65 ms·

My Story as a Homeless Developer

482 points by jessehorne 8y ago

modells 8y ago
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- huebomont 8y ago
  wtf is this women advice... (i don't actually want to hear how you justify it)
  - waluigi 8y ago
    With all the Jung talk, I would feel pretty comfortable guessing he's a Jordan Peterson type.
  - modells 8y ago
    That's too bad because it's my opinion, not yours. The purpose is that people in hard times need to focus on getting one's life in order before bringing anyone else into theirs, not on love as a panacea or escape because the drama and chaos will lead nowhere good. The overriding principle is no one else can save them and it's an unhealthy mindset, they must be their own "hero."
    - huebomont 8y ago
      that has nothing to do with gender, so you've brought that in why?
anothergoogler 8y ago
> The calls usually go something like this. > Me: “First thing, is I am looking for a remote position just long enough to allow me to save for a vehicle.” > Recruiter: “Sure. spends 20 minutes gathering as much information about me as they can” > Recruiter: “We’d love to move forward with a position but you do not have a vehicle and the position requires you to have reliable transportation.” Why would do you that? The recruiter and employer don't care if you unicycle, hitchhike, swim, or teleport to work. The conversation should be about your skills, experience, professional goals. The recruiter won't feel good about shopping you around if you make it sound like you're going to quit once you've saved a couple grand for a used car.
- paxys 8y ago
  Or maybe driving to different locations is part of the job requirements?
  - deleted 8y ago
    [deleted]
  - jakeinsf 8y ago
    Most jobs in the states ask if you own a car because if you don't then the likelihood is that you will either be late for work because of unreliable public transportation, or you would miss work because the person who is giving you a ride can't do it every day. So if you don't have a vehicle, you simply aren't hired because they predict you'll cause them problems.
- bdcravens 8y ago
  I think I'd focus on remote freelance work via sites like Codementor and the usual sites like Upwork (yes pay isn't great but there are some good gigs there) or your personal network. A recruiter is incentivized by filling the role, and that's usually the result of checking boxes. Unless they have no other candidates, what reason would they have for going the extra mile?
- jrockway 8y ago
  I can't wait until the MTA gets so bad that people tell me, "you take the subway? sorry, we're not interested." But in some sense, having a reliable vehicle is a microcosm of a particular location and mindset. Nobody I know owns a car. We still mostly get to work on time, though.
  - holtalanm 8y ago
    He's in Iowa. In these midwest states (Nebraska for me), public transportation is very scarce. Most jobs out here require we own a car, or have some way to reliably get to work. Most of the time that does not involve public transportation in any way.
jondubois 8y ago
I was 'homeless' for a few months (in the sense that I didn't have a home) but for most of that time I had a high enough income that I could afford to stay in AirBnBs. It was a scary experience. At one point I had lost my job, I was about $6000 in debt, in a foreign country, with a 'dependent' spouse (also without job) and I only had about $1000 left on my credit card. When I hear entrepreneurs talk about how much they risked to build their startup, I roll my eyes. Once you've had to to do whatever it takes just to be able to afford to keep a roof over your head, what a lot of people call 'risk' actually doesn't seem risky at all. Would they have ended up sleeping on the streets if it didn't work out? It doesn't seem like it. I understand now that difficulty and hardship are highly subjective. Probably some people would look at my experience and think that I had it easy.
- agumonkey 8y ago
  do you live in a cold climate ? I wonder if it would be just ok in a warm place with near zero crime rate.
  - sulam 8y ago
    There is no such thing as a near zero crime rate for homeless people. Also, just being warm is not sufficient. Homeless people need so much more than that, it's daunting. A short starter list: * food & water * access to shower * laundry * medical care * dental care * education * legal advice / support * the list goes on... (disclosure: 16 years of on-again, off-again homelessness as a child and a 6 month period of true homelessness as a young adult -- AirBnbs do not count.)
    - agumonkey 8y ago
      One week I measured how much water I needed to clean myself top to bottom: two glasses. I eat low and don't feel hungry (although I don't suffer cold which drains energy fast) I agree that it can be daunting but I think it's not the quantity it's the regularity of supplies.
      - 8y ago
DoreenMichele 8y ago
Looks like this was written today. He's apparently still homeless and he closes with a request for feedback. So I'm just going to leave these links here (disclosure: they are my sites): https://www.pocketputer.com/ https://www.pocketputer.com/ https://streetlifesolutions.blogspot.com/ https://streetlifesolutions.blogspot.com/ (Same look, but different site) https://sandiegohomelesssurvivalguide.blogspot.com/ https://sandiegohomelesssurvivalguide.blogspot.com/ This is listed on the Links page of PocketPuter.com, but I'm going to put it here on HN for maximum exposure (not mine, just an awesome resource): List of Remote Jobs and Gigs Platforms https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JfNAbUX_lN9K3MCNHO15GJtJ5qpk7H9Cl3xTBwv2FR8/htmlview https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JfNAbUX_lN9K3MCNHO15... Best.
- scarface74 8y ago
  It seems like the biggest issue is not that he doesn’t have the skill set to find a job but his (admitted) mental illness. He needs someone to help him through that first. No, I don’t have any answers, but I do know how hard it is to do well at a job if your mind isn’t clear.
  - DoreenMichele 8y ago
    I spent nearly 6 years on the street. Practical solutions for helping me solve my actual problems was the best thing for my head space. I wrote some of it down. Most of that can be found in the above blogs of mine. I'm not at all unfamiliar with mental health issues. This is what I deeply and sincerely believe works. If you disagree, perhaps you could hook him up with a better solution instead of raining on my parade.
    - scarface74 8y ago
      Your advice shouldn’t be about “your parade”. It should be about him. He’s had plenty of jobs in development and he admitted that his issues are due to him not being able to handle for instance a dissolved relationship. There will always be strsssors and challenges in life, if he doesn’t have the tools to deal with them,he will stay in that cycle. Give him credit for admitting he has a mental illness. There are too many people that won’t do that much.
blondie9x 8y ago
Homelessness needs to be addressed nationally. Doing it on a city and county level is not effective enough at addressing this national crisis. The problem is deep and all American cities are impacted by it. We need to look together at it and come up with solutions that address housing affordability, addiction, mental illness, medical disease and insurance issues, and a basic standard of living. We need a central place where all homeless can have these issues addressed and can work to help advocates and other homeless people in the community to recover. The solution is needed now.
- jessehorne 8y ago
  I love this response. It reminds me of the problem of organizing in Anarchist circles. There's two big camps that exist. 1. Insurrectionism 2. Platformism Insurrectionary Anarchism promotes distributed affinity groups and a sort of anti-organization methodology. They are the types to start community farms or food not bombs in their community and worry less about things they aren't directly connected to. It overlaps a bit. Platformism is basically the belief that an organized structure of representation, where affinity groups across a region elect representatives to make decisions for all of them if the decisions follow their "platform". I definitely have had ideas and tried to implement a few, to address homelessness, in both of the cities that I was homeless in. The projects did not get far as I was struggling to survive, but I hope to continue that work later on.
  - 2kool4skool 8y ago
    I am currently building microshelters for the homeless in my spare time. The idea is to fill the city with them and piss rich people off.
selimthegrim 8y ago
Hang in there. More of us have been in this situation or close to it than you know. Hopefully at a developer meet up you will find that first rung of the ladder.
