free food from time to time. The food was good. They even gave out fresh fruit and hot meals.

JAX beach seemed like the best spot in the city. Just avoid the gated communities and rougher areas and you'll be fine. It's a good place to stop if you plan to go deeper in Florida. JAX is more southern than the rest of the state. Florida is backwards. The more south you go in that state the more unlike the rest of the south it is. Just be aware that the heat is sometimes unbearable and the woods is different down there. Often times you can't see your feet and you'll be swarmed by flying needles any time you step into it. I knew a few people that had been camping in the woods around JAX for years and claimed it wasn't that bad. But I wouldn't do it. I also saw a lot of people set-up under highway/interstate overpasses and bridges. One guy I saw near a property we maintained lived there for years without being bothered.

Fyi Jax just passed a anti camping ordinance in the city limits. They started sweeps downtown with bike cops giving people warnings to leave within 24hrs or face arrest. The Jacksonville sheriff's office posted a vid on there YouTube channel the day they started the sweeps.