Homeless campsites—how are they different from wilderness campsites?

[Kevin Schneringer]

Sometimes when I get out of the office for lunch and I'm stressed out, behind on a bill or two and just a bit depressed. I look at the panhandler
That has been trying to get bus fair for the last 3 months……
Who's the crazy one? Me or him? His day is planned before he gets up. Food, some $ shelter repeat.

I bought breakfast for a homeless engineer last summer an talked to him about how he got there. He said he he was making 250k
Good kids wife, he just quit life. Just stepped out on the road 15 years ago?

Comparing homeless and backpackers. We're all just travelers some folks just unplug or get caught up in drugs alcohol who knows.
As someone mention were all just a few steps or bad decisions away form going form a UL backpacker to a UL homeless person

In the end I chose to have some compation

[Jeffs Eleven]

I don't trust that most homeless people are mentally unfit. If they were "certified incapable" I'd give them money. Other than the taxes i already give them. But after seeing a couple on tv saying" they left the apt in Austin to come be homeless in Portland cause Portland takes care of their homeless" ( literally said that) i said eff it. Hey just cost actual needy people my money.

All the gutter punks and all that piss me off. … Asking me for money… I saw on the news the other day some guy said he gets $50 to $60 every day. Thats more than me and i work.

I bust my ass for what i have. Bust yours if you want something.

Its too bad for the truly needy.

Thanks punkasses!

Some guy in portland has actually minted coins in conjunction with local businesses that people can redeem at those businesses for food and clothes and actual stuff. Not fourloco and chew.
This is a great idea. Want drug money? Here is a coin for a burrito. Lol. Smoke that

[Nick Larsen]

"I'm shocked by the indifference behind this thread. It's like a bunch of noblemen strutting around during a tea party offhandedly debating whether the starving peasants outside on the street below would prefer to eat strawberry cake or crumpets with cream."

Haha, not even close. We're not noblemen, and the homeless are not peasants. We all have equal opportunity, what separates us is our decisions in life, what we want out of life, or our mental health.

I think the problem with this thread is that there are so many subcategories of "homeless", and when one person says "dang homeless"(thinking panhandlers), someone responds with "how dare you, on your high horse, you have no compassion or pity!"(thinking of people genuinely down on there luck through no fault of there own).

I think you need to define the subcategories before we can reasonably try to draw parallels between backpackers and homeless. We also need to subcategorize backpackers and thru hikers.

[Mark Ries]

It points out some people on bpl that I would rather not hike with.

[Nick Larsen]

"One thing about this thread, It points out some people on bpl that I would rather not hike with."

I know right? Good thing we found out that thru hikers are basically homeless people. Don't want to hike with homeless people, ewwww.

[Mark Ries]

Actually the fact that someone is homeless or a thru hiker would not be the deal breaker. I like people with a heart.

[Nick Gatel]

"And here we are, sitting on the internet talking about how similar it must be to backpacking?

Shame. What a disconnect."

Agree. Sounds like a bunch of spoiled, bully children.

[Edgar H]

A bunch of homeless are on the internet,  maybe not here,  with the pay to post fee,  but at around 5$ any internet savvy homeless that wants to skip a fast food dinner  once can post here for the year.

[Edgar H]

One thing I’ve thought about many times is how I view my water bill vs my data plan.

Unless growing a garden and there’s not enough rain,  I really only need a few gallons of water a day,  but I don’t want any caps on my wireless data.  Ephemeralization is funny.

[Kattt]

Now this is a thread best forgotten.

[Edgar H]

Why?

What’s your carbon footprint looking like? …The homeless are a problem, right?  -Ok,  so forget it. Better yet,  create some discussion on this slow, slooooow forum.

[DAN-Y]

Homeless in Chicago don’t need an alcohol stove to heat water, they just go to McDonalds and ask for their hot water. Ramen and oatmeal for breakfast lunch and dinner :-(. The guy I had a conversation with slept on church property next to a garbage dumpster that was surrounded by wooden fence. He used a tarp connected to the dumpster and fence as a lean to shelter. He set up camp daily. Cleaned windshields for cash. Carried all his earthly possessions in a nice backpack.

[Kattt]

The reason for my objection has already been covered  on this thread by Adan, Craig and Nick. Just because I find it clueless and offensive does not mean you can’t bring it up; I just posted  my opinion.

We do agree that the forum has been slow….”idle hands…..”

