We start from the bottom. Remember that we have nothing but the clothes on our backs. Literally.
We've been there. Literally.
In the immediate term, finding a source of food and water trumps everything.
For the homeless who haven't fallen this far please note: this information is still important to you for two reasons. You could fall further into destitution. And, don't forget, the accumulation of assets in our Homeless Portfolios is a dynamic process. Assets build upon each other, and lay out a practical path for us to once again become whole.
Lets hope we don't regain consciousness somewhere out in the woods. At that point all we can do is flag down a passing car and catch a ride to the nearest town. We need to find water. A government building, a library or a mall are great places to look.
In many states you can walk into any fast food joint, ask for a glass of water, and get one. That's especially common in hot weather states.
Hopefully we've landed in a city of at least 50,000 people, which should have resources for the homeless. If we find ourselves in a small city it probably won't have a soup kitchen. What do we do now?
We start by hitting up the churches. Even the smallest town has a church. Many churches collect food and clothing for the poor, and we could use clean clothes. More on that later. The pastor of any church could hardly refuse at least a meal and water for a destitute man or woman. They may even allow us to stay the night.
Remember that it's important for us to get to a city of at least 50,000 people. At that point we can open our Homeless Portfolios and find those ongoing sources of food and water.
Soup kitchens feed the homeless and the hyper-impoverished 1-3 meals a day, usually every day. Ask someone on the street how to find the local soup kitchen. Once we find it we've got a source of food, the first asset in our Homeless Portfolios.
If there's no soup kitchen in town, try hanging out behind grocery stores in the wee hours of the morning. Supermarkets throw out perfectly good pastries and such every morning. If it's securely wrapped, we eat it.
Churches can be ongoing sources of food, as can government and non-profit agencies. We can also get a line on food sources from police or fire departments.
Soup kitchens are the best place to network with other homeless people. They know the other meal sources in town, usually at churches and community halls. Government and non-profit agencies can also let us know where to find steady food.
In addition to the water sources listed above we can always drink out of a front yard garden hose, if we're that desperate. Finding a water source that is always available is critical. Try to find a jug to fill and carry with you. We've now added the second asset to our Homeless Portfolios.
You may have noticed that we haven't yet discussed panhandling. We'll do so next week. Suffice to say that we shouldn't panhandle unless our survival is on the line. Panhandling is illegal in most places. It is an absolute last-ditch process, and it can trap us in a cycle of dependence. We can't let anything or anyone stall our accumulation of assets.
We realize that sources of food and water don't sound much like assets, but they're obviously necessary for life. Until we secure these assets in our Homeless Portfolios we can't take the next step up. It involves finding places to sleep, and places to be during the day.
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