7 Things No One Tells You About Being Homeless - Cracked.com

[IrishAyes]

44. Thanks for a great OP, Aristus.

Though I've never been homeless myself, it's only by the grace of God. I still wish I could find out what happened to that school superintendant who lost her job to cutbacks and wound up homeless. I don't know if those of us who were more comfortable beforehand have a harder time with homelessness or not.

I say by the grace of God because so much has happened to me that could have ended tragically. It wasn't my fault either, because nobody ever worked harder or saved more or lived more frugally than I did - and still do. I used to tell people that robbers and earthquakes and other dangers never scared me half as much as a cardboard box, because that's what I always dreaded winding up in. Even now I suspect that my sharp interest in tiny homes and sustainable living springs more from fear than ethics.

For instance, I bought a formerly grand 100-yr-old fixer at auction and half of it remains a shambles because I refuse to take out a big housing loan to do it all at once. Since I can only afford minimal insurance, I already have plans in place as to how I could secure good basic shelter w/o having to resort to a vehicle (which I don't have) or anything too unpleasant. There are many tiny home designs good for DIY types, meaning the Amish could build it quick and cheap. That would only work in the remote areas of the MidWest where I retired, obviously, not in more developed states with their understandable zoning regs.

But having a viable plan in place, one that matches my resources, gives me great emotional comfort. I don't WANT a tiny house; still, they're a lot better than more rustic measures. I even found one design with a sleighbed built into a picture window nook. Basically they're a lot like NYC apartments!

Anyway, I admire and appreciate your work with the homeless population no matter how hard I'll keep trying not to join them. I know it could happen to anyone. As the article pointed out, it's not as hard to become homeless as most people imagine. Fortunately or otherwise for me, I imagine it all too well.