My Humble Abode

Since shelters don't work you better learn to fend for yourself if you're going to survive the streets. It isn't easy. I do have a few tips but some of these may work in your area but some won't.

One cold, rainy, night in California I was searching for a place to sleep. I had to get out of the wind and rain. I broke one of my first rules about urban camping, never sleep in a business park.

That night I was desperate so I found some office buildings. I was hoping to just find a bench in a covered area but what I found instead was like hitting the jackpot. I was walking through a courtyard and spotted a hallway that I thought I could sleep in. I walked down the hallway and found another hallway that lead to some bathrooms. The bathrooms were locked of course but that didn't matter. The entire hallway was enclosed so it blocked any rain or wind. Later I also found working outlets in there as well and any homeless person knows finding a working outlet outdoors is like finding a goldmine.

My Sleeping Spot

As you can see in the above picture the hallway also had a light. The light was always turned off. I only turned it on so I could get a decent picture. I rarely ever used that light because i didn't want to give myself away. This place was a rare find. It was in a very safe area but the buildings around me were vacant because of the recession.

What was ironic was I slept within 100 feet of another building that was the office of Scott Boras. For those of you that don't know who the man is, he is probably the most powerful sports agent on the planet. He was signing mutli-million dollar deals with players as I slept 100 feet away! There would be nights when I arrived at my hideaway to find dozens of luxury cars in the parking lot. I had to sneak in without being seen. The next day I would read about the latest baseball player that he helped sign.

Most nights if I arrived at my spot by 10 everyone was gone for the night. It was rare that people were around. I had to be up and out of the area by 6am at the latest to avoid being detected. One morning I got lazy and slept in until 7 and I woke up to someone walking right by me, like they nearly tripped over my head! I have no idea if they saw me but I was scared to go back for a few nights. The amazing thing is there was little or no security. I never once got caught by the police and I probably slept there for nearly a year off and on. Sometimes I think people did know but they probably left me alone because I didn't leave a mess and always left really early.

The only trouble I really ever had in the spot was I put my sleeping bag in a bush near the offices one night and someone either stole it or threw it away. I also had a real issue one morning where I woke up with bad stomach problems. I knew I wouldn't make it to the nearest bathroom that was about two blocks away. Nature was calling so I had to do what I had to do, I sat in a planter and did my business. I had an old bus schedule so I tore out the pages for TP. It was a disaster. I was really scared that would also give me away. I wanted to come back and try to clean it up as best as I could but when I came back the next night it appeared a gardener had taken care of it. Poor guy.

I don't recommend camping out in business parks. Usually there's security. It worked out for me but it may not work out for you. Sometimes you find spots in the most unusual places that nobody else would think of. That's what happened to me. I got lucky.

When you are homeless you have to keep your eyes peeled at all times for that perfect sleeping spot. I call it scouting. During the day you should be doing this. At night you should hang out and see if there's a lot of traffic and whatnot. Scout it out for a few nights. Even if you have a spot now it's always good to have a couple of backup spots. I recommend at to have at least three go-to sleeping spots you can count on in your local area.

Where's my current spot? I can't share that with you otherwise I would give it away. At least you know a great spot to sleep if you're ever down and out in Orange County, CA.