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I'm pretty much out of cash, no friends and family and no job prospects.
I'm a 35y/o male.
In 2 weeks, I'll be homeless if a job and a miracle does not occur.
I'm so suck and tired I can't stand it anymore.
HELP!
This is going to become an epidemic across America as more and more people are out of work. I guess what I would do is to go to every shelter and charity in town NOW to see what my options are. I would sell everything I could before next weekend. I would make sure any cash I had was in a bank and not on my person so someone could rob me. Then I would hold on looking for any kind of work for day to day survival. (If you have a vehicle, start looking for places where you can park it at night in a relatively safe place. )
I would also talk to other homeless people to see what is available as far as food and shelter.
I may have missed if you indicated which part of the country you're in, but here's a sample ad from my area to show that room-and-board positions are available on CL. You could try negotiating for minimum wage:
"looking for a farm hand to help, prefer to trade for room and board"
looking for a farm hand to help, prefer to trade for room and board (http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/grd/1914635095.html - broken link)
In every city of which I am aware, there are shelters and meals for the homeless who are not impaired. Most homeless persons are impaired or mentally ill. This is a problem that dates back to the ACLU advocating for the homeless, the mentally ill of which used to be rounded up and put in mental hospitals against their will. Today, under federal and therefore all state law, a person cannot be incarcerated against his will unless he has acted on a plan to harm himself or others. This is a difficult issue. No question that things for the homeless are far worse than they were under old rules. But, the issue of individual rights was indeed at stake.
Still every place has shelters and meals for those not presenting impaired. Some places rather luxurious accommodations.
One way to make a quick buck is to collect cans and bottles for recycling. the deposit in California (CRV) is $.05 for less than 24 oz, $.10 for anything larger. A few hours of picking up cans should provide someone with enough money to survive until something better comes along.
Try to find a place that doesn't have a lot of competition.
I may have missed if you indicated which part of the country you're in, but here's a sample ad from my area to show that room-and-board positions are available on CL. You could try negotiating for minimum wage:
"looking for a farm hand to help, prefer to trade for room and board"
looking for a farm hand to help, prefer to trade for room and board (http://seattle.craigslist.org/oly/grd/1914635095.html - broken link)
Ten hours a day of hard labor for three meals and a cot. That doesn't sound like a good deal to me. This person would have no money for clothing, soap/deodorant, cell phone bill.... Probably stuck out in the boonies with no way to find anything better.
Besides, this probably violates most states minimum wage laws. I know California wouldn't allow it.
Ten hours a day of hard labor for three meals and a cot. That doesn't sound like a good deal to me. This person would have no money for clothing, soap/deodorant, cell phone bill.... Probably stuck out in the boonies with no way to find anything better.
Besides, this probably violates most states minimum wage laws. I know California wouldn't allow it.
With the decision being no home and no food, or home and food but working a little hard I don't think there's much of a contest... unless you like living in a cardboard box eating out of dumpsters. "Room and board" usually entails more than just 3 meals and a cot... you can use the phone (within reason), the internet (if they have it), their showers (including shampoo and soap), etc etc. Most times they'll even pay for emergency medical care if you're hurt on the job.
Whether it's legal in a particular state is beside the point really. It's not really a matter of exploiting the work force (although I'm sure there might be a farmer who would take advantage), it's about being resource rich and cash poor and not wanting to deal with all the taxes and crap that employers (and employees) have to go through with a cash wage.
But again - if the choice is between being truly homeless and working for room/board, most self-respecting people would consider the latter.
I would, as soon as the house is gone and your on the street, make your way to the nearest big city. These city's have daily work daily pay temp. agencies. That would be my first step. Maybe in a week you could get a weekly room then start working your way back up. I would not work 10 hours just for room n board when, if I averaged 50 bucks a day at day labor, I would have $250 at weeks end. I could get the $179 a week hotel room n still have money for food n other stuff. And thats only working 5 days a week. If you worked somewhere on weekends, thats the money that will get you climbing back up. Good luck.
At average minimum wage $8.50 for 40 hours a week, you would gross about $340 and net would be about $245 after taxes. The average human spends $500 a month on food - about $125 a week, but you can probably get by with less or cheaper for a while if you're not 100% worried about good nutrition. Depending on where you're at, you may be able to find a weekly room for rent for less than $125 (or whatever extra you have left over from your food budget).
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