Could you cope being homeless?.

As long as I had my Iphone charger and free WiFi I think I'd do alright.

I think the most difficult factor of being homeless would be your mental state. Most people, I'd imagine, who end up on the street are either there due to a mental condition or develop a mental condition as a result of the factors of ending up on the street (e.g. depression after losing their home).

With a solid routine to keep you occupied during your days you should be able to remain mentally healthy (e.g. showering/shaving in an airport or camping resort, reading or surfing the web in the library etc.).

After that food would obviously be a problem but dumpster diving at shopping centers could produce enough sustainable food and clothing, as well as eating in homeless shelters.

Then safety is obviously a consideration, finding somewhere warm and relatively safe to sleep at night. Don't know where you could do this apart from a homeless shelter, maybe an airport.

I think if I had to I could survive, particularly if I had some possessions (e.g. laptop) and somewhere safe to keep them (e.g. locker in an airport or train station).

kfallon wrote: »

How many homeless people have you seen with a laptop

I've seen a homeless guy with an iPhone a few times (no joke, he hangs around Fitzpatrick st. in Limerick). Realistically if I was going to end up on the street presumably I wouldn't loose everything, I could keep whatever I could carry.

Btw let me guess, when you were younger you wanted to be a pilot cos you seem to have a fascination with airports :pac:

Airports provide a lot of free facilities for travelers that could be useful to homeless people.

I've only had a small taste of it, long long time ago. If one could hook up with a group, I think it is a bit more bearable. The first night was the loneliness and how I felt like I was living on the outside of society, I was pretty young though. Also I've had a family member do it too, but under quite different circumstances.

And I've come across quite a few homeless people who still hold onto most of their morales and some that are quite nasty (of course). This phenomena is explained quite well in Viktor Frankl's Man's Search for Meaning, just because one is put in extraordinary circumstances doesn't mean that we will all act the same for survival. The thing is you can never know I guess until you are in the situation.

The most touching story was a homeless guy came up and asked me for change, I explained how I didn't even have any to put in the meter for my car, he then gave me some change. I'll never forget that. Also I used to live in an area where some of the guys would help out doing little things for people just to get some change, I used to give them some warm food. They were always courteous, never had a problem, although I was aware enough to ensure my safety always came first.

But I always find it amazing how we adapt to situations though when we don't have a choice. I'd say most would find a way, no doubt it would be hard.

watna wrote: »

I read a book recently about homeless people and in it they said most of us are just two missed paycheques away from being homeless.

Would that have been in America though? I don't think people are as likely to end up homeless in Ireland. Most people have family that can take them in and even if they live on the other side of the country it's not a big deal. Unlike in America where if your family lives on the other side of the country you may never see them again.

Get into a life of crime. Could be profitable.

what is homeless, what are the requirements which would have you labeled as homeless,

what if the person was on the dole.