What survival tricks do the destitute and near-destitute know that the rest of us don't?

I think the greatest skill you would need to have is to be able to humble yourself enough to ask for help or money, one that I now lack but wonder if it would kick in in such a dire situation.

I’m not sure of this matches your criteria:

Years ago, I mentioned to a co-worker that my mother has been on the waiting list for a Section 8 apartment for years. She told me that her family had been on the waitlist too, but only for a few months. One day, they packed up their things, abandoned their apartment and went to a homeless shelter. They only had to stay there a short while (I don’t remember exactly, but I think it was somewhere between a few days and two weeks); because they were in a shelter, the NYCHA pushed their application to the top of the list and got them a Section 8 apartment very quickly. They weren’t destitute necessarily, but they were low-income and they found a way to manipulate the system to their advantage.

When I used to work at McDonald’s, I remember one of the managers paying some homeless guys with food to pick up litter in the parking lot.

And of course, there’s also dumpster diving…

In Oregon they will give you a 161 dollars of food stamps per month if you tell them you are homeless and unemployed. No questions asked. It takes 30 minutes.

It isn’t much but it goes a long way.

Grazing. Slowly loading a shopping trolley in a large supermarket and nibbling as you go. Abandoning the trolley when you have had enough to eat. Hiding inside heated buildings before they lock up for the night and both sleeping warm and scavenging from the kitchen/canteen. Going through Real Estate Agent’s “For Rent” notices and locating the homes/apartments and squatting. Lots of homeless climb into Charity Clothing bibs to sleep warm in winter. I have seen them climbing out in the early mornings. Scavenging through the rubbish skips behind supermarkets looking for expired or damaged food items that have been discarded.

In the city dumpster diving is crucial. Knowing what the
times and places that
throw out what and when.
Knowing what part of town Food Not Bombs will be
giving away hot meals or Meals On Wheels or FISH Services.
Knowing where to collect dry cardboard and waiting early in the morning to grab and stash newspaper dropoffs.
Raiding the Good-Will drop off bins before they open in the morning.
Knowing where you can grab and dash produce before the resturant staff gets there.
Knowing a good hiding spot that is dry, sheilded from wind and not to far away.
Knowing that you can start a fire with Greasy cheap chips even if they are wet.

Not sure if they still do it. My friend worked at KFC and they were told to to give unused food to people waiting in the back. This was a KFC with a all-you-can-eat section.

Knowing what apartment buildings the residents won’t bother evicting you from the hallways.

When you have to arrive at the shelter to stay that night—and sometimes carefully considering if it is worth having shelter to give up the time you’d have panhandling.

My boyfriend’s reletives from the Depression taught him the trick about cutting open your empty toothpaste tube to get at the last of it.

this is terrible, but when I was homeless, to raise cash I’d steal 3 items worth ten dollars or less, and then 3 people would return each item to the store. (ten dollars or less they would give you cash). Also I would take stacks of books from same store, titles that I knew would sell, and we’d go sell them to the local bookstore. We’d sell foodstamps to the little shops we knew would buy them – 50 cents on the dollar. I also would clean up and look like soccer mom, fill my trolley full of grocercies, and then very slowly walk through the aisles of the store like I was shopping, and bag everything with bags I had taken from the auto check-out when I came in.I also carried a huge magnet in my bag, to lift those huge security knobs on clothing. I’d also pull off the sticky security strips as I was walking. Then when I had everything bagged I’d slowly wander out of the store to my friends waiting truck and load up like normal. I know this is terrible and I’d never do it now but that’s how we got by.

If there is a subway or a train that runs all night, it is a good idea in the winter to find enough money for a ticket and nap/ride on the train at night. It will be a lot more tolerable than outside, in most regions.

You can donate plasma, up to $50 a week if you’re healthy and do it three times per week. You should eat more if you do it, though, which is somewhat counterproductive . . .

@johnpowell, could you check your comment?

> My friend worked at KFC and they were told to to give

Should we read that as “told to give” or “told not to give”?

Selling fake dope is a tried and true way to make a buck and possibly get your wig split. You want to sell to someone you don’t know and you get the money and bounce before they get a chance to try the dope. Any white powdery substance, crushed aspirin, baking soda etc can be passed off as cocaine or other various powdered drugs. Epsom salt looks a lot like crystal meth. Candle wax or soap can be cut up and passed off as crack. Cut the corner of a baggie so it looks like a triangle. Put your fake dope in the bag roll and tie the corners up then burn the little knot you tied until its melted together a little. Burning the knot buys you a few minutes to get away with the money before your victim can open the baggie and inspect the contents. You can stand outside rock concerts and sell people drops of water from a dropper or cut up some paper and tell them its lsd. It looks like that anyways and takes an hour to kick in so your usually long gone before they realize this acid isn’t working. Some people will buy anything that looks green. The caked up grass under a lawnmower resembles compressed marijuana some people would be fooled. Nobody try this shit. This is for educational purposes only. If you do your an asshole and it could get you killed.

Hate to clog up this fluther with useless stuff but there’s this thing called “Hobo soup” ( okay I dont really know what’s called) but it’s where you go to a restaurant and order some hot water. Then you take ketchup and pour it in and add salt and pepper. This will give you kind of a “tomato soup”. It tastes okay but it’s better than nothing. It also depends on what type of Ketchup you use because some people but sugar in theirs.

Depends on the surrounding environment. In warm climates finding shelter isn’t as hard. Rural is different than a city as well. Stealing a chicken is easier in the country.

Smokes- people tend to ditch ‘one puffed’ smokes at doorways to hotels, airports and stores. Find a bag, find a lighter and gather gather gather. Oh- entrances to movies and game stores as well. The mall is pretty much worthless. Forget Walmart and big box stores too- they tend to have the recepticles that employees get pissy if you open them- plus they tend to be all burnt and gross.

Beer- Hit a bar on a busy night. Go after one am (or an hour before bar closing) and walk around nabbing leftover beer/booze. Talk to people who are drunk already and they will probably buy you a drink if you tell them what they want to hear.

Money- Used to be you could find used CD’s ect and sell them. Slim pickings really. Offer to do odd jobs for ‘food’. People usually give money instead. Sickening but works- find a drug dealer and hang out with them but don’t do drugs. There’s lots of soda and food to be had.

Food- Find a town with a lot of homeless people as they tend to have more soup kitchens. Find a Catholic church in a downtown area and chances are they’ll have food there for you. Also- condiments! Loads of them. Stuff your pockets full.

Personal care- Libraries are a godsend. Get the handicapped stall and take a towel (paper as it were) bath. Dumpster dive CVS’s, and Walgreens for returns of toothpaste, hairbrushes etc. Most of these have security/locked bins now so try for a locally owned bodega or truck stop gas station.

Like the Hitchikers Guide says- never forget your towel. In living on the edge’s case- it’s a backpack. Thing is, people distrust grown adults who wear backpacks. Find a one strap laptop bag-look alike bag. You’ll just look like a hipster instead of a homeless person.

Find a place to stash your clothes if you have any. Don’t walk around in winter gear in the wrong weather. You’ll never get around security, homeless people staking territory and johns if you look like you’re homeless.

Find a dead pair of earbuds and put them in your ears. Doesn’t matter if they connect to anything- just tuck the tail in your pocket or coat. Most people won’t think you’re homeless or destitute if you have ‘technology’.

Outstanding answers, folks. I am impressed and grateful. Some of them sound like they’re coming from people who really know what they’re talking about. I thank you for all the specific details—much more valuable than any amount of imaginative guesswork.