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My Story as a Homeless Developer

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Re: My Story as a Homeless Developer

#31

Post by DoreenMichele »

jessehorne wrote: post #27
DoreenMichele wrote: post #5

Looks like this was written today. He's apparently still homeless and he closes with a request for feedback. So I'm just going to leave these links here (disclosure: they are my sites): https://www.pocketputer.com/ https://streetlifesolutions.blogspot.com/ (Same look, but different site) https://sandiegohomelesssurvivalguide.blogspot.com/ This is listed on the Links page of PocketPuter.com, but I'm going to put it he…

Thank you so much for this response. All of those blogs look super interesting and I'm looking through the spreadsheet now. I wanted to write similar material a while back. I still do. I likely will end up doing that and will get in touch when I do, if that's okay!

Yes, it's fine to get in touch.

Re: My Story as a Homeless Developer

#32

Post by fipple »

jondubois wrote: post #4

I was 'homeless' for a few months (in the sense that I didn't have a home) but for most of that time I had a high enough income that I could afford to stay in AirBnBs. It was a scary experience. At one point I had lost my job, I was about $6000 in debt, in a foreign country, with a 'dependent' spouse (also without job) and I only had about $1000 left on my credit card. When I hear entrepreneurs talk about how much th…

No house and staying in Airbnb’s isn’t “homeless.”

Re: My Story as a Homeless Developer

#33

Post by holtalanm »

jrockway wrote: post #12
anothergoogler wrote: post #3

> The calls usually go something like this. > Me: “First thing, is I am looking for a remote position just long enough to allow me to save for a vehicle.” > Recruiter: “Sure. spends 20 minutes gathering as much information about me as they can ” > Recruiter: “We’d love to move forward with a position but you do not have a vehicle and the position requires you to have reliable transportation.” Why would do you that? T…

I can't wait until the MTA gets so bad that people tell me, "you take the subway? sorry, we're not interested." But in some sense, having a reliable vehicle is a microcosm of a particular location and mindset. Nobody I know owns a car. We still mostly get to work on time, though.

He's in Iowa. In these midwest states (Nebraska for me), public transportation is very scarce.

Most jobs out here require we own a car, or have some way to reliably get to work. Most of the time that does not involve public transportation in any way.

Re: My Story as a Homeless Developer

#34

Post by DoreenMichele »

scarface74 wrote: post #28
DoreenMichele wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I spent nearly 6 years on the street. Practical solutions for helping me solve my actual problems was the best thing for my head space. I wrote some of it down. Most of that can be found in the above blogs of mine. I'm not at all unfamiliar with mental health issues. This is what I deeply and sincerely believe works. If you disagree, perhaps you could hook him up with a better solution instead of raining on my parade…

Your advice shouldn’t be about “your parade”. It should be about him. He’s had plenty of jobs in development and he admitted that his issues are due to him not being able to handle for instance a dissolved relationship. There will always be strsssors and challenges in life, if he doesn’t have the tools to deal with them,he will stay in that cycle. Give him credit for admitting he has a mental illness. There are too m…

No, it shouldn't be about my parade at all. So why are you making it about my comment? Why aren't you making comments aimed at actually referring him to useful resources instead, which is what my first comment here does?

Re: My Story as a Homeless Developer

#35

Post by jmcgough »

The author kind of glosses over a lot of conflicts with friends, family, employers, and briefly mentions mental health problems. It sounds like that could be contributing a lot to his struggles.

I burned out of my first job because of poor mental health, which I didn't prioritize because work was all-consuming and being sick makes it hard to seek out help. I took a few months off before interviewing, and realized that I needed to get a job and really fight to break the cycle I'd been trapped in.

I don't have any great suggestions for the author getting back on his feet, but once he does he should prioritize building a 6-month safety net and working through whatever he's struggling with. Yoga, running and medication all helped me.

Re: My Story as a Homeless Developer

#36

Post by 2kool4skool »

freddy418_sc wrote: post #21

This article makes no sense to me. It feels like there is something wrong with this dude and he still hasn't figured out what yet. I guess this article is for soliciting pity. But his real story seems extremely juicy. He should write about the details there. All of the interesting decisions and events that got him to where he is was glossed over in this article. "My interest in computers and programming was more like…

I am also a homeless dev and when I was in hs I only programmed and could not do school work.

Re: My Story as a Homeless Developer

#37

Post by shams93 »

One thing that could help is using youth hostels, when I lost my apartment I was able to find a $25 a day youth hostel where I stayed for 3 weeks but I was able to hold on to my office job without anyone finding out I no longer had my own place.

Re: My Story as a Homeless Developer

#38

Post by varjag »

agumonkey wrote: post #23
sulam wrote: post #17

Earlier quoted context omitted.

There is no such thing as a near zero crime rate for homeless people. Also, just being warm is not sufficient. Homeless people need so much more than that, it's daunting. A short starter list: * food & water * access to shower * laundry * medical care * dental care * education * legal advice / support * the list goes on... (disclosure: 16 years of on-again, off-again homelessness as a child and a 6 month period of tr…

One week I measured how much water I needed to clean myself top to bottom: two glasses. I eat low and don't feel hungry (although I don't suffer cold which drains energy fast) I agree that it can be daunting but I think it's not the quantity it's the regularity of supplies.

Two glasses of water is perhaps barely enough to wash my (fairly unimpressive) hair with shampoo, and the hand better be steady. Is there some special technique?

Re: My Story as a Homeless Developer

#39

Post by Avshalom »

eric_b wrote: post #24

As the author discovered, reliable transportation and a permanent residence are often prerequisites for many office jobs. However, I do know that in Iowa there are many other kinds of jobs, lots of which would pay a wage sufficient to get back on one's feet, and have more lenient requirements. Perhaps the author needs to get any job vs. a programming job? Establishing a place to live, getting consistent income, and t…

What do you mean by many jobs. Outside of standing outside of home depot I don't know many jobs that don't require a permanent address and a phone number and an email. Entry level employment is like 99% massive corporations that make no allowances for the realities of hard lives.

Re: My Story as a Homeless Developer

#40

Post by DoreenMichele »

sulam wrote: post #17
agumonkey wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

do you live in a cold climate ? I wonder if it would be just ok in a warm place with near zero crime rate.

There is no such thing as a near zero crime rate for homeless people. Also, just being warm is not sufficient. Homeless people need so much more than that, it's daunting. A short starter list: * food & water * access to shower * laundry * medical care * dental care * education * legal advice / support * the list goes on... (disclosure: 16 years of on-again, off-again homelessness as a child and a 6 month period of tr…

There is no such thing as a near zero crime rate for homeless people.

Some things that increase safety on the street:

Don't take any disrespect off of anyone. Push back or walk away at the first insult. Otherwise, it escalates.

Try to stay clean and look middle class. Short hair and cleanliness can get you mistaken for a tourist. It helps.

Camping in a wooded area is a good thing. Don't sleep too close to housing. They will call the cops.

Try to not be a trouble-maker yourself. The cops are much less likely to hassle you if you are merely dirt poor and sleeping outside somewhere.

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