freddy418_sc 8y ago
This article makes no sense to me. It feels like there is something wrong with this dude and he still hasn't figured out what yet. I guess this article is for soliciting pity. But his real story seems extremely juicy. He should write about the details there. All of the interesting decisions and events that got him to where he is was glossed over in this article. "My interest in computers and programming was more like an intense obsession. It affected my ability to focus at school." <- this makes no sense. To me, programming is an exercise in formulating a plan, executing the plan, and verifying the outcome. Every step requires focus. How do you "study" and "program" without being able to focus? "Undiagnosed mental-health problems led to some fairly poor decisions." <- what health problems? what decisions? "Relationship issues for a now twenty year old developer proved to be too much. Emotionally I was devastated when that relationship ended. It affected me and I had no one to help me through the emotional stresses of the situation. It affected my work. It affected my activism." <- Every sentence here is interesting. If he went into detail and wrote about this, it would fit the title and it would grab my attention.
- dragonwriter 8y ago
  > "My interest in computers and programming was more like an intense obsession. It affected my ability to focus at school." <- this makes no sense. It makes perfect sense; an obsession makes it easy for you to focus on the subject of obsession, and hard to focus on other things. As school likely mainly consisted of things other than programming, an obsession with programming would naturally adversely impact overall focus at school.
  - freddy418_sc 8y ago
    Maybe that's the issue. For him, programming is an abstract notion. Whereas it's really just a practice. You work on it, figure out where you are being dumb, then go home and take care of other stuff.
    - fouc 8y ago
      It seems like you're making up a definition of "programming" that happens to describe your particular circumstances/abilities. For example, It doesn't sound like you have ADHD. A classic symptom of ADHD is the ability to hyper-focus on one thing, to the exclusion of anything else. Such as being stuck so deep into a book or project that you'd barely notice if the building was burning down. Any sort of school/life balance would be extremely difficult to achieve.
eric_b 8y ago
As the author discovered, reliable transportation and a permanent residence are often prerequisites for many office jobs. However, I do know that in Iowa there are many other kinds of jobs, lots of which would pay a wage sufficient to get back on one's feet, and have more lenient requirements. Perhaps the author needs to get any job vs. a programming job? Establishing a place to live, getting consistent income, and then going after the programming job would be a better idea perhaps? Sucks to take a step back, but sometimes that's the only way to go forward. I have a family member going through this same thing and struggling with similar issues. The author is right, it won't be easy to rise above the situation they find themselves in, but the key thing is to stop making bad decisions and take small but incremental steps to improve. Big bang "remote programming job" might not be in the cards. But farm laborer could be. Which may be a step in that direction.
- Avshalom 8y ago
  What do you mean by many jobs. Outside of standing outside of home depot I don't know many jobs that don't require a permanent address and a phone number and an email. Entry level employment is like 99% massive corporations that make no allowances for the realities of hard lives.
  - blobbers 8y ago
    It sounds like he has a phone number and an email. He could get a mailbox at a fedex as a permanent address. This individual sounds more stubborn than your average person but also that he's had a tough life. Hope the world works out for him.
  - ryanwaggoner 8y ago
    Entry level employment is like 99% massive corporations This seems unlikely, given that the majority of jobs in the US are provided by small businesses.
    - loco5niner 8y ago
      simile often involves hyperbole.
jmcgough 8y ago
The author kind of glosses over a lot of conflicts with friends, family, employers, and briefly mentions mental health problems. It sounds like that could be contributing a lot to his struggles. I burned out of my first job because of poor mental health, which I didn't prioritize because work was all-consuming and being sick makes it hard to seek out help. I took a few months off before interviewing, and realized that I needed to get a job and really fight to break the cycle I'd been trapped in. I don't have any great suggestions for the author getting back on his feet, but once he does he should prioritize building a 6-month safety net and working through whatever he's struggling with. Yoga, running and medication all helped me.
shams93 8y ago
One thing that could help is using youth hostels, when I lost my apartment I was able to find a $25 a day youth hostel where I stayed for 3 weeks but I was able to hold on to my office job without anyone finding out I no longer had my own place.
2kool4skool 8y ago
I live on a box truck and collect cryptocurrency bounties on random public wifis. Homeless dev here. Problem is capitalism.
- holtalanm 8y ago
  > Problem is capitalism. I don't think that's the problem.
  - s73v3r_ 8y ago
    It's definitely not helping things.
  - xfer 8y ago
    Judging from his nick, that's a troll alright.
jriot 8y ago
Sounds like you never learned how to do anything outside of coding. There is more to succeeding in life than being able to code.
- gigel82 8y ago
  Have you looked at the GitHub profile? Don't want to be harsh, but it looks like he never really learned how to code either, which is kind-of sad. I'm not a stickler for education, but there's something to be said for at least finishing highschool; you learn how to learn if nothing else.
  - jriot 8y ago
    I did not, only read through the Medium article/blog. As you alluded to, high school provides more than just standard book education. Those 4 years you learn how to deal with people, relationships, politics of an organization, how problems affecting more than a few people are solved/planned, how to deal with rejection etc... These are skills he now needs to learn in the real world that carry greater risks outside of learning them in high school.
  - duiker101 8y ago
    I gave a quick look only because I'm on mobile but I'm really curious about what makes you say that. He might not be incredible but your comment makes it seem like he knows absolutely nothing which I wouldn't say it's true
  - projektir 8y ago
    I'm not sure how to efficiently parse a GitHub profile but in what way does it indicate he never learned how to code?
    - gigel82 8y ago
      Most of the projects are straight forks with no additions, or puerile flatline dumps of boilerplate - generated structures with little to no meat. I don't want to put anyone down, he's obviously in a tough situation, but I maybe would've left the GitHub link out, it doesn't add anything (positive) to the story.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
spjt 8y ago
Sounds like he just needs to learn how to lie better in a job interview.
soufron 8y ago
Being homeless can also drive people mad up to a point when they cant get back to normal life, it may be some sort of PTSD.
gm-conspiracy 8y ago
There was a PDF I saw many years ago, posted to craigslist, that was written by a homeless man, but consciously choosing to be homeless. It had an interesting description of various strategies used. I think he lived in Hawaii and would eat "free" Burger King by rummaging through the trash during a sweepstakes and finding the coupons for free food. He also rented a small storage unit to keep his possessions (including a laptop), and had a gym membership for showering. Anybody else come across this?
- ddingus 8y ago
  Yes. One root motivation is just wanting to be lean. Needing to generate X per month can be something people do not want to do. Or cannot do. If high expectations are not set, what remains can be met. Meeting low expectations is definitely a choice.
cryptozeus 8y ago
