Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
If she wants to poop in a bucket, let her. Hope she's saving that $800 a month.
If you camp, or your toilet doesn't work because of no water from an emergency situation then you most likely will have to poop in a bucket too . It's good to know ahead of time how to set one up.
When we dry camped when we first arrived in our new state my ex husband, and i used a 5 gal bucket, put in a sturdy plastic bag (you don't want it to leak), put the cheapest toilet seat on top, and used wood shavings from walmart pet dept as layers. It worked great . And we saved money for a couple months while looking at houses for sale.
She has a pet, I doubt most shelters allow them, and in most places you can't even apply for section 8, there is a few years wait just to get on the list.
This is sadly very true. Worse in more popular, heavily populated areas. Seems to be better in smaller towns, but it will vary.
This is a good, but sobering video warning about Seniors, and housing. Her elderly friend in his early 80's, and in poor health was being evicted from his trailer park because his trailer was old, and needed work. And he had no where to go. This is more common than can be imagined, and is a nightmare. She herself is living out of her van while waiting on subsidized housing to open up. The waiting list there was several years long. I've only watched this one so far, but looks interesting. I love vans, and hers is a decent one, so things could be worse for her I guess. I don't know what happened to her friend.
This is a good, but sobering video warning about Seniors, and housing. Her elderly friend in his early 80's, and in poor health was being evicted from his trailer park because his trailer was old, and needed work. And he had no where to go. This is more common than can be imagined, and is a nightmare. She herself is living out of her van while waiting on subsidized housing to open up. The waiting list there was several years long. I've only watched this one so far, but looks interesting. I love vans, and hers is a decent one, so things could be worse for her I guess. I don't know what happened to her friend.
Seems she could find some type of house-sharing situation that would be better than the way she's living. Also, with an actual residence address she would qualify for food stamps and probably utility assistance.
Disabled/elderly people live in a car for two reasons. One, they are crazy. You can't fix crazy.
Two, they don't qualify for shelter.
Most everyone who does not qualifiy for shelter is addicted to drugs or alcohol. Every major city in this country has free homeless shelter for elderly women but they can't come in drunk or carrying drugs or alcohol.
Section 8 rent is $25/mo. for a person with $800 of SSI. And, they get a ton of Food Stamps and Medicaid. So, an elderly woman living in a car at substantial risk of harm, is a reason One person, IMO.
Section 8 takes 1/3 of your income for housing, if you get $800 that would be $267 a month, still a bargain but the problem is that there is a very long waiting list for section 8 vouchers or low income housing project based vouchers.
I have no idea what the heck you are talking about when you claim "every major city has free homeless shelter for elderly women", that's just not true. In most cities there are more homeless than there is shelter space and women tend to avoid shelters because they are not safe.
Also, shelters do not generally accommodate any personal belongings so you come with nothing except the clothes on your back and leave that way, they kick you out at 7 or 8AM and don't let you back in until 8 or 9pm, those reasons alone would make living in a car far more attractive than a shelter.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
. It's good to know ahead of time how to set one up. 
. And we saved money for a couple months while looking at houses for sale.
