I was homeless (living in a bus) with my girlfriend in San Francisco two years ago for 6 months and finding showers and shaving was one of the more difficult of necessities. There was a homeless facility in our neighbourhood (the Mission) that offered showers on Tuesdays and Thursdays, I usually went once a week. There was also girls only facility that my girlfriend used on Wednesday. Theoretically We could have taken the muni to other parts of the city for showers on other days, but the time and effort is usually not worth it (there is usually some 1-2 hours of waiting list involved). Other times we went to San Francisco State University for a shower. Although it's far away, the facilities are so comfy and sufficient compared to the homeless facilities that it is worth the trip, especially for shaving.
Toilets were less of a problem, we used cafés, public parks, constructions porter potties (non-padlocked), and grocery stores. And laundry was no problem at all (we just used the coin-ups).
I definitely agree with greater variability of sanitation possibilities. Especially when it comes to showers.
Thank you for sharing. Would you be willing to share more of your story: how did you become homeless in SF, and how did you eventually change the situation? Are you in the tech industry?
In my (probably limited) view, SF homeless are primarily the folks around Tenderloin that seem unfortunately abandoned by the society.
As I'm sure many of us would like to help the overall situation (even if it's by donating to the right groups), it would be eye-opening to hear more of a first-person account from someone actually on HN.
Well, I was immigrating to USA from Iceland to live with my girlfriend who was studying at SF-State. She had only a room that she was renting, and her landlord didn't want an extra person staying there. We decided to by a VW van simply to avoid paying rent. It was a really good decision. We didn't have much money, but had enough to live comfortably. In fact it is really easy to live in San Francisco without spending any money. I cooked for food not bombs, we dumpster-dove at Rainbows, got more fruit and veggies at The free farmstand, and went out to dinner every Tuesday at Curry without Worry (I recommend it for everybody). I even acquired my tech skills at Noisebridge.
We had a kitchen in our bus, so we cooked most of our food. We even made homemade jam and tried to make granola in our van. We had a french press, on sometimes invited friends and our neighbours over for coffee. We even had internet most of the time (donated by friendly neighbours at the pipe organ factory).
We had planned for me to successfully immigrate (that is legally, we got married and all) but the bureaucracy and the money and uncertainty it would have taken was overwhelming (marriage is not enough if you don't have money). So we just decided for me to stay there illegally while she finished her school.
We moved to Reykjavík before I had overstayed for too long (6 months have no severe consequences for a white boy like me), where I work at a small startup as a web-developer and designer. It was really wonderful times. In fact the freedom of owning your own place (that is our car) was awesome. Of course there were difficult moments, not being able to shower frequently was one of them. But all in all the experience was good.
As for whom to help if you care about the homeless. In my view just general good manners are always the first thing that I thing of. Not to call the police on people would be a good start. Oh yes, and if you have a business that throws away food don't lock the dumpstes. Organizations like Food not Bombs, and Homes not Jails are really helpful. Of course my experience is radically different from people that become homeless out of desperation, and in fact their experience is radically different from people that become homeless out of drug addiction or mental health problems (which is also a really varied group).
Fascinating story. The one "homeless" person I know firsthand is also doing it by choice. He's employed, and simply chooses to be homeless because it's not a very difficult life for him. Meals at the community kitchen or the restaurant where he works as a cook, showers at friends homes, or the local university student rec center, sleep with friends, in the park, or at one of the many university buildings that are unlocked 24x7.
GHC is a non-profit in Greensboro, NC that my stepmother founded 25 years ago. They dedicate their lives to the idea that everyone deserves safe housing, regardless of their income level.
They are able to commit over 85% of their their funding to their mission, which is absolutely amazing and only possible because of the tremendous and often thankless efforts put forth by the entire staff. You will not be wasting your money.
In my (probably limited) view, SF homeless are primarily
the folks around Tenderloin that seem unfortunately
abandoned by the society.
Couldn't be more wrong IMHO.
I lived in the tenderloin for a year, most if not all are by choice. I had also the opportunity to talk with few (the friendly and not too crazy one) and they wouldn't take back a "normal" life.
I'm not saying that for ALL is the same, but from my experience I can say that probably 60% are drugs/alcohol addicts 8% do that by choice, 30% totally crazy (most seems from abuse of durgs), 2% left back.
Anyone who is left to openly suffer under an addiction, mental [or otherwise] illness, or who is left to believe that being homeless is somehow a better life than they might have otherwise, is being abandoned by society.
Addiction is not a choice. Mental illness is not a choice. And having your soul crushed to the point where you find it less humiliating to remain homeless, is not a choice.
In my experience, the only people who truly choose to be homeless are people who have advantages that they give away due to some ideal that they think they'll achieve by living a humbler life. These people might not have a home, but they also aren't disadvantaged the way other homeless are. Making this distinction is important, as it cuts to the heart of real homelessness: an inability to help oneself. And that's why society is supposed to help.
I have a friend with a lot of homeless experience in a ~55k person city in NJ. He told me there are some people who feel a social bond, the homeless have de facto leaders and people with social capital within the population. My friend said one of the people told him he would never go back because he felt like it was going from a place where he mattered to a complete nobody.
Toilets were less of a problem, we used cafés, public parks, constructions porter potties (non-padlocked), and grocery stores. And laundry was no problem at all (we just used the coin-ups).
I definitely agree with greater variability of sanitation possibilities. Especially when it comes to showers.