Op First thing, I dont think I can ever understand the pain you are going through. I just wish you the best , remember you are in one of the high demand field and it would be very easy for you to bounce back. Next I would suggest you stop looking for remote jobs and temporary gigs. Those things are only useful when you already have roof over your head and food to eat. Based on maslow hierarchy of needs, your number one focus should be to get roof/food etc. I see you are creating side projects but I would ask you to focus on getting a full time job which can give you reliable salary. This may require mind shift but its not written in stone. Third thing I would say is that past is gone. Its literally gone, it only exist now in your memory so hopefully you can let go and create path forward. Seems like you are already step ahead because you are taking responsibility for all that has happened. I would also suggest you try to change your environment and get to a bigger city where you can find more jobs and some better city resources. Good luck
istorical 8y ago
So it sounds like you'd rather be homeless and not lie to others than stay in the religious-affiliated shelter and lie to them about your belief. Have you thought about this deeply? Seems like perhaps the experience of being kicked out by grandma because of your atheism has perhaps poisoned religion to you to the extent that now you're so headstrong about denying it that you are missing a huge opportunity to get some stability by simply nodding your head and saying what they want to hear at that shelter. Might be worth sacrificing your principles temporarily to find a place to stay. If you can't do that, try finding a church that will you help you if you agree to at least hear them out - maybe you don't need to profess faith but they'll at least accept you listening to their beliefs (even if deep inside you know nothing they say or do can change your mind, letting them feel that possibility and try might be enough for them to shelter you). The truth is that small towns are probably one of the worst and best places to be homeless, but a lot of that 'best' comes from churches. So if you're going to lock yourself out from their help, you probably would be better off street begging or something in SF or NYC or some larger city with government assistance for homeless and staying in a non-religious shelter there. Because small towns don't have that government infrastructure, but they do have churches with foodbanks and religious families looking to get someone back on their feet if they can feel that they've turned that person into a Christian. If you're so passionate about secularism - you could lie about believing, live at that shelter, get your life together, and in 10 years use the income and resources you have then to advocate for secularism or atheism. My other piece of feedback is remove the secret keys from your GH account (I saw some on your IRC bot), you may be missing out on lots of potential work because that's a huge security flaw (or some other word greater than flaw) - no company will want you to work for them if they think you could expose secrets to the world wide web. Last - try to do less experimentation with code and more experimentation with your job application process. If you are repeatedly starting phone screens with your story about needing a car and it isn't working, try something different. You're not going to find many articles on the web telling you to lie about yourself, your history, your reasons for resume gaps, or your home situation. But most people aren't as desperate as you are. Maybe get creative with the truth and sell yourself as something you aren't. Have you considered just making up an address or choosing a random house address when you put down your place of residence on an application?
- 8y ago
honkycat 8y ago
Hang in there, you're still young and healthy. It gets better. You can become a programmer, and there are jobs out there. Now, some harsh advice: You are being completely unrealistic in your expectation of a remote position while you live in rural Iowa. Problem 1: Where you are located _____________________ Get out of Iowa. Seriously. The tech-hub effect is real and Iowa has very few job opportunities for programmers. Source: I grew up in rural Iowa and I know how to use Linkedin. All of the places I've chosen to live in my life have been VERY foot-traffic friendly. Examples of such cities: Denver. Chicago. Portland, Or. San Francisco. Austin. Columbus. Kansas City, MO. Minneapolis. Somewhere you can walk and live without having a car. Places that have companies hiring programmers. You can save a ton of money by not having a car and just using public transit and walking. Problem 2: Transportation: ___________________________ I have NEVER owned a car. I lived in Chicago for 10 years. I took public transit or biked. Saved me thousands of dollars over the years. Why do you want to spend $300/mo on car payments for an asset that is constantly deprecating and has poor resale value while you are struggling to keep a roof over your head? Problem 3: The Remote Position ____________________ Some harsh advice on this remote position notion: You need to look for another job while learning coding on the side if you want to stick to your guns as a remote developer. I'll enumerate the reasons below: 1. Nobody wants to take a chance on an unproven 20-something programmer for a remote position. Remote positions tend to be for people with a proven track record. 2. Your Linkedin is not filled out enough to compete for remote positions. You don't seem to have had any real programming positions for an extended period of time. You should be going for entry level positions currently. 3. You have no formal education, which can often be substituted for actual work experience. Google touts that they hire TONS of people with no formal degree. Almost 15% (on certain teams)! Yep, degrees don't matter if you're willing to roll the dice on being part of that lucky ( Or extremely brilliant ) 15%! 4. Remote positions are still relatively rare. By limiting yourself to remote positions you are excluding yourself from most possible jobs. Edit: On the list of great cities to move to, Des Moines is also a viable option.
- ryneandal 8y ago
  Des Moines has a significant tech footprint now.
karmicthreat 8y ago
A similar story is pdxHomelessDev from last month. Some people on HN helped him out but I never heard if he got off the streets. His gofundme hasn’t updated. https://www.gofundme.com/homeless-dev-support https://www.gofundme.com/homeless-dev-support
danjoc 8y ago
>keeping a charge was almost impossible Hey Jesse, pick up a solar panel. You can get waterproof two usb port that'll crank out 20-30 watts ~$50. I'd recommend an ARM laptop too. They're cheaper and Intel is generally too power hungry anyway. A Samsung Chromebook Plus used on swappa would be really nice. It has a really bright display so you can still see it outdoors in the sun. For data, T-Mo is unlimited for $30/mo pre-paid. Put your panel in the sun, sit in the shade at a park, tether your phone for internet, and you're golden. You can strap the panel to your backpack and charge on the move too.
- istorical 8y ago
  Any link or suggestion for laptop solar chargers? I want one.
  - danjoc 8y ago
    Here's a few choices, https://www.amazon.com/SOKOO-Portable-Efficiency-Reinforced-Waterproof/dp/B01HJKJVG2/ https://www.amazon.com/SOKOO-Portable-Efficiency-Reinforced-... https://www.amazon.com/Foldable-Waterproof-Efficiency-Cellphones-Flashlight/dp/B07537SR48/ https://www.amazon.com/Foldable-Waterproof-Efficiency-Cellph... https://www.amazon.com/Balight-Outdoor-Foldable-Powered-Charger/dp/B01N2RJJ46/ https://www.amazon.com/Balight-Outdoor-Foldable-Powered-Char... 28W basically gives you an fourth panel, but your backpack is probably 3 panels tall.
    - int_19h 8y ago
      Most of these don't provide anywhere near the advertised wattage. And when they do, it's usually in direct bright sunlight (i.e. depending on where you are and what season it is, it can be that efficient only for a few hours, and sometimes none at all). If you want a decent portable solar panel, get the non-flexible monocrystalline one.
      - danjoc 8y ago
        Any suggestions on models? I like the flexible one because it's lightweight and not easy to break. I'd be open to other options though if you have suggestions.
adiusmus 8y ago
Get a job: don’t tell or show recruiter how desperate you are. Don’t tell recruiter you’re homeless. Work on portfolio of projects. GitHub. Shelter: Get a van. Live in it. Boondocking is better than the cardboard box or couch surfing. Food: Noodles. Vegetables. Rice. Chicken. Tech: android tablets can run Linux and can support mouse and keyboard. Tablets are easier than laptops to charge. Laptops can do more. Trade offs. Security: get some money into bank account ASAP. Make it a regular habit. Any money you’d put into alcohol etc put it into bank account. This is your safety net. Start from zero. Street address: get a mailing address. Parents/friends may be able to help. You only need to visit. post office box can help as well but costs money. Relationships: be careful. Your safety net is likely not strong enough to tolerate much failure. Counter argument: having someone else around can help in little ways. Decisions: think critically. Need versus Want. Mental health: read autobiographies. Read fiction. Read. Improve all gaps that seem easy to fix. Understand that homelessness is a hole you can dig yourself out of. Health: teeth, hair etc hygiene is king. Drop any kind of drug other than coffee. Alcohol etc will make you an easy target. Small steps.
