[hunter]

Supertom,

congratulations on not being in denial, and trying to prepare. People like you work their way out of homelessness. People who wait till the day they become homeless, are the ones who run into trouble.

I've been homeless twice. I'm a domestic abuse victim that fell through the cracks terribly and ended out in regular shelters not DV ones. I suffer from uncontrolled seizures and memory loss due to my traumas and have to rely on SSI as my income and a section 8 voucher to pay most of my rent. I did make it out of homelesness but not on my own. I'm still in the system.

Once you KNOW homelessness is inevitible, it's best to jump in while you still have some resources. If you can, buy a pair of good, lightweight hiking boots and a smaller sized backpack with an internal frame, so the weight sits on your hips not your shoulders. Make sure you have a decent coat. It's important to be able to blend in public as much as possible so you can hang out in bookstores, malls, libraries, theaters and museums, and to be able to walk to them.

Head for a city. If you have depression or another minor condition, but are homeless, you often easily are able to apply for a disability transportation pass, that will bring transportation costs too about $20.00 a month.

Find a shelter near a major library. Find soup kitchens and a place to get your mail other than the shelter. Stay out of the shelter as much as possible. Do not make friends there. Socialize while eating at soup kitchens, but do not extend friendships outside of them. Do not jeapordize your places of shelter and food with relationships gone bad. Be polite, but on guard with staff, too. Many of them are not mentally well, moreso than their clients.

Understand the effects of sleep deprivation, so you don't get scared when you start falling apart. A radio with noice canceling earphones are a must!!! Many of the other clients have uncontrolled schizophrenia and will yell at an invisable person directly over your head. You must be able to block that out. It's a bad night when you get it in stereo, from both sides.

Things will get worse before they get better. You will need to learn all sorts of new coping skills and it takes time to learn where the resources are. For the first month, just try and survive, not start working your way out yet.

Imagine you are still a college student, taking notes for a project. Stay above it all if you can instead of forming a new identity of yourself as a homeless person. Homeless is not who you are, it just describes your current address. You are entering a new subculture with it's own rules and way of doing things. Be respectful and do not expect things to run like middleclass, white America. Again be respectful and LEARN what you can from this subculture of fascinating, wonderful people.

Do not lend or borrow money. I only gave away small amounts of money when I could spare some, but NEVER loaned money EVER.

I had lots of rules for myself about socializing and money, that people did not take as a personal insult, because I was consistent and my rules were not about individuals.

Apply for food stamps. Use them to buy protein to supplement the carb rich food at the soup kitchens. Extreme stress (elevates bloodsugar) and walking 10 miles a day will increase your needs for protein. Deli meat is the easiest source of protein. You will CRAVE proteins.

Good luck! You are entering an adventure that will change you forever. Read the March 3, 2008 article on hopeless situations. It'll help.