[Paul Wagner]

Hm.  As the OP, i’m a little saddened by where this thread has wandered…

I consult with a homeless agency in my town, and one of the issues we face has been mentioned here:  homeless camps need a certain level of isolation or distance from the rest of society, because society won’t let them camp in the middle of the children’s play structure in the local park, obviously.  But they also have serious concerns about access to food, water, and hygiene, as well as their own safety.  So it’s a delicate balance.  they need to be both close enough and far away.

Many of the homeless in our town are military vets with mental issues.  We have shelters that provide exactly that:  shelter, food, and hygiene.  But for a number of reasons (security, hygiene, and space), the homeless who use these shelters are not allowed to bring in their own collection of belongings.  That makes their use a two-edged sword.  Do they leave the belongings outside, where they can be pillaged or thrown out, or do the avoid the shelters and stick with the sleeping bags, tents, and other paraphernalia that give them support?

We haven’t really come up with a solid solution to this.  There seems to be no way-station between camping in the bushes with accumulated belongings, and moving in to a shelter that might be a step towards re-incorporation into a long-term solution.  Instead,. if you move into the shelter, you take a step back in terms of your own ability to be self-reliant.  And for the homeless, that’s not a simple decision.

One of my students last year was a homeless military vet.  He rode his bike three miles each way to attend class, rain or shine.  He was an involved participant in all class activities, including those that required that he bring materials from “home.”  From what I could gather, he has a very small income.  He couldn’t afford a place to live, is receiving medical treatment, and worries about staying in the shelter because he could lose everything he owns–including his bicycle.  He was adamant about being self-reliant.  He hated the thought of living on the dole.  He took occasional jobs around town, but since rents  here start at about $1000 a month, there’s no way that minimum wage will get him into a place or allow him to pay for it.

He did get an “A” in the class.

 

[BlackHatGuy]

“Do they leave the belongings outside, where they can be pillaged or thrown out, or do the avoid the shelters and stick with the sleeping bags, tents, and other paraphernalia that give them support?”

No easy answers, obviously, and funding for organizations trying to help is always less than needs. But I wonder if having a bank of lockers, much like they have at airports but larger, outside shelters could help. Someone wants to sleep in the shelter, they sign in, get a key, go lock their stuff up, and sleep in the shelter. In the morning they get their stuff and turn in their key.

Just a thought.

[Sharon J.]

 

But I wonder if having a bank of lockers, much like they have at airports but larger, outside shelters could help. Someone wants to sleep in the shelter, they sign in, get a key, go lock their stuff up, and sleep in the shelter. In the morning they get their stuff and turn in their key.

Something like that has been proposed here. If this thread gets bumped in another 4 years, we may have some data on it.

http://www.berkeleyside.com/2016/02/29/huge-price-tag-projected-for-berkeley-homeless-storage-bin-program/

http://www.berkeleyside.com/2017/03/16/ambitious-proposal-seeks-shake-way-berkeley-handles-homelessness/

I’ve come across quite a few tent/tarp settlements in our larger local parks.

[Kattt]

Then places pass ordinances like this.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-homeless-belongings-20160331-story.html

while one can certainly argue about the trash and clean up problems, we sure continue making things more difficult for the real poor. This whole subject is heartbreaking partly because some well meaning people push for laws that make these folks lives even harder than they are already.

I should bow out now as this hits a bit close to home.

[DAN-Y]

The guy behind the dumpster used a multipurpose steel tablespoon.

[Edgar H]

The real problem is that homelessness is stigmatized in the first place.  We’re basically burning up the world with this “I got mine,  what’s your problem?” attitude.

There’s no long term evidence that our civilization has anything going for it,  maybe we made a wrong turn at agriculture, maybe at mechanization of agriculture? Maybe in 50 years we’ll see 50% occupied with sustainable permaculture, taking off muddy shoes at the end of the day to play some VR games and talk to distant friends and relatives via high bandwidth fiber optics?

[Edgar H]

I met a hobo who gave me some good tips; first about the importance of hiding your stuff,  and your camp when around other people,  about how to keep a half gallon of milk from going bad without refrigeration (First drink it as milk,  then put the last bit of your yogurt into the remainder of the milk,  and give it a shake,  enjoy your new yogurt for the next few days ).

The last one I recall right now was that a cheap child size synthetic bag + a good winter coat made for a decent sleep system that’s easy to come by and pretty versatile.

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