Why They Come Here and How They Get By

by Jack

Homeless in Chico – How they do it

NOTE: These are various accounts learned from the homeless and put into one article. So when you read, “I spent the night in Bidwell Park” it’s not me, this article is a collage from people that have. Most of the things here are published on the internet in a number of places so I am not revealing any secrets how to get by on the cheap. My purpose in showing you this is to let you know what’s going on in Chico re homeless. What you do with this is up to you. Knowledge is empowering!

Tips for surviving on the street in Chico, California. This is one of the most popular places in Northern California for homeless travelers and for good reasons. The weather is warm, there’s no end of good campsites in and around town and there’s lots of free stuff available. The police chief doesn’t harass homeless like many other towns and besides their police department is understaffed, they don’t have time to worry about petty stuff.

You can camp in Bidwell Park, even though it’s off limits for overnight camping. The trick here is to not get spotted. Use a relatively inexpensive “pop-up “camouflage dome tent. You can find them for almost nothing at a local thrift store, yard sale or for fairly cheap online. A pop-up tent can be set up and taken down extremely fast, with very little effort. The idea is to find a secluded area in the park, put up the tent at sunset and take it down at sunrise. Then there’s no campsite for anyone to find during the day! We call this stealth camping.

There are dozens of homeless camping in Bidwell park every night, but for anyone to see you sleeping at night, they would have to enter the park after dark, leave the path at just the right spot, and see through your camouflage. I have spent many nights in city parks across the country using this method and haven’t been detected. A tent is one of the best possible temporary shelters you can use and gives a sense of security, even if it is mostly psychological. It does need a relatively flat, clear area of ground to be set up, so scout locations before you need them and clear them of debris before nightfall.

An even smaller shelter that fits practically anywhere is the bivy sack- essentially a zippered bag just large enough for your body, made of waterproof, breathable material. Some fold down to the size of a water bottle. A bivy will keep you dry and sheltered but won’t have room for anything else, like changing clothes. Some come with a framework that holds the fabric away from your face for some breathing room.

Satellite images on Google Maps are great for finding dense woods in Chico. You want areas that are more “wild” and overgrown, not those which are obviously mowed and well maintained by the parks.

As an urban nomad, pick your outfit carefully. There is lots of free clothing available at most shelters and thrift stores. It must not only protect you from the elements but carry what you need. Black should be the color of all your items, including bags. Black can go longer between washings without looking dirty and will render you practically invisible at night if you need to go prowling looking for stuff you can sell later.

My all-black outfit consists of:

waterproof hiking shoes
 paratrooper or cargo pants (lots of pockets)
 alternate pair of waterproof pants
 turtleneck
 hoodie sweater
 expedition vest filled with pockets
 waterproof coat with hood
 baseball cap with built-in LEDs (like the Panther Vision power cap, for hands-free lighting at night)

Add to this a week’s worth of clean socks and underwear, as well as duplicate pants and hoodie so you’ll still have something to wear when doing laundry. In cold weather, I add wool socks, thermal insoles, wool turtleneck, wool long underwear, waterproof mitts, and a balaclava.

Huge packs made for backpacking work great. I use a large size army surplus ALICE pack I got for free. Choose a backpack that places the weight on your hips, not your shoulders, as the ALICE does.

During the day you can leave some of your stuff stored or hidden and carry only what you need for the day.
A compression sack may help fit everything in. Used by the army, this is a sack meant to be carried inside your pack. Fill it with compressible items (usually sleeping bag and clothes), then squeeze everything down, usually by sitting on it. At the same time, tighten all the straps around the sack. It will retain its smaller size until opened again.

HYGIENE
Besides clothing, this is the other area that gives homeless people away. Though cities are filled with public bathrooms, it is hard to find one private enough to do anything more than use the toilet and wash your hands. So I recommend carrying a collapsible pail (found at camping stores) and a magnetic mirror (from a school supply store or dollar store). Collapsible pails fold down flat to take up very little space in your pack. Fill one with warm water from the sink and bring it into one of the stalls. Set the pail atop the toilet tank or hang it from something if possible. Stick your magnetic mirror to the stall wall and use the pail as your sink. Now you can shave, brush teeth, and scrub your armpits in relative privacy.

Use restrooms in McDonald’s or shopping centers or on campus at Chico State. In the summer bathe in the creeks where people go swimming. You can wash your laundry there too. When only a hot shower will do try to slip past the front desk at a gym. There are also well appointed locker rooms on CSUC and they are easier to enter. Some people buy a gym membership to work out, rest, and socialize, it only equals one months rent, so it’s a good value on your reduced income. People there never have to know you are homeless unless you tell them.

The travel section of dollar stores is a good place to pick up lightweight hygiene products like mini shampoo, mouthwash and toothpaste. Don’t forget plastic containers for your soap and toothbrush, and pill boxes to carry Aspirin, vitamins, and any medication you need.

There are free clinics in Chico, to find them just go to a thrift store and ask or ask at the Jesus Center. They can also refer you to free medical and dental provided by the county.

The homeless survivalist does not have the option of storing food long-term or buying in bulk. You can only stockpile what you can carry – which amounts to maybe a week’s worth of sustenance at most. Peanut butter is an excellent choice, being easy to carry and eat, high in calories and protein, and needing no refrigeration. Trail mix is another. There’s a lot of energy in nuts and seeds, and most of these mixes now come in re-sealable bags. Think like a backpacker, keeping heavy items like canned goods to a minimum and removing any unnecessary packaging from foods to make them lighter.