throwawaytote11 8y ago
This may sound a bit harsh, but dude you need to lower your standards. In the coding and startup world we created a cult like impossible dream to fulfill. I have a startup that went through some very low lows. I had just quit my cushy job and had saved enough money to last for 2 years, but not my co-founders. When we ran through our funding, things became harsh. I funded everything out of my pocket. The CTO couldn't afford his apartment anymore so I paid for his rent. Not long after, I got a family emergency and couldn't afford it anything anymore. I told him to get a part time job to help out. He squarely told me no. "Every successful startup founder lived in a van and dined on Ramen." I stopped paying his rent. He moved into the office. I urged him to get a job because I couldn't afford it anymore. He refused. I stopped paying the office rent. He went homeless. He lived on the generosity of strangers, though he went days without eating. He refused to get a job. As long as someone was helping him, he wouldn't work. We had to trick him to help him, a friend gave him some space to live together, then later told him that he needs to participate on paying rent. Only then he started looking for work. There are a lot of conflicts the OP only mentioned in passing and didn't go into details. There is a lot more to this story, maybe the mental health issue nullify anything I say here. But thinking your story is like that of every unicorn tech founder can lead you to make terrible decisions. Sometimes you have to be humble and make sacrifices to be able to move forward.
newnewpdro 8y ago
Look at the bright side: at least he can pass background checks, there's no mention of a criminal record. There's a guy in his 40s on freenode/#SDL who is constantly ranting about being unable to find work because he was involved in some gang stuff in his youth giving him a criminal record.
- driverdan 8y ago
  I have a felony record. Unless your in fintech the tech sector doesn't care.
teunispeters 8y ago
Been there done that. Worked a lot of other jobs too to survive (driving forklift, welder's help, construction) - got too injured to continue that so went back to fighting to work office jobs. Eventually succeeded. I spent 20 years in that half way world of not enough to survive, not enough to stay off the streets but I'm off now and have been for 7+ years now. The first employer that got me off the streets I didn't tell I was homeless. I worked for them for a month crashing out in friends' couches until I could move into a tiny apartment walking distance from the job. (there's levels of homeless. I only spent weeks on the streets themselves and about a year living out of an old beater car I could keep functional) I don't really have anything to add, other than try to work other stuff. Unless you live somewhere ridiculously expensive (like - oh - my last city of Vancouver BC) - you'll probably be able to drag yourself out with even a minimum wage warehouse job or the like, and get yourself set for going back into main career. My favourite warehouse job I worked for a year. Every day saying how great my vacation was going ;) (half of that was living in a car. But I made it)
vanpelt 8y ago
Thanks for sharing man, I hope it gives you hope that so many people are engaging with your story. I'm from Iowa so I know how brutal the winters can be, can't imagine what it's like without a roof over your head. Fortune landed me in San Francisco at the right time, but it wasn't so kind to my brother. He's making ends meet back in Iowa, but just barely. The advice I would offer is self love and hustle. Anytime you hear that voice saying you fucked up, acknowledge it and let it go. Today is a new day full of opportunity. Have you tried grabbing gigs on Upwork or Freelancer? If you've got the chops, most gigs would pay well enough to get you rent in Iowa pretty quick. Keep your chin up, and keep hacking!
gammateam 8y ago
Moving to a larger city with a tech focus will allow him to sleep in a rented tent on the sidewalk. This is a lot more economical.
deleted 8y ago
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songzme 8y ago
Good news for op. I know a homeless developer who is not so lucky (yet?). Emmanuel (we call him Mani) is a 50 (or 60?) year old homeless man who would smile and shake our hands every day when we showed up at our local library to hold coding hours. He came in to every single office hour from (4-8pm) to learn as much as he could and literally never missed a day in the 3 months pilot that we were there. We learned from the librarians that for the past year, Mani has been coming to the library right when it opened (9am) and stayed until it closed (8pm) every day (including the weekend), trying to teach himself how to code. He was hoping to launch his website so he could make some money off ads. With a notepad++ on his usb drive, he coded every day piecing little things together. We taught him basic JavaScript and simple server stuff and helped him get his website up! https://newsgusher.garagescript.org/ https://newsgusher.garagescript.org/ Our office hours has ended, but Mani is still plowing away at the library. If you want to meet him, you can find him at Downtown San Jose Public Library on the third floor.
- jtchang 8y ago
  Wow that website loaded so fast. It kinda grows on me. Reminds me of the web back in the 90s when all HTML was coded mostly by hand.
deleted 8y ago
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austenallred 8y ago
Hey Jesse, I'm also formerly homeless, and now the cofounder of https://LambdaSchool.com https://LambdaSchool.com (YC S17). We have a nonprofit fund designed specifically to help out homeless software engineers looking for a job. I'd love to put you in a cheap airbnb or apartment, hook you up with Lambda School's career services team who will help review your resume, get your github and portfolio in shape, practice interviewing, and help you land a job. We've already seen multiple success stories (for example David https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/homeless-man-handing-out-resumes-in-bay-area-lands-software-engineer-job/1386955148 https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/homeless-man-handing-out..., who is now making almost $100k/yr). Generous donors have allowed us to continue to grow the fund after Lambda School's original $50,000 contribution. I know how hard it is to focus on getting a job when you're just trying to survive, so let's try to eliminate that distraction. Hit me up at austen@lambdaschool.com and let's help you focus and get to where you need to be. PS if anyone on HN wants to donate to the fund it's here - https://www.gofundme.com/lambda-perpetual-access-fund https://www.gofundme.com/lambda-perpetual-access-fund. Generally we can help someone who knows how to write code go from homeless to hired with a couple thousand dollars all-in.
- songzme 8y ago
  Could I recommend someone? I made a comment below about Mani, whom I met when I was volunteering at our local library.
  - austenallred 8y ago
    Just saw the comment. Can you send me more details about him, and we can figure out the best way to help him? austen@lambdaschool.com. Seems like he has housing, but I'll do anything I can to help someone who has enough hustle to be at a library all the time. Easiest might be that we provide a computer, internet, and can give him self-paced access to our course archives (normally reserved for student review).
- kraftman 8y ago
  What about changing your model to take a cut of the jobs people end up with? Then you'd end up being self sustainable. Recruiters take about a 20%, so with your one guy getting 100k you could help 10 more.
timwaagh 8y ago
my boss is hiring and i have a spare room to let. only half a world away.
- seddin 8y ago
  Is the offer still up?
  - timwaagh 8y ago
    yes
baby 8y ago
I'm not from the US but can't the state help you with money and a shelter? If you have problem in the US the streets is your only option?
- alexbecker 8y ago
  Pretty much. Shelters are either provided by charity or the local government, and state/federal money is only for very sympathetic classes like women with infant children.
Izmaki 8y ago
