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If you've never been homeless, you really cannot imagine what it is actually like, especially for older people. It's not a picnic in the park by any stretch of the imagination.
I love living in Hawai'i, but I really would not want to be homeless here.
Quote:
Originally Posted by KAILANI
You should definitely save up to buy a decent van to sleep in! You could hit the thrift stores for small cooking items and really have a nice set up. Plus chances are less for getting kicked out of the parks, you could park the van in different spots and be able to move around as you like!
You prob could sleep up in the hills for a change!
I've thought about it! ...
side note- me and hubby went to the Keys to spend a couple days for fun, had a GREAT evening in Key West. Well, I'm a cheapo, and didn't have $150 for a room so we brought a tent and camping gear and set up camp at a nice beach away from the community. Well, at 3am Police came by and kicked us out...stating druggies frequent that beach and we needed to go.....
We spent an hour sipping coffee in IHOP and fell asleep in my car waiting for the sun to rise... Worst nights sleep ever...... Homeless in the Keys, NOT recommended!!!!!
ALOHA!
No, I've never been homeless ... but I also worked with the homeless in Seattle for a time Also with homeless vets in a transition program ... (a [combat] disabled Vietnam veteran, myself) I am in my early-mid-60's ... retired now ... and while I have several acres of forested waterfront in Washington's San Juan Islands for a mainland homebase, I am a serious minimalist who lives part-time on boats and in a van along the Pacific west coast and in Hawaii ... my home base is a small (very small by most peoples' standards) rustic, hand-built (by me alone), solid timber cabin with a living roof. My boats are also minimalist, without even heads (bathrooms) ... my van is a mini-van. I am an expert at living in small spaces with few possessions -- and prefer it, love it outright
While I advocate minimalism, I don't advocate homelessness, nor encourage others to live as I do ... it works for me, but I don't assume that means it is right for others. I have a modest pension income and survive, supporting also a wife (disabled) and one of my adult sons who has been hit hard by the recession. (I had four children and their mother passed away after 27 years of marriage to me and while the kids were still in school -- I raised them up on my own.) Now I just wander, part-time, with my service dog as companion, and live in the woods on my island property with my new wife when not wandering.
All this just to say, if a person is stuck in tough circumstances, one can live nicely on very little -- and actually find as much, if not more, depth in life as if one had wealth and all the worry and work that goes with protecting it. In Hawaii, a person can only really live nicely as I describe on Oahu. The other islands do not offer any opportunity for anonymity from the law and others. If one were to try and park in different locations on Kauai, for instance, you would stick out like a sore thumb almost anywhere as a stranger ... and you'd not last long -- unless you were very clever and experienced at the art
Most places on the mainland have opportunities for "stealth van living" ... but you'll be rousted by the cops many places if you don't know how to pull it off. I am very clean and neat, and to all appearances would appear to you to be a middle-class resident wherever I appear. I am nearly invisible, by studied design.
my home base is a small (very small by most peoples' standards) rustic, hand-built (by me alone), solid timber cabin with a living roof.
We are of very like minds, although the living roof is out for me because I collect rainwater from it for drinking.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nullgeo
My boats are also minimalist, without even heads (bathrooms) ... my van is a mini-van. I am an expert at living in small spaces with few possessions -- and prefer it, love it outright
Have you seen the Nature's Head composting toilet? Made in Ohio, smaller and cheaper than anything else on the market ($850), hand operated, and certified Coast Guard Class III (zero discharge). I hate having to go elsewhere to do my bidness in the middle of the night, especially when it is raining.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nullgeo
In Hawaii, a person can only really live nicely as I describe on Oahu. The other islands do not offer any opportunity for anonymity from the law and others. If one were to try and park in different locations on Kauai, for instance, you would stick out like a sore thumb almost anywhere as a stranger ... and you'd not last long -- unless you were very clever and experienced at the art
I'll underline this thought. I rented an Airstream trailer to put on my property temporarily when I first arrived, and the next morning the local Community Watch paid me a visit to see what was going on. I was lucky. They were nice about it.
As far as the homeless project I am working on, I've designed an inexpensive minimalist 160 sq ft "studio" housing unit out of a surplus 20' ISO shipping container, and I'm talking to the Governor's staff about trying to get a trial program going.
Yup, the Hawaiian islands are 2,500 miles away from just about EVERYTHING else. When you get stuck here it is a serious sort of stuck. Should you be stuck in Washington DC you could always hitchhike or even if desperate walk to a different area if you had to. That is not an option on the islands. We are very remote and have very limited resources. 90% of just about EVERYTHING is shipped in. If the barges stop, then what? I've heard Oahu is about six meals away from starvation. If for some reason the barges quit showing up at the dock then the population of Oahu will be out of food within six meals.
There used to be day jobs with construction - cleaning the site, resupplying the skilled workers. Or with rock wall builders, hauling bags of concrete and mixing. But much of that has stopped now. A lot of smaller shops have closed too. I take it back that day jobs are an option.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Kansoku
Couldn't they forage tropical fruits to survive?
The population of Oahu is over 905,000. There isn't enough fruit growing to supply that population, especially since there isn't as much "wild" area any more. The city development means pavement and lights, not trees.
So even if you go deep into some forests it's all owned by someone? Would they have you arrested if they found you foraging their fruit?
Contrary to popular fantasy, there is not a lot of wild fruit in our remaining tropical forests. I'm sure a trained survivalist could make it, but the average citizen, no.
Most fruit grown on the islands is cultivated, and owners are getting more and more aggressive about prosecuting poachers because it has become a big problem for some of them.
I am researching Hawaii because we are going for a visit next month, it's our first visit to Hawaii so we are pretty excited.
Anyway, we like to geocache, and there was one geocache we are thinking about doing that gave warning to watch for fisherman. Evidently the cache owner (who lives in this area on Hawaii) believes that there are some fisherman who live on the beaches where this cache is, and they are pretty protective of their area. This was in a northeastern part of the island. Sort of near Kulima?
As far as homelessness - Hawaii vs. DC... either place would have it's issues. You just have to decided which issues you could tolerate most. Personally, if I had no other choice than to be homeless, I'd go for a warmer climate because I cannot handle the cold.
Also - as far as DC homeless people being fat.... they've actually found that fat people are malnourished. They keep eating high-calorie nutrient poor foods so they gain weight yet never receive adequate nutrition. Pretty sad.
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Also with homeless vets in a transition program ... (a [combat] disabled Vietnam veteran, myself) I am in my early-mid-60's ... retired now ... and while I have several acres of forested waterfront in Washington's San Juan Islands for a mainland homebase, I am a serious minimalist who lives part-time on boats and in a van along the Pacific west coast and in Hawaii ... my home base is a small (very small by most peoples' standards) rustic, hand-built (by me alone), solid timber cabin with a living roof. My boats are also minimalist, without even heads (bathrooms) ... my van is a mini-van. I am an expert at living in small spaces with few possessions -- and prefer it, love it outright 
