Homeless Gear (Part 3)

9. Canteen

Staying hydrated is one of the most important things you can do to ensure your physical well being and comfort. You might think that you drink plenty water in your coffee, tea, or soft drinks however it's not the same.

Your Body is 69% water

Your Brain is 85% water

Your Bones are 35% water

Your Blood is 83% water

Your Liver is 90% water

Carbonated soda drinks, Coffee, and tea do not contain any beneficial nutrients, but typically contribute excessive calories and sugar to your diet. Start swapping out one soda per day for a bottle of water. Many varieties of water are carbonated and flavored to mimic soda, without providing all of the unnecessary calories and sugar. If you cannot stand the boring taste of water, then may I suggest a shot of peppermint extract, just a drop or two (it goes a long way) adds a refreshing mint taste.

 

10. Faith

Okay, so I’m playing a bit fast and loose with the definition of “gear” but having a plan (or at least something to look forward to) is as important to your survival as nearly everything we have discussed thus far. It doesn't have to be huge or earth shaking, how about...

• Making sure we maintain our health tomorrow starting at 7:00 by drinking some clean water and taking a brisk walk.
• Let's check out what volunteer positions we can fill at our local food bank, hospital, community center, homeless shelter, or church function.
• Taking care of that bench warrant you've had hanging over your head for all this time.
• If you took care of that warrant, focus one day on helping others rather than thinking about what I want.



Homeless Gear (Part 2)

7. Shoes/ Boots

Your feet are your primary means of transportation and therefore are to be treated with care. Keeping your feet in good shape is highly dependent upon the shoes or boots you wear. Along with good hygiene, and dry socks, comfortable shoes/boots will keep your mobility optimized. Gym shoes are fine for dry, temperate urban areas, but in wet or cold areas gym shoes are a disaster. They quickly become heavy soaked sponges, which freeze your feet while promoting trench foot. In order to dry out your shoes or boots pack them with dry newspaper overnight. Be careful placing them next to a fire as the coals tend to spread as the fire reduces the wood to ash, and the boots you placed a foot from the fire may be 3 inches from it within an hour. Your better off placing some large (8-10 lbs. / 3-5 Kg.) stones around the fire then using a towel to pick them up and build a Paleolithic hot plate to dry your footwear. But use caution here as well, if the rocks are hot enough they may melt or scorch some synthetic materials.

While steel toed boots might seem like a sure fire sign of durability, in cold weather their a sure fire way to loose your toes to frostbite. Steel is an excellent conductor of heat, and the steel will act like heat sinks (heat exchangers) for your toes. Circulation, and therefore warmth, in your extremities (toes, fingers, feet, and hands) is the hardest to maintain since your body naturally reduces circulation in these areas to protect your bodies core temperature. When temperatures drop below 40°F (5°C) I put on my Sorrels, and I've never had a problem with hiking all day. The benefit of Sorrels is the lining can be removed which decreases drying time significantly.

8. Clothing

People judge you by the way you look, it may not be fair, but it is a reality. Since we live in the real world, we have to work with the world we have. The best way to avoid all the common social hassles associated being homeless is to not appear to be homeless. If your walking around town looking and acting like this guy...

...You're going to get hassled. That's just the way it is.  It doesn't take much in America to come up with some presentable clothing. Let's start with the layups on how to get dressed:

Clothing Banks - If you are a social services recipient in a larger urban area, you may be eligible for clothing vouchers. Ask around in your local homeless community to find one. Many churches have informal clothing banks as well. Be respectful and only take what you need. Some churches will even help you wash the clothing you have.

Thrift Stores - Many thrift stores are operated by charities and their primary mission is helping people like us. You may have to fill out some forms or go through a screening of some kind, but that's not so bad for an enhanced wardrobe. If you can dress decently, you might ask the manager for an application and land yourself a job. Then you can get even better clothing, and who knows? If you catch a break, maybe someday you'll be Mr. or Ms. Manager, or District Manager, VP of Operations, or even CEO of that charitable giant organization... or maybe it will be a minimum wage job with a great clothing hook up. In either case, it's better than what you have now, and better is (at the risk of sounding redundant) better.

Food Banks - Food banks often receive clothing donations especially for kids, but for adults as well. If you're registered at a food bank ask the desk person what is available. You might be surprised at the selection they have. Since their primary mission is distributing food, they may be more than happy to let you take as many of those pesky clothing donation off their hands as you can carry. If you aren't registered at a food bank, why not? Food banks are often resource centers for many essential goods and services for the homeless. If you're able bodied, volunteer! That lands you in the middle of a group of people who are trying to help people like us, and that is called networking. If you do a good job, show up on time, dress decently, the chances are fair to good that you will find yourself getting offers for paying jobs or temporary housing. It will also keep you connected to people who have higher aspirations than finding their next meal, next hit, or next "come up". 