Hey dude Just read your story. I'm sorry that it ended how it did but I am really amazed of your strength and determination! I mean, wow, to go through that and still keep on fighting? That takes character! I'm certain things will change to the better. Our industry need more people with your determination. Keep up the hard work, Jesse. All the best from hopefully a future colleague
fouc 8y ago
Hi Jesse, I want to recommend two books for you to read. One is about developing your monetary power. The other is about developing your career capital. "Early Retirement Extreme" by Jacob Lund Fisker. "So Good They Can't Ignore You" by Cal Newport. You might be homeless right now because you haven't been protecting your personal power. The personal power to command a good salary. The personal power of having money in the bank. You might have been giving away your power and depending on other people. Try to watch out for that. The more you build your career capital, and the more you build your bank capital, the more free you'll be. Imagine having money in the bank that lets you walk away from a shitty job. Imagine having the savings that lets you take a few months to find a new & better job. We know you have skills. Your linkedin profile could be improved, some more detail on what you did at each job, and include some of your portfolio in there. You can find work on upwork.com or other sites. Setup a profile on there, set your hourly rate at $20/hr, and start from there. On your profile, highlight the fact that you're in Iowa and fluent in english.
wintorez 8y ago
Becoming homeless is one of the greatest fears of my life.
leke 8y ago
I recently quit web development and decided to get regular work. It just wasn't working out for me in my town/country (not in the US). My catch 22 was no experience, no chance. I couldn't even offer my services for free to get that experience, because companies just didn't need/want me. I could have easily been homeless during the 2 years after I graduated, but thanks to the social welfare system, I was taken care of as a job seeker. I'm now interested in something I call self startup ideas, which is currently making games for (mostly) mobile that might take off. This is only a hobby I allocate a couple of hours a day to though. Otherwise I'm doing unskilled labour for minimal wage. I've had mixed feelings about my experience as a web developer. It was something I had so much passion for (even before I went to study it), but now I'm kind of glad I've walked away, as it has been a source of so much toxicity in my life recently. Kind of like kicking a really bad habit.
ido 8y ago
One thing I found interesting straight off - by the cartoons and tech described (Pentium ii as a hand me down computer, internet connections at school and at homes) the author is at least 10 years younger than me - yet they started using the same language I did: qbasic. Being poor rather than middle class put them about a decade behind on the tech curve.
- clarry 8y ago
  At least in my part of the world, qbasic remained a popular beginner language through the 90s to the early 2000s. It was easy to get, and there was plenty of tutorials available for it. Visual Basic didn't have the same appeal unless you wanted to do desktop applications, and I guess it was harder to get your hands on. C and C++ were not considered too beginner friendly. I don't think there was much competition for QBasic on its merits, at least in the Microsoft world. To me it looks like a lot of hobbyists here started their dabblings with QB until web development (read: PHP) took over.
  - ido 8y ago
    As they have gotten the pentium 2 (the top of the line, most expensive CPU in 1997) as a free hand-me-down computer & considering ubuntu first released in 2004, the author probably got started at the earliest in the mid '00s - by then you'd probably get started with something like flash. But I agree QB was surprisingly long-lived, this 80s era tool probably lasted as long as Windows 98 (i.e. till XP became the "default" windows version).
- Ultimatt 8y ago
  Luckily Ubuntu on a Pentium II might be dog slow but most programming languages will work just fine.
  - ido 8y ago
    Oh yes you can definitely do useful programming on a Pentium II!
Ultimatt 8y ago
This guys code on GH is quite a bit better and broad than plenty of actual hires I've been part of. Kind of ridiculous someone who's gone as far as understanding and playing with cellular automata off their own back can't find stable work. Also someone presenting code in Lua, PHP, Python, JS and Ruby... you're lucky if someone has 100 lines of pure copy paste Python on GH.
bambataa 8y ago
> I was still stubborn and would not agree to believing in the almighty bearded creator in the sky, so one of the two shelters would not help me. I know it’s really common but it still shocks me when charities make receiving support contingent on believing whatever they happen to believe.
- louwrentius 8y ago
  Which is profoundly immoral and also shows their true colours.
- jessehorne 8y ago
  I was incredibly humble and polite when I walked into that shelter. My past activism with the Catholic Workers which were a couple blocks away flagged me as a dirty communist liberal, in their eyes. I volunteered there in several different ways. When I asked that the other shelter let me become a member, I was brought into a room with three larger males and pretty much trash talked and intimidated. The guy that ran the place said something like "You think you're better than us?". I was almost crying at this point. I was hungry and tired. My knees ached. They thought I was a drug addict. I had just walked a couple miles from the library. He told me that if I didn't believe that I would die on the streets with no help. I politely declined to be subject to that sort of treatment and I walked out of that door nearly sobbing knowing that I may have to be cold again that night. But I will risk pain any day over giving power to people like that. Being content is the problem. I was thinking bigger picture. It may have helped me to conform in that situation, but it would be doing the next person in my place a disservice. I'm happy I was strong that day but many other times I was weak.
justaaron 8y ago
Someone hook this human up with some gainful employment and attempt to assist him in auto-stabilizing. He sounds like he would be a real asset given a relatively small investment. FWIW, I can't think of any other country this is possible in besides the USA.
deleted 8y ago
[deleted]
leandot 8y ago
Hey Jesse, I am throwing a couple of random ideas here: - https://www.indiehackers.com/forum/how-would-you-make-an-extra-500-in-one-month-97a9a74efc https://www.indiehackers.com/forum/how-would-you-make-an-ext..., most interesting I found the "teach chinese kids english" - Small freelance gigs, as a native english speaker you have distinct advantage - https://www.upwork.com/ https://www.upwork.com/, https://www.fiverr.com/ https://www.fiverr.com/ - Probably not an option because of initial costs but there is a huge shortage for developers in Europe, especially CEE where costs are low and wages growing fast. Even call centers would gladly pay $1000+/month just for your english. - Drop me a line (email in profile). I don't have anything right now but sometimes I'm looking for some help for side projects. Good luck!
jrochkind1 8y ago
Every government should be addressing homelessness with "housing first" approaches. https://endhomelessness.org/resource/housing-first/ https://endhomelessness.org/resource/housing-first/ Being homeless is HARD and does not make it any easier to address any of your other problems. We should all be telling our elected officials we want a "housing first" approach.
err4nt 8y ago
Hey Jesse, I can sympathize with your situation, and I've seen you get some really solid advice in other comments here so I'll just add my 2¢ about presenting yourself. I have a couple of probing questions, and I mean no offense, just to provoke thought: 1) What good is atheism as a worldview if it prevents you from communicating, and even receiving help you desperately need? 2) Why would a recruiter or potential employer care about your past, living arrangements, or financial troubles? You sound like a smart, driven guy, but I think you're letting your situation and your beliefs cripple your potential right now. You don't have to _change_ those things, they're real, but you might want to limit who you share them with, or in what context, especially until you can find the help you need. Wishing you the best!
- chriscappuccio 8y ago
  That's his "activism" getting in the way of reality. Seems to be a common thread for people brought up in abusive "Christian" households.
sigi45 8y ago
Why not work any job first and get your life straight? McDonalds, cleaning, Kirchenhelp whatever. Than with a small flat, internet and a computer you have enough to try again a career in it.