INTERNET
Internet access is essential even when homeless. It is how you can learn survival tips, and keep in contact with the wider world. You may even use it to earn money directly, using something like Amazon Mechanical Turk, or to offer your goods and services on EBay or Craigslist (the “gigs” section of Craigslist contains short-term odd jobs that pay cash). Need free power, go to the mall and find an outside wall socket. Many coke machines will be plugged into one and you can use the other.

Use parking lots at shopping centers to solicit donations. In Chico it’s not hard to raise $50 in a few hours up to $200 for a full day, if you do it right. I know a woman who makes $500 a week doing this.

Free internet. There are more and more places to use the Internet for free, especially if you can provide your own laptop, iPad or netbook. You can also get lap tops for free at computer recycling places or low cost computers at the Goodwill or ARC. You can find out all the free wi-fi zones in Chico from your fellow homeless. There will be some in places you never knew or expected. (Note: When using public wi-fi, always use a Virtual Private Network or VPN, like the free service Hotspot Shield, when entering passwords.)

The online environment looks the same whether you are homeless or not, and so can be a source of comfort and consistency as your living conditions change.

RADIO
You should have a radio, like any survivalist. The lightest might be something like an armband radio for joggers, with readout showing the time and an alarm. Use it to check weather reports daily, and choose your attire and shelter areas accordingly.

TELEPHONE
Cellphones make having your own phone number as an urban nomad very easy. Remember to charge it and your other wireless devices whenever you come across an available outlet. Sometimes you can get cell phones for free at the same places you get free computers or free from welfare. Here’s another way, applying at the county welfare office for emergency aid money and then go buy your own!

MAIL
If you need to receive mail, one choice is renting a PO Box. There are also services that can provide you with a real street address if you want people to think you have one. You will get an address like “99 Paladin Street #1” where the number actually refers to your box. This is useful when you have to give your home address to obtain services. You can get all kinds of free stuff in Chico, free food, clean beds, showers, and much more! This is why so many people like to travel here. Check it out:

Chico California Homeless Shelters (You can be directed to a number of full and part-time shelters in Chico)
www.homelessshelterdirectory.org/california.html
California Homeless Shelters along with other homeless resources. We provide listings for affordable, transitional housing, clinics and low cost affordable treatment …
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Chico, CA Food Pantries
www.foodpantries.org/st/california
Chico CA, Food pantries and food banks. We have the list of all food pantries in Chico …
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Chico California Affordable Housing And Low Income Housing
www.publichousing.com/state/california
California Affordable Housing And Low Income Housing. PublicHousing.com’s listings include affordable and low income housing. We provide different forms of …
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Chico California Low Income Housing | Low Income Housing in California
www.lowincomehousing.us/CA.html
Search below and find all of the California low income housing by city. We have listed out all of the cities below in Florida, where we have Low Income Housing listings. …
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Chico, California Rental Assistance – Help Paying Rent in Chico, California
www.rentalassistance.us/state/california
Find Rental Assistance in California. We provide local listings of Rental Assistance through government and non profit resources that help people pay their rent …
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Chico, California Halfway Houses | HalfwayHouses.us
www.halfwayhouses/state/california
We provide listings of halfway houses and sober living facilites in Chico, California. Many are also low income and sliding scale which are low cost and very helpful for those in need …
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Chico, California Help Paying Bills | BillsHelp.org
www.billshelp.org/st/california
Help paying bills in Chico, California. Search for local agencies, non profit and governmental to help you pay your bills …
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Clinics in Chico, California | Free Health Clinics in Chico, California
www.freemedicalsearch.org/sta/california
Search below and find all of the free clinics in California by city. We have listed out all of the cities below in California, where we have free medical clinic listings …
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Chico, California Free Dental Care and Clinics – FreeDentalCare.us
www.freedentalcare.us/st/california
Find free dental clinics in California. We have listed out the cities in California to help you find the dental treatment you need. …
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Chico, California Free Dental Clinics and Chico, California Medicaid Dentists
www.freedental.org/state/california
California Free and Sliding Scale Dental Clinics along with Medicaid Dental Clinics …
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Chico, California Transitional Housing | Transitional Housing in California
www.transitionalhousing.org/state/california
Find transitional housing resources in California. Transitional housing provides supportive housing and in many cases drug and alochol treatment. We have listed …
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Chico, California Free Job Training | California
www.freejobtraining.us/state/california
California Job Training and Vocation Training in California …
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Chico, California Free Rehab Centers
www.freerehabcenters.org/state/california
Find listings of free rehab centers in California. We have listed out all of the cities below in California, where we have found hard to find resources for treatment …
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Chico, California Single Mother Assistance
www.singlemomassistance.org/state/california
Single Mother Assistance Services California. Find helpful resources for single mothers …
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Chico, California WIC Programs, WIC Clinics, WIC Locations
www.wicprograms.org/state/california
Wicprograms.org provides listings and information for local WIC Programs and Clinics in California …
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Butte Housing Authority
Chico, CA – 95928
(530)895-4474
Services Provided at Butte Housing Authority: Administers federal rental assistance programs and affordable apartments for low income families, elderly residents and persons with disabilities. HUD assists the housing authority by providing Housing Choice Vouchers, aka Section 8 vouchers and low income rent assistance. This is for residents to find their own places and us the vouchers for rent.