Tips For People Who Are Street Involved Or Flat Out Homeless (Canada / US Generally)

[Joey]

Drop any information you have and the country or area you're talking about to help out.

Ontario, Canada - If you're on ODSP and you call your worker to ask for a phone to job search - you can be allocated $500 every 12 months toward a phone. Get the phone and do not ever let it get stolen if you can and DON'T SELL IT. Get a decent plan with some data instead and stay somewhere out of the core. There's endless resources and networking that can be done with a phone. You can conduct an entire business with just a cell phone. Without one, you can't make a phone call to save someone from an OD at 3AM when you're offside somewhere between fuck all and nowhere.

No matter what, keep your lines of communication open as much as you can. Find a social worker who works for you. Pharmacists can put any medication up on daily dispense if you're prone to losing them. There tends to be places people go and supports available that aren't listed just about everywhere you go. Be calm, be courteous, and be honest. I don't mean to tell anybody a thing, just be good with people. No matter what, the worst thing that can happen if you ask for something is be told no. if there's a chance something worse can happen and you're worried about it, then don't ask that person.

You can ask any pizzeria for a slice or any fast food joint for a free water. The slice is questionable, and McDonalds in my area just started 30 cents for some dumbfuck reason but generally if you're not an asshole you can ask for some small amount of the things you need to live and not get too much of a hassle. If you get hassled, just go. Don't cause a scene.

 

[TheUltimateFixx]

I absolutely second that last! Being without a place of your own sucks ass, and especially if you've had a day where people have called you names or treated you like garbage, or you're in WD and rattling worse than a tin full of dried peas, it's very easy to fly off the handle if you're getting denied something.

However it's best to keep a lid on it, even if you have a good reason for your anger, because otherwise you look like one of those shouty randomly aggressive bums that mothers will pull their children away from and 'respectable' people will call the cops on. (I noticed what an instant difference only 3 weeks of sleeping in the same clothes makes to whether your identical response to an identical insult is perceived as rightful anger or a public order offence.)

Cursing after someone because you're pissed off they didn't give you any spare change is also not exactly the way to endear yourself to passers - by, and likely to discourage anyone else who witnessed the interaction from giving you anything as well.

PS be suspicious of unsolicited gifts of food unless it's a charity handing it out. There are arseholes out there who really view homeless people as vermin and will go to the lengths of giving you sandwiches laced with rat poison or ground glass. If somebody asks if you're hungry and offers to buy you something, accompany them to the shop. If the person is genuine they won't mind that.