482 points by jessehorne 8y ago

huebomont 8y ago
wtf is this women advice... (i don't actually want to hear how you justify it)
- waluigi 8y ago
  With all the Jung talk, I would feel pretty comfortable guessing he's a Jordan Peterson type.
- modells 8y ago
  That's too bad because it's my opinion, not yours. The purpose is that people in hard times need to focus on getting one's life in order before bringing anyone else into theirs, not on love as a panacea or escape because the drama and chaos will lead nowhere good. The overriding principle is no one else can save them and it's an unhealthy mindset, they must be their own "hero."
  - huebomont 8y ago
    that has nothing to do with gender, so you've brought that in why?

> The calls usually go something like this. > Me: “First thing, is I am looking for a remote position just long enough to allow me to save for a vehicle.” > Recruiter: “Sure. spends 20 minutes gathering as much information about me as they can” > Recruiter: “We’d love to move forward with a position but you do not have a vehicle and the position requires you to have reliable transportation.” Why would do you that? The recruiter and employer don't care if you unicycle, hitchhike, swim, or teleport to work. The conversation should be about your skills, experience, professional goals. The recruiter won't feel good about shopping you around if you make it sound like you're going to quit once you've saved a couple grand for a used car.

paxys 8y ago
Or maybe driving to different locations is part of the job requirements?
- deleted 8y ago
  [deleted]
- jakeinsf 8y ago
  Most jobs in the states ask if you own a car because if you don't then the likelihood is that you will either be late for work because of unreliable public transportation, or you would miss work because the person who is giving you a ride can't do it every day. So if you don't have a vehicle, you simply aren't hired because they predict you'll cause them problems.
bdcravens 8y ago
I think I'd focus on remote freelance work via sites like Codementor and the usual sites like Upwork (yes pay isn't great but there are some good gigs there) or your personal network. A recruiter is incentivized by filling the role, and that's usually the result of checking boxes. Unless they have no other candidates, what reason would they have for going the extra mile?
jrockway 8y ago
I can't wait until the MTA gets so bad that people tell me, "you take the subway? sorry, we're not interested." But in some sense, having a reliable vehicle is a microcosm of a particular location and mindset. Nobody I know owns a car. We still mostly get to work on time, though.
- holtalanm 8y ago
  He's in Iowa. In these midwest states (Nebraska for me), public transportation is very scarce. Most jobs out here require we own a car, or have some way to reliably get to work. Most of the time that does not involve public transportation in any way.

jondubois 8y ago

I was 'homeless' for a few months (in the sense that I didn't have a home) but for most of that time I had a high enough income that I could afford to stay in AirBnBs. It was a scary experience. At one point I had lost my job, I was about $6000 in debt, in a foreign country, with a 'dependent' spouse (also without job) and I only had about $1000 left on my credit card. When I hear entrepreneurs talk about how much they risked to build their startup, I roll my eyes. Once you've had to to do whatever it takes just to be able to afford to keep a roof over your head, what a lot of people call 'risk' actually doesn't seem risky at all. Would they have ended up sleeping on the streets if it didn't work out? It doesn't seem like it. I understand now that difficulty and hardship are highly subjective. Probably some people would look at my experience and think that I had it easy.

agumonkey 8y ago
do you live in a cold climate ? I wonder if it would be just ok in a warm place with near zero crime rate.
- sulam 8y ago
  There is no such thing as a near zero crime rate for homeless people. Also, just being warm is not sufficient. Homeless people need so much more than that, it's daunting. A short starter list: * food & water * access to shower * laundry * medical care * dental care * education * legal advice / support * the list goes on... (disclosure: 16 years of on-again, off-again homelessness as a child and a 6 month period of true homelessness as a young adult -- AirBnbs do not count.)
  - agumonkey 8y ago
    One week I measured how much water I needed to clean myself top to bottom: two glasses. I eat low and don't feel hungry (although I don't suffer cold which drains energy fast) I agree that it can be daunting but I think it's not the quantity it's the regularity of supplies.
    - 8y ago

DoreenMichele 8y ago

Looks like this was written today. He's apparently still homeless and he closes with a request for feedback. So I'm just going to leave these links here (disclosure: they are my sites): https://www.pocketputer.com/ https://www.pocketputer.com/ https://streetlifesolutions.blogspot.com/ https://streetlifesolutions.blogspot.com/ (Same look, but different site) https://sandiegohomelesssurvivalguide.blogspot.com/ https://sandiegohomelesssurvivalguide.blogspot.com/ This is listed on the Links page of PocketPuter.com, but I'm going to put it here on HN for maximum exposure (not mine, just an awesome resource): List of Remote Jobs and Gigs Platforms https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JfNAbUX_lN9K3MCNHO15GJtJ5qpk7H9Cl3xTBwv2FR8/htmlview https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1JfNAbUX_lN9K3MCNHO15... Best.

