Happy holidays, everyone!
In my current project my MC is a homeless boy (no set age but like 19/early 20s I guess), and much of the story centers around that.
I was homeless for about a month (in California) but I was quite young, and all I really remember is we were in a shelter and my dad and older brother (who was 17) had to be separated from me, my little brother, and my mom, so I guess the shelter was separated by gender unless you were a mom, then you could have your kids with you in this special section? Am I just making things up or is this sort of how it works at some shelters? I can't really speak to any of my family members about that kind of thing so that's why I'm here. If anybody has experience in a shelter or just knows more stuff about it, that would be really helpful to hear, too.
Apart from life in a shelter, I've done a lot of research but there are some more specific questions I have: what are the "best" places to sleep/go during the day? In my city, there is this bridge that halfway overlooks a street and the other half leads down to the levy. There's a spacious area underneath the bridge that unless you've accidentally fallen through the entrance which is pretty hidden, you probably don't know about. It's dirty but pretty spacious and I, 5'2 on a good day, can stand up/walk around in it. An ex boyfriend and I even put blankets down and left them there once and made it like our place, and the blankets/our stuff were never stolen or anything. Would this be a realistic place to sleep if you weren't in a shelter (my MC doesn't get himself to a shelter until around halfway through)? Obviously the weather would make it less desirable being outside and everything, but if worse came to worst.
Also, how difficult is it to get a job while homeless? I'm very young right now and the only job I've ever had my mom did most of the work for me, so I don't even know if most applications require a home address or telephone number or whatever. What are some other ways you can go about getting money? Odd jobs I guess, and do people ever just go door to door asking if people need any work done? I know a girl who did that in 9th grade to raise money for a trip she couldn't afford and ended up finding some work, but I feel like a lot of people would be assholes about it which would make my MC not want to risk it.
Last, how do people generally treat the homeless? I haven't been exposed to many people who don't show a lot of empathy and kindness because I guess I just choose the right friends to have and got lucky with my family, but obviously I know it's out there.
Thank you so much. Anything else anyone has to say is also greatly appreciated.
In my current project my MC is a homeless boy (no set age but like 19/early 20s I guess), and much of the story centers around that.
I was homeless for about a month (in California) but I was quite young, and all I really remember is we were in a shelter and my dad and older brother (who was 17) had to be separated from me, my little brother, and my mom, so I guess the shelter was separated by gender unless you were a mom, then you could have your kids with you in this special section? Am I just making things up or is this sort of how it works at some shelters? I can't really speak to any of my family members about that kind of thing so that's why I'm here. If anybody has experience in a shelter or just knows more stuff about it, that would be really helpful to hear, too.
Apart from life in a shelter, I've done a lot of research but there are some more specific questions I have: what are the "best" places to sleep/go during the day? In my city, there is this bridge that halfway overlooks a street and the other half leads down to the levy. There's a spacious area underneath the bridge that unless you've accidentally fallen through the entrance which is pretty hidden, you probably don't know about. It's dirty but pretty spacious and I, 5'2 on a good day, can stand up/walk around in it. An ex boyfriend and I even put blankets down and left them there once and made it like our place, and the blankets/our stuff were never stolen or anything. Would this be a realistic place to sleep if you weren't in a shelter (my MC doesn't get himself to a shelter until around halfway through)? Obviously the weather would make it less desirable being outside and everything, but if worse came to worst.
Also, how difficult is it to get a job while homeless? I'm very young right now and the only job I've ever had my mom did most of the work for me, so I don't even know if most applications require a home address or telephone number or whatever. What are some other ways you can go about getting money? Odd jobs I guess, and do people ever just go door to door asking if people need any work done? I know a girl who did that in 9th grade to raise money for a trip she couldn't afford and ended up finding some work, but I feel like a lot of people would be assholes about it which would make my MC not want to risk it.
Last, how do people generally treat the homeless? I haven't been exposed to many people who don't show a lot of empathy and kindness because I guess I just choose the right friends to have and got lucky with my family, but obviously I know it's out there.
Thank you so much. Anything else anyone has to say is also greatly appreciated.
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