Survival on the Ground

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Urban Camping; Parks & Rivers

Soup Kitchens and Shelters are not safe places. Some of the circumstances I've encountered include blackmail and extortion, sexual harassment, physical assault of various kinds, and an effort to control what I say and who I talk to. In order to survive these facts of life, we need to be ready and able to move quickly to make amends to those we know to be rid of the racketeers.

So finding a defendable cliff 60 feet or so above the river, or a quiet spot by a brook near the river was a huge relief to me when shelters and apartment buildings were toxic and hostile, but knowing your surroundings is essential. It's better to take refuge in a familiar place, than it is to adapt to an area you're unfamiliar with. And if possible to build a network of allies who can support each other. Don't be shy; there are some really serious people out there with radical charity to be found in the most sordid places on earth because we pray for it. I made one careful move to learn my trade and then returned home to help my daughter with the same problem I left to address, but had I stayed in those unfamiliar surroundings, my ability to find and keep shelter would've been dismal.

We're under the control of a despot who rules our lives by use of force and terror, so no reasonable appeal is likely to change the restraints we face. They rose to power by use of murder and used graphic displays of physical harm to control our behavior. So, if you have a well defined space that people are using for dubious reasons, find a way to keep the perimeter and stay safe within it. Currently, I use closed circuit TV to monitor and share information about the people passing through, so if there are unfamiliar faces on the maintenance team for example, someone will know. And if I encounter a familiar face (like a sponsee that failed to write out his resentments), I've learned to respect the effort he's made to confront me, but I don't allow predation to go unchecked. Tax every move, every violation, and every trespass by saying something and citing rules that have been violated. We can’t be blamed for making rules public or private, so it may help to share what you know about them to help make a private claim good by gathering and keeping evidence.

Don't be afraid! Pray to be rid of fear! Drug use led to violations at three different locations in a row in my case and the charges that resulted are limiting my freedom of movement today. but exploitation - accomplished by use of terror, doubt and dismay needs to be overcome. Some of the thoughts that crossed my mind as it was happening were: "This can't be happening to me!" "Why isn't anybody doing anything about this?" "How can this be possible?" "You've got to be kidding?" so I provide various tools for the management of anger and fear which you can find in the sidebar. We'll all leave when it isn't tolerable anymore and when you do, you'll realize that those charged with these crimes won't survive either if we stay to make our case.

To survive means to live! And that includes adapting to the environment you're in when you've been compromised. We're not always able to leave and when I got stuck it seemed to me that it was planned. By trapping someone, or forcing them to stay in one location or another the instruments of control or conditioning might be used upon us. In my case, I've been dealing with low frequency vibrations that have disrupted my sleep for over 10 years and the team that replaced my floor recently wasn't friendly either, so I wonder what they've been up to. The US Army has a strategy called SERE, which is an acronym meaning to: Survive, Evade, Resist and Escape, but what I'm referring to are adaptations that allow me to continue to follow through with my work on-line; to freely make use of the Internet to describe the problems we're having. For a guide on how to mind your manors online use this link: Survival in the Digital Age (How to cope with a Nation, State, Jurisdiction, or Industry that's compromised by what we say, or what we know).

So if you need to bug out, don't be afraid! Just pack your belongings carefully and store them in a facility nearby so you can access a change of clothes when you need them and head out. I've found that railways, freeways and river valleys are most useful, but you may gravitate towards a different kind of experience.

Trust your better judgment

What follows is only my own experience in the matter.

The bridges over or under freeways are easily defended and the protection from the wind and rain or snow is pretty good, but the noise is severe in a city, and may even be damaging to suffer for any length of time - even with earplugs.
And railways and bike paths are commonly used by drunks and addicts who are not always friendly, so it can be a bit more perilous to try to defend yourself there, especially if you are already known to be someone who isn't well defended. Churchyards, community gardens and the like, are easily accessed by anyone crashing after a long night of partying, or taking their comfort with illicit drugs and/or a partner, but it's bad manners to use their locations when there are safer and more discrete locations for serious migrations like ours.
Parks are often marked by no trespassing signs after dark and rangers might tolerate a desperate visit for a while, but it's not likely to be tolerated for long. So we may choose to take refuge by making our case with Crime Prevention Specialists, Legal Aids, or Law Enforcement officers too, but don't be surprised if the private case you've made with one of these specialists is met by a public challenge of some kind. I cannot afford a speedy remedy of law to end the disputes, or resolve doubts that remain because the police won't use the evidence I brought, but if you're under attack in any particular location, it's best to retreat to a place where you can to defend yourself.