scarface74 8y ago
It seems like the biggest issue is not that he doesn’t have the skill set to find a job but his (admitted) mental illness. He needs someone to help him through that first. No, I don’t have any answers, but I do know how hard it is to do well at a job if your mind isn’t clear.
- DoreenMichele 8y ago
  I spent nearly 6 years on the street. Practical solutions for helping me solve my actual problems was the best thing for my head space. I wrote some of it down. Most of that can be found in the above blogs of mine. I'm not at all unfamiliar with mental health issues. This is what I deeply and sincerely believe works. If you disagree, perhaps you could hook him up with a better solution instead of raining on my parade.
  - scarface74 8y ago
    Your advice shouldn’t be about “your parade”. It should be about him. He’s had plenty of jobs in development and he admitted that his issues are due to him not being able to handle for instance a dissolved relationship. There will always be strsssors and challenges in life, if he doesn’t have the tools to deal with them,he will stay in that cycle. Give him credit for admitting he has a mental illness. There are too many people that won’t do that much.

blondie9x 8y ago

Homelessness needs to be addressed nationally. Doing it on a city and county level is not effective enough at addressing this national crisis. The problem is deep and all American cities are impacted by it. We need to look together at it and come up with solutions that address housing affordability, addiction, mental illness, medical disease and insurance issues, and a basic standard of living. We need a central place where all homeless can have these issues addressed and can work to help advocates and other homeless people in the community to recover. The solution is needed now.

jessehorne 8y ago
I love this response. It reminds me of the problem of organizing in Anarchist circles. There's two big camps that exist. 1. Insurrectionism 2. Platformism Insurrectionary Anarchism promotes distributed affinity groups and a sort of anti-organization methodology. They are the types to start community farms or food not bombs in their community and worry less about things they aren't directly connected to. It overlaps a bit. Platformism is basically the belief that an organized structure of representation, where affinity groups across a region elect representatives to make decisions for all of them if the decisions follow their "platform". I definitely have had ideas and tried to implement a few, to address homelessness, in both of the cities that I was homeless in. The projects did not get far as I was struggling to survive, but I hope to continue that work later on.
- 2kool4skool 8y ago
  I am currently building microshelters for the homeless in my spare time. The idea is to fill the city with them and piss rich people off.

selimthegrim 8y ago

Hang in there. More of us have been in this situation or close to it than you know. Hopefully at a developer meet up you will find that first rung of the ladder.

freddy418_sc 8y ago

This article makes no sense to me. It feels like there is something wrong with this dude and he still hasn't figured out what yet. I guess this article is for soliciting pity. But his real story seems extremely juicy. He should write about the details there. All of the interesting decisions and events that got him to where he is was glossed over in this article. "My interest in computers and programming was more like an intense obsession. It affected my ability to focus at school." <- this makes no sense. To me, programming is an exercise in formulating a plan, executing the plan, and verifying the outcome. Every step requires focus. How do you "study" and "program" without being able to focus? "Undiagnosed mental-health problems led to some fairly poor decisions." <- what health problems? what decisions? "Relationship issues for a now twenty year old developer proved to be too much. Emotionally I was devastated when that relationship ended. It affected me and I had no one to help me through the emotional stresses of the situation. It affected my work. It affected my activism." <- Every sentence here is interesting. If he went into detail and wrote about this, it would fit the title and it would grab my attention.

dragonwriter 8y ago
> "My interest in computers and programming was more like an intense obsession. It affected my ability to focus at school." <- this makes no sense. It makes perfect sense; an obsession makes it easy for you to focus on the subject of obsession, and hard to focus on other things. As school likely mainly consisted of things other than programming, an obsession with programming would naturally adversely impact overall focus at school.
- freddy418_sc 8y ago
  Maybe that's the issue. For him, programming is an abstract notion. Whereas it's really just a practice. You work on it, figure out where you are being dumb, then go home and take care of other stuff.
  - fouc 8y ago
    It seems like you're making up a definition of "programming" that happens to describe your particular circumstances/abilities. For example, It doesn't sound like you have ADHD. A classic symptom of ADHD is the ability to hyper-focus on one thing, to the exclusion of anything else. Such as being stuck so deep into a book or project that you'd barely notice if the building was burning down. Any sort of school/life balance would be extremely difficult to achieve.

eric_b 8y ago

As the author discovered, reliable transportation and a permanent residence are often prerequisites for many office jobs. However, I do know that in Iowa there are many other kinds of jobs, lots of which would pay a wage sufficient to get back on one's feet, and have more lenient requirements. Perhaps the author needs to get any job vs. a programming job? Establishing a place to live, getting consistent income, and then going after the programming job would be a better idea perhaps? Sucks to take a step back, but sometimes that's the only way to go forward. I have a family member going through this same thing and struggling with similar issues. The author is right, it won't be easy to rise above the situation they find themselves in, but the key thing is to stop making bad decisions and take small but incremental steps to improve. Big bang "remote programming job" might not be in the cards. But farm laborer could be. Which may be a step in that direction.

Avshalom 8y ago
What do you mean by many jobs. Outside of standing outside of home depot I don't know many jobs that don't require a permanent address and a phone number and an email. Entry level employment is like 99% massive corporations that make no allowances for the realities of hard lives.
- blobbers 8y ago
  It sounds like he has a phone number and an email. He could get a mailbox at a fedex as a permanent address. This individual sounds more stubborn than your average person but also that he's had a tough life. Hope the world works out for him.
- ryanwaggoner 8y ago
  Entry level employment is like 99% massive corporations This seems unlikely, given that the majority of jobs in the US are provided by small businesses.
  - loco5niner 8y ago
    simile often involves hyperbole.

jmcgough 8y ago

The author kind of glosses over a lot of conflicts with friends, family, employers, and briefly mentions mental health problems. It sounds like that could be contributing a lot to his struggles. I burned out of my first job because of poor mental health, which I didn't prioritize because work was all-consuming and being sick makes it hard to seek out help. I took a few months off before interviewing, and realized that I needed to get a job and really fight to break the cycle I'd been trapped in. I don't have any great suggestions for the author getting back on his feet, but once he does he should prioritize building a 6-month safety net and working through whatever he's struggling with. Yoga, running and medication all helped me.

shams93 8y ago

One thing that could help is using youth hostels, when I lost my apartment I was able to find a $25 a day youth hostel where I stayed for 3 weeks but I was able to hold on to my office job without anyone finding out I no longer had my own place.

