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  • No one becomes homeless if there's a better option.

  • Hi guys, I'm Stevie and I was a homeless teen.

  • I'm a little ashamed that I've never talked about this before

  • and I want to change that.

  • I was homeless on and off from about age 16 to about age 22.

  • I'm going to give you advice on how to survive homelessness

  • but, just a disclaimer. That's not gonna...

  • My advice is not gonna work for everyone.

  • I'm white and I was able-bodied as fuck as a teen and pretty neurotypical

  • and I lived in a small town in the US.

  • But this video is directed at past Stevie, teen Stevie.

  • I just want to tell her some stuff that maybe would have helped her if she had heard it.

  • And if it helps you too - great.

  • First of all fuck all this positive thinking bullshit and fuck feeling sorry for yourself.

  • You can't afford to and you definitely can't manifest yourself out of this shitty of a situation.

  • You have to learn how to fight.

  • If at all possible, stay in school.

  • You are safe there because they will protect you.

  • You can get food at school. You can get showers at school.

  • You can prepare for the future by getting a degree.

  • If you have the option to emancipate yourself, please do it.

  • Emancipation is something a court gives you to declare legal independence from your family.

  • It's kind of difficult to do depending on your circumstances, and it costs money, so I couldn't but I wish I would have.

  • Holy shit.

  • If you can't emancipate yourself, immunization records,

  • educational guardianship and proof of residence are all things you're gonna need to be able to go to school

  • and they can all be faked.

  • Google that shit and print that shit out and sign it.

  • The worst that can happen is they find out that you faked the signature

  • and then they won't let you to go to school which would have happened anyway if you didn't have the papers.

  • This should be fucking illegal but

  • I was kicked out of a school for not having the right paperwork and not being able to produce papers to them

  • So, I moved to a new town and faked the papers.

  • Also, if you do not emancipate yourself, and you live in the U.S.

  • you can not qualify for financial aid for college unless you turn 26, have a baby or get married.

  • Or unless your biological parents give you their tax...their like IRS tax information and sign off on it.

  • *Finger guns*

  • So, if you have shitty parents, good luck.

  • Fuck, I wish someone would have told me that if you cannot go to school, please find a hobby.

  • Mine was people watching and practicing lying to strangers.

  • This might help keep you out of trouble with drug dealers.

  • Lots of hobbies are free. Find yours.

  • I never begged for food or money for food.

  • I would just walk into a grocery store, pretend like I was shopping, eat the food and then leave.

  • I was also on Government-funded free lunches and breakfasts while I was at school

  • so on school days, I was fed.

  • When I was 20, I went to a lot of soup kitchens and churches that provide food

  • Oh! Also, ask your friends to bring you granola bars and stuff from their parents' kitchen

  • because then you can keep it in your backpack.

  • *heavy sigh*

  • Finding somewhere to sleep.

  • These are the questions that I recommend you ask yourself.

  • Is it dry? Is there a clean water source nearby? Do you have at least two visible escape routes?

  • Is it hidden but close enough to people so that if you do scream someone can hear you?

  • Do you have something there that looks innocent but could be used as a weapon?

  • Even if your answers to all of those questions aren't yes for your desired sleeping spot

  • just be aware that some of the answers aren't yes.

  • Sometimes I would stay at friends' houses until their parents found out that I was homeless

  • and then not let me be friends with them anymore

  • Thanks mom and dads. They would usually call the cops.

  • I slept in an old abandoned barn. I slept in abandoned houses.

  • I slept in my gym locker room at school. I even once lived in a Mardi Gras float

  • that was being stored in an empty field because it wasn't parade season.

  • Little Stevie, listen to me. If you finally find somewhere safe to stay

  • and the person that gave it to you expects sex

  • you do not have to give it to them.

  • You do not owe it to them.

  • But if you do have survival sex you are not a bad person.

  • That person is taking advantage of you, not the other way around.

  • If you get caught sleeping somewhere you shouldn't be, lie.