Now for the HIGH RISK options:

Thrift Store Dumpsters - We are fortunate that we live in a relatively wealthy and very wasteful country.  Consumers at all levels above us discard their "old" clothing at the change of the season (or at the very most the calendar year) to buy the latest fashions. Simply put, the pickings are better for us at the bottom of the socioeconomic ladder.  Millions of tons of our worn clothing is sold on the rag market to China, India, and other nations where the clothing is either recycled or sold as is, yet millions of more tons end up in dumpsters in our local thrift store. The waste is mind boggling to me, yet there it is, a pair of Carhartt's men's sandstone overall with a quilt lining in my size sitting in a dumpster. Here's an important clue, if you want to use this resource DO NOT LEAVE A MESS after a round the dumpster diving.


Donation Bins - You have seen them, many of you have slept in them, and taking clothing from them can catch you a theft charge. Sure you get first pick of all the choicest "old" clothing, but odds are eventually you will be trading whatever you're wearing for a standard jail issue uniform in blue (if your lucky), orange, red, or yellow (usually). I know a few people who could make a living "diggiling" the donation bins, but instead they make a amazing mess with the amazing clothing and other items they scored... And once in while they get to spend a some time in the county hotel for their efforts. It's a Risk vs. Reward calculation that you have to do the math on yourself. However; If it came down to me freezing to death or sleeping in the donation bin, that's when you would find me piling into the bin head first and asking you to move over.     

Still more gear to go in the next post, so stay tuned in to Homeless University.

Until then, I love you all very much and so does our awesome God. 

If you must be homeless... be homeless well.

Homeless Gear (Part 1)

Let’s get our gear on…

As a general rule never carry more than you can comfortably pack for 10 miles. There are two exceptions to this rule...

·         Moving. your camp

·         Emergency situations

Your gear should be of good quality, nothing trendy, because trendy is usually overpriced garbage with a name or logo on it.

 Remember ADDUP

   Affordability

   Dependability

   Durability

   Utility

   Portability

 Now, let's roll out our gear...

1. Backpack

The keys here are comfort and utility.  I use a Deuter 60+10, this is an expensive pack and is not suitable for most homeless budgets. However; if you come across one you will find its versatility unequaled. Your backpack is your single most important tool, because it will be the holder of most of your other important tools.

2. Flashlight

You're flashlight is your second most important piece of equipment. Never lose, loan, or abuse your flashlight. I prefer a Mini-Maglite. It's small, but not too small. Uses AA batteries, which are common and inexpensive.

3. Sleeping Bag

A military down mummy bag is the best for durability, comfort, and portability. If you can't come across one of these beauties, use two cheapo sleeping bags and place one inside the other.

4. Multi-tool

The Leatherman Super Tool is ideal but pricey at around $75.00. Gerber makes a model called Suspension which is affordably priced around $35.00 and very high quality. There are a lot of cheap multi-tool knock-offs available, but most are of remarkably poor quality. Use what you have, but trade up to something you can depend on at your first opportunity.

5. Tarps/Plastic Sheeting

Properly utilized these items are life savers. Tarps/Plastic Sheeting can become a tent, ground cover, wind break, and water catch. Plastic sheeting in 6 Mil (.006 Inch) thickness can be obtained from construction site dumpsters and is very durable material. Anything thinner will not hold up well under homeless conditions. I will discuss shelter design and how to build a water catch in a later post.

6. Android Phone

This is your alarm clock, scheduler, internet connection, camera, notepad, entertainment center, GPS, and believe it or not it can even function as a phone. Weird, right? Cheap models like the Android Optimus Logic cost around $40.00 and available at your local grocery market, convenience store, or electronics store.  Keep it in a zip lock baggie to protect it from the elements. However; if your phone comes in contact with moisture, DO NOT TURN IT ON!  If it was on, RIP THE BATTERY, MICRO-SD, AND SIM CARDS OUT IMMEADIATLY! Dry off any remaining moisture from the phone, cards, and battery with a paper towel or a restroom hand drier. Then place the phone, cards, and battery in a zip lock baggie and fill the baggie with uncooked rice. The rice will absorb the remaining moisture. Leave all parts in the baggie with the uncooked rice for 24 hours. If you do not wait the full 24 hours because you're too impatient to wait to check if it still works, you will fry your motherboard and it definitely will not work.  Follow these simple directions and your chances are fair to good that you can resurrect your phone. Obviously, the best option is to protect your phone from getting wet in the first place.

Why don't I recommend the free phones from DSHS with the 250 free minutes/ 250 free text messages per month? Well, because they are garbage. Straight up, unabashed garbino! Rather than providing you all the wonderful utility a $40 Android will provide, the "Obama phone" will provide you with endless hours of frustration from failure to charge, power up, or make a call.   

We'll cover more gear in the next post. Until then, I love you all very much and so does our awesome God. 

If you must be homeless... be homeless well.