Finding Shelter for Urban Homeless Survival

I worked with a guy years ago that was homeless. He found the old abandoned house and moved in. Lived there for years. No electricity. No plumbing. House was built in the late 1800s. He then went about fixing it up. The owner eventually found out and drove out to investigate. He did such a great job with the place that the old couple gave him the house and land it stood on. He only paid a couple hundred bucks a year for the taxes. Last time I heard, he still lives there.

I would be careful about one thing. Storage buildings have a lock-placement on the outside. If you are sleeping in there and someone puts something in the hole where the lock would go. It could be years before someone found your skeleton. If you pick a location like this, be sure you have an axe with you so you can hack your way out if you get locked in.

There is an open lot behind the shop where I work. We've had trouble with people going out there and leaving a complete disaster area for us to clean up. One day the property owner introduced me to a homeless guy who lived in his pickup. He said this is Jason he will be keeping an eye on the back lot. He is the only one allowed to live out there. That was about 8 years ago. Jason is still out there, and the police even ask him if he saw anybody run through the place. He has became well accepted.

💘 this video. I was born into a well- todo family. I'm 49 years old. Last year, I became homeless because I let the wrong person move in my house. I was.on the street for 8 months.. I called it urban camping. Looking back, I wish I would have watched videos like this one to learn. To anyone who's hating on this video....you're wrong. Keep making these helpful videos! 💘

No judgment. Take a seasoned international squatters advice, go into the woods.  You may not believe this, but places have energy, and most of these deserted place reek of bad if you can feel it.  This is no place to be. Pour rain and you have a bad tent, go for it after you pray.  I've done this and survived.  Go to the woods Joe.  Yeah.  We are trained to love buildings for safety and association. This is not that place. Get a earth tone tent and find a hidden spot.  With practice you will learn stealth. Evil is drawn to these rotting structures, along with drugs, rats, and disease, and desperate souls. Please listen Joe.  I have slept in literally hundreds of places.  I prayed all the time to be safe.  God is listening.  You are not safe in the skeletal abandoned structures of man. Much love to you Joe.  I write because my heart is with you..

We had a local kid who aged out of foster care and had no place to go and was camping in a local community park. The community found out about him right before our big freeze and pulled together to get him into a hotel. After the freeze, the community found him a job and helped him into an affordable rental situation. Just a kid in an unfortunate circumstance not of his own making. As far as I know he is still doing well. I’m proud of my little community for pulling together to help someone in a substantial short and long-term way.

I lived in a functioning storage unit a few times: Seattle, Santa Monica, Sacramento....There's so much free stuff in city areas, you can often find a bed & everything you need right at the storage dumpsters. I found brand new sleeping bags, sofas, lanterns etc. People throw everything away. Figured out how to lock units from the inside, leave a lock on the outside...Never got caught. Some places have outlets in the halls. Sometimes I had to get a 2nd unit to store all the free stuff I could sell on CL. Also camped in the woods for years, which is nicer but less secure...Hard to find outdoor spots that aren't overrun w/junkies.

I currently stash up in a tent in some quiet woods that belong to the railways. I Own a Ford transit high roof, I'm doing it up slowly but I can use it every day for getting to work etc. The best thing to do is build up a platform of the ground. Use underneath for storage. Ideally, try and tuck yourself into the landscape as best you can or in the middle of some shrubbery or even a tree house. The idea is, if you're invisible, you stand a better chance of enjoying relative seclusion and privacy. Stash cooking stove and utensils don't leave anything valuable lying around. I'm stashed really well in some spruce trees that provide excellent coverage and natural shelter from the elements. There is a rail track quite near and some residential streets on the other side of the tracks. It's great to hear the trains passing and in the morning the birds are singing. I go to work ride a bike go to the Gym train take a shower and have a sauna. This way I'm hoping to clear my debts and start to save some money. Common sense and Stealth is the way to go and keep your location a secret. Getting hold if any military webbing and tarps is also really useful. Don't ever call yourself homeless, that is a stupid phrase, keep yourself clean, eat well, go to work a clean dry shelter is good a home, consider the challenge a positive thing in taking pride in your abilities and gain confidence in learning to provide shelter and safety. In summertime it's fantastic keep some binoculars with you if anyone Susses you out you're a birdwatcher . Stay clear of any one who will blow your cover or get you robbed.

Im homeless myself but I wouldnt sleep there. Someone could easily lock you inside the unit. I recommend staying here during the day. It does seem like someone else discovered this place and has slept there before. Be careful and vigilant. Wish you all the best.

I was homeless for awhile and that would be the worst place to sleep.. Your best bet would be to gather what you can use and head in-to the woods and build a small shelter that can't be seen.

When did the world turn in to such a 💩hole, when a person can't even have a permanent home if they want. Stay safe.

Joe I will pray for you be safe and warm. Always think positive it will get better.

Careful. Recent looking tire tracks. And if people see a lock they'll break in to see what there is to steal. I'd look for somewhere with a little less sign of activity. Be safe! And better fortune in your future!

Experience makes a solid teacher. Places like this may be good to duck into to get out of the daytime rain for awhile but otherwise only two strategies work- one is homeless camps aka tent cities and the other is going solo stealth. Lots of good urban places to live and to stash some belongings in but none are going to be this obvious or this easy. I'm not giving my secrets away but if you're going urban stealth the only good places are the ones nobody thinks about; you have to get out of the "living in a building" mindset or you'll lose everything you've got- maybe even your life.

Last night i slept in a shed at homedepot works well if you stay quiet and dont make a mess trying to go to sleep around 11:30 and wake up around 6:30 seems to work well

I see hills all around, so there has to be a cave or rock shelter w/ spring water & you could pile up rocks to have a fire.... If you keep it stealth & don't trash it up, you won't draw attention & you''l be left along.. Simple snares are easy to make for squirrels, rabbits, & even a small deer... I was homeless once and now I'm drawn to survival channels because of it.. Whenever you're in public domain, the police are called even by the so called nice people.... Get a "want add" & look for jobs - I did & my first good job was a tree climber at 19 for $.85 an hour & I rented a very small trailer for $50 a month from the tree company., I've been living on my own since I was 17.. Now I'm 66 & no body ever gave me anything, I earned every penny I have by the Grace of God..

moving from place to place is a good idea. sleep in one building for 3 or 4 nights, then switch to another one, and keep cycling through until you return to the first one.

Thank you for sharing your story. I appreciate the transparency and rawness of the video down to the language used to narrate the video. Very transparent and honest. Thank you for reminding us all to remain humble.

I pray my attitude will be as positive as yours when I am homeless. Thank you for such a beautiful display of gratitude.

Survival insight. Take heed. We never know when our world crashes and how we will maintain and survives. Thanks for enlightening us. Take care brother