  • Tell them you're meditating. Laws against sleeping in public are designed to

  • arrest the homeless not to prosecute them, so just tell them you were just leaving blahblah

  • Sorry, you didn't know this was private property, whatever.

  • Maybe look into youth shelters.

  • Adult shelters will not accept kids, but maybe you could try using a fake ID.

  • But youth shelters are sometimes worse than jails and they're not very safe.

  • That might not be true where you are so check the links in the description.

  • Oh my god, I'm putting so many resources in the description

  • but figure out your options, use Google.

  • Call counselors or therapists or City Council people.

  • Just call them anonymously and ask for resources. Use your skills and access information.

  • Stay away from drugs and drug users and drug dealers if you can.

  • This can be really difficult.

  • Definitely don't use drugs, smoke cigarettes, drink alcohol.

  • Not only are these bad for your health and lead to addictions. I'm sure everyone has told you.

  • But, they one, cloud your judgment and two, they're expensive.

  • You need to be sober and have a quick mind and healthy body to be able to survive.

  • Find something you enjoy.

  • Learn to play an instrument. Make a friend that works at a museum.

  • Find a specific place, maybe a park, to go to when you do feel tempted to do things you know you shouldn't be doing,

  • that might not be particulary safe.

  • Staying away from drugs is the thing that saved my life.

  • Try not to commit any crimes. This will probably be impossible, so see it more as a guideline.

  • You are not a bad person if you have to break the law to survive.

  • But a potential employer might not see it that way

  • if 20 years from now they're checking your record

  • and they don't hire you because you had to steal bread to eat.

  • Here's what they don't tell you.

  • If you are under 18 and you commit a crime, your record is confidentially sealed.

  • In some states, certain jobs will allow employers to uncover juvenile records but

  • I've never had my juvenile record uncovered, and I've had like a full-on FBI background check, and I had a long-ass rap sheet

  • including being arrested for a felony, but becoming a criminal could be a surefire way to ruin your life.

  • Stay away from it if you can. You cannot afford to be idealistic.

  • You will be stolen from. You will be taken advantage of.

  • Accept it.

  • Make peace with this horrible truth and then try to limit the situations that it might happen in.

  • Be very submissive with police and lie to them.

  • I don't even have... I don't even know how to give advice about this but

  • You'll probably run into police a lot. Befriend one of them.

  • My cop friend's name was Stretch and he was seven feet tall and so sweet.

  • But when cops would try to arrest me, I would just tell them to call Stretch.

  • I just be like he's my friend, or he's my uncle. He's my uncle Stretch.

  • I don't even... They would almost always let me go and they never called him.

  • Lying is a survival skill but it's so different for everyone.

  • I don't even know how to teach you how to but I do have one tip.

  • If you need to go into a building you're not supposed to be in, pretend you're on the phone.

  • Even say something embarrassing. People will not know what to say or how to interrupt your phone call

  • so they'll just let you go, they'll just let you walk by.

  • Try to learn when to lie and when to tell the truth.

  • Some people will want to help you and about half of those can and about half of those will.

  • When you apply for a job, you have to try to not look homeless.

  • What does homeless look like? Well.

  • This is a whole other video.

  • Luckily teenagers carrying backpacks is totally normal but you need an address to get a job.

  • Do not get a P.O. box. Get a mailbox at like UPS or a kind of place...

  • I forget what the one I got was. It looks like it could be an address.

  • Instead of saying box number you can just say number and then it'll just look like an apartment.

  • If you are under 18, when you do have a home, even if you're over 18, don't get too comfortable.

  • But especially if you're under 18, since you can't sign a lease people can kick you off for any reason.

  • If you are a homeless teen, I really hope this video helps you.

  • I'm sorry. Even though I've never met you, I care. And I've been through this and survived.

  • It was the worst time in my life and things only got better from there.

  • I hope that helps you feel less alone.

No one becomes homeless if there's a better option.

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