I have been there, with the physical disability and the homelessness. It’s tough. I was lucky insofar as I was receiving disability payments, so I had enough for food and whatnot. My disability, income, and situation may have been too different to yours to make my advice perfect, but maybe you’ll find some of it useful.
I live out in the middle of nowhere. If you have a warm sleeping bag, a sleeping mat, and a tarp, you can sleep anywhere. Sometimes I would sleep in actual campgrounds, sometimes in a nice nook off the side of the road where the ground was a bit soft, sometimes in the forest. If there are trees and you know how to tarp, you can always make yourself a dry spot. If you know how to tie the trucker’s hitch, setup and takedown are both much faster and much easier.
I got used to sleeping in public-ish places, setting up just after dark and bundling everything up around dawn. This is more work but it is also much safer than leaving your world at everyone else’s mercy.
Back when I lived in the city (and was not myself homeless), there were always homeless people who had set up tents in the major parks. Sometimes a tent city would be formed. I would personally stay away from the tent cities, because I don’t want to be inculpated by association, but I see no harm in setting up somewhere relatively unobtrusive. I guess this will depend on where you live, both in terms of local laws and how often they are enforced and in terms of what the environment provides. There was one park near my apartment that had a series of deer trails winding through otherwise rather tight bush, and if you followed the labyrinth long enough you would come across a small clearing with flat ground, a tarp overhead, and some lawn chairs. I am honestly not sure whether it was a homeless refuge or a kids’ hideout, but either way it was perfect. You would be very unlikely to be bothered in such a place, if you could find one.
There are people who make a vacation out of homelessness. I met one guy who rode his bike everywhere throughout the country with nothing but the three items listed above (a sleeping bag, a sleeping mat, and a tarp) and just camped out wherever he could, exploring nature. I don’t know whether your physical disability would permit this exactly, but the principle may be able to be applied elsewhere. I met another guy who had essentially set up a permanent tarp-and-tent residence in a government-run campground that allowed several-month stays in the off season. If you could find an old trailer or something, life could be comparatively luxurious (depending on your definition of luxury).
It can be hard to maintain, but passable hygiene and the spark of life in your eyes are what, for a lot of people, separate the homeless people and the ‘homeless problem’. I suggest finding a place where you can reliably bathe and do laundry. This is where it starts to hurt, but if you have a friend who can help you in one way, he may not be able to help you in another without feeling strained; sometimes it is better to retain the privilege of clothes washing than to enjoy temporarily full accommodation.
Some people, particularly in rural places, may be willing to let you camp or set up a trailer on their land, either for free or for a nominal fee. If you ask, I would suggest that you describe yourself with verbs rather than adjectives. When people hear that someone is ‘homeless’, they immediately think of whatever ideas they have about homelessness and project them onto you. When people hear that someone has lost their apartment, currently lacks the means to secure another, and needs an interim place to stay, they can look at the reality of the situation more easily.
I’m sorry to hear it’s like this right now. I hope things work out well for you.
I have been there, with the physical disability and the homelessness. It’s tough. I was lucky insofar as I was receiving disability payments, so I had enough for food and whatnot. My disability, income, and situation may have been too different to yours to make my advice perfect, but maybe you’ll find some of it useful.
I live out in the middle of nowhere. If you have a warm sleeping bag, a sleeping mat, and a tarp, you can sleep anywhere. Sometimes I would sleep in actual campgrounds, sometimes in a nice nook off the side of the road where the ground was a bit soft, sometimes in the forest. If there are trees and you know how to tarp, you can always make yourself a dry spot. If you know how to tie the trucker’s hitch, setup and takedown are both much faster and much easier.
I got used to sleeping in public-ish places, setting up just after dark and bundling everything up around dawn. This is more work but it is also much safer than leaving your world at everyone else’s mercy.
Back when I lived in the city (and was not myself homeless), there were always homeless people who had set up tents in the major parks. Sometimes a tent city would be formed. I would personally stay away from the tent cities, because I don’t want to be inculpated by association, but I see no harm in setting up somewhere relatively unobtrusive. I guess this will depend on where you live, both in terms of local laws and how often they are enforced and in terms of what the environment provides. There was one park near my apartment that had a series of deer trails winding through otherwise rather tight bush, and if you followed the labyrinth long enough you would come across a small clearing with flat ground, a tarp overhead, and some lawn chairs. I am honestly not sure whether it was a homeless refuge or a kids’ hideout, but either way it was perfect. You would be very unlikely to be bothered in such a place, if you could find one.
There are people who make a vacation out of homelessness. I met one guy who rode his bike everywhere throughout the country with nothing but the three items listed above (a sleeping bag, a sleeping mat, and a tarp) and just camped out wherever he could, exploring nature. I don’t know whether your physical disability would permit this exactly, but the principle may be able to be applied elsewhere. I met another guy who had essentially set up a permanent tarp-and-tent residence in a government-run campground that allowed several-month stays in the off season. If you could find an old trailer or something, life could be comparatively luxurious (depending on your definition of luxury).
It can be hard to maintain, but passable hygiene and the spark of life in your eyes are what, for a lot of people, separate the homeless people and the ‘homeless problem’. I suggest finding a place where you can reliably bathe and do laundry. This is where it starts to hurt, but if you have a friend who can help you in one way, he may not be able to help you in another without feeling strained; sometimes it is better to retain the privilege of clothes washing than to enjoy temporarily full accommodation.
Some people, particularly in rural places, may be willing to let you camp or set up a trailer on their land, either for free or for a nominal fee. If you ask, I would suggest that you describe yourself with verbs rather than adjectives. When people hear that someone is ‘homeless’, they immediately think of whatever ideas they have about homelessness and project them onto you. When people hear that someone has lost their apartment, currently lacks the means to secure another, and needs an interim place to stay, they can look at the reality of the situation more easily.
I’m sorry to hear it’s like this right now. I hope things work out well for you.