2kool4skool 8y ago

I live on a box truck and collect cryptocurrency bounties on random public wifis. Homeless dev here. Problem is capitalism.

holtalanm 8y ago
> Problem is capitalism. I don't think that's the problem.
- s73v3r_ 8y ago
  It's definitely not helping things.
- xfer 8y ago
  Judging from his nick, that's a troll alright.

jriot 8y ago

Sounds like you never learned how to do anything outside of coding. There is more to succeeding in life than being able to code.

gigel82 8y ago
Have you looked at the GitHub profile? Don't want to be harsh, but it looks like he never really learned how to code either, which is kind-of sad. I'm not a stickler for education, but there's something to be said for at least finishing highschool; you learn how to learn if nothing else.
- jriot 8y ago
  I did not, only read through the Medium article/blog. As you alluded to, high school provides more than just standard book education. Those 4 years you learn how to deal with people, relationships, politics of an organization, how problems affecting more than a few people are solved/planned, how to deal with rejection etc... These are skills he now needs to learn in the real world that carry greater risks outside of learning them in high school.
- duiker101 8y ago
  I gave a quick look only because I'm on mobile but I'm really curious about what makes you say that. He might not be incredible but your comment makes it seem like he knows absolutely nothing which I wouldn't say it's true
- projektir 8y ago
  I'm not sure how to efficiently parse a GitHub profile but in what way does it indicate he never learned how to code?
  - gigel82 8y ago
    Most of the projects are straight forks with no additions, or puerile flatline dumps of boilerplate - generated structures with little to no meat. I don't want to put anyone down, he's obviously in a tough situation, but I maybe would've left the GitHub link out, it doesn't add anything (positive) to the story.

deleted 8y ago

[deleted]

spjt 8y ago

Sounds like he just needs to learn how to lie better in a job interview.

soufron 8y ago

Being homeless can also drive people mad up to a point when they cant get back to normal life, it may be some sort of PTSD.

gm-conspiracy 8y ago

There was a PDF I saw many years ago, posted to craigslist, that was written by a homeless man, but consciously choosing to be homeless. It had an interesting description of various strategies used. I think he lived in Hawaii and would eat "free" Burger King by rummaging through the trash during a sweepstakes and finding the coupons for free food. He also rented a small storage unit to keep his possessions (including a laptop), and had a gym membership for showering. Anybody else come across this?

ddingus 8y ago
Yes. One root motivation is just wanting to be lean. Needing to generate X per month can be something people do not want to do. Or cannot do. If high expectations are not set, what remains can be met. Meeting low expectations is definitely a choice.

cryptozeus 8y ago

Op First thing, I dont think I can ever understand the pain you are going through. I just wish you the best , remember you are in one of the high demand field and it would be very easy for you to bounce back. Next I would suggest you stop looking for remote jobs and temporary gigs. Those things are only useful when you already have roof over your head and food to eat. Based on maslow hierarchy of needs, your number one focus should be to get roof/food etc. I see you are creating side projects but I would ask you to focus on getting a full time job which can give you reliable salary. This may require mind shift but its not written in stone. Third thing I would say is that past is gone. Its literally gone, it only exist now in your memory so hopefully you can let go and create path forward. Seems like you are already step ahead because you are taking responsibility for all that has happened. I would also suggest you try to change your environment and get to a bigger city where you can find more jobs and some better city resources. Good luck

istorical 8y ago

So it sounds like you'd rather be homeless and not lie to others than stay in the religious-affiliated shelter and lie to them about your belief. Have you thought about this deeply? Seems like perhaps the experience of being kicked out by grandma because of your atheism has perhaps poisoned religion to you to the extent that now you're so headstrong about denying it that you are missing a huge opportunity to get some stability by simply nodding your head and saying what they want to hear at that shelter. Might be worth sacrificing your principles temporarily to find a place to stay. If you can't do that, try finding a church that will you help you if you agree to at least hear them out - maybe you don't need to profess faith but they'll at least accept you listening to their beliefs (even if deep inside you know nothing they say or do can change your mind, letting them feel that possibility and try might be enough for them to shelter you). The truth is that small towns are probably one of the worst and best places to be homeless, but a lot of that 'best' comes from churches. So if you're going to lock yourself out from their help, you probably would be better off street begging or something in SF or NYC or some larger city with government assistance for homeless and staying in a non-religious shelter there. Because small towns don't have that government infrastructure, but they do have churches with foodbanks and religious families looking to get someone back on their feet if they can feel that they've turned that person into a Christian. If you're so passionate about secularism - you could lie about believing, live at that shelter, get your life together, and in 10 years use the income and resources you have then to advocate for secularism or atheism. My other piece of feedback is remove the secret keys from your GH account (I saw some on your IRC bot), you may be missing out on lots of potential work because that's a huge security flaw (or some other word greater than flaw) - no company will want you to work for them if they think you could expose secrets to the world wide web. Last - try to do less experimentation with code and more experimentation with your job application process. If you are repeatedly starting phone screens with your story about needing a car and it isn't working, try something different. You're not going to find many articles on the web telling you to lie about yourself, your history, your reasons for resume gaps, or your home situation. But most people aren't as desperate as you are. Maybe get creative with the truth and sell yourself as something you aren't. Have you considered just making up an address or choosing a random house address when you put down your place of residence on an application?

8y ago

honkycat 8y ago

Hang in there, you're still young and healthy. It gets better. You can become a programmer, and there are jobs out there. Now, some harsh advice: You are being completely unrealistic in your expectation of a remote position while you live in rural Iowa. Problem 1: Where you are located _____________________ Get out of Iowa. Seriously. The tech-hub effect is real and Iowa has very few job opportunities for programmers. Source: I grew up in rural Iowa and I know how to use Linkedin. All of the places I've chosen to live in my life have been VERY foot-traffic friendly. Examples of such cities: Denver. Chicago. Portland, Or. San Francisco. Austin. Columbus. Kansas City, MO. Minneapolis. Somewhere you can walk and live without having a car. Places that have companies hiring programmers. You can save a ton of money by not having a car and just using public transit and walking. Problem 2: Transportation: ___________________________ I have NEVER owned a car. I lived in Chicago for 10 years. I took public transit or biked. Saved me thousands of dollars over the years. Why do you want to spend $300/mo on car payments for an asset that is constantly deprecating and has poor resale value while you are struggling to keep a roof over your head? Problem 3: The Remote Position ____________________ Some harsh advice on this remote position notion: You need to look for another job while learning coding on the side if you want to stick to your guns as a remote developer. I'll enumerate the reasons below: 1. Nobody wants to take a chance on an unproven 20-something programmer for a remote position. Remote positions tend to be for people with a proven track record. 2. Your Linkedin is not filled out enough to compete for remote positions. You don't seem to have had any real programming positions for an extended period of time. You should be going for entry level positions currently. 3. You have no formal education, which can often be substituted for actual work experience. Google touts that they hire TONS of people with no formal degree. Almost 15% (on certain teams)! Yep, degrees don't matter if you're willing to roll the dice on being part of that lucky ( Or extremely brilliant ) 15%! 4. Remote positions are still relatively rare. By limiting yourself to remote positions you are excluding yourself from most possible jobs. Edit: On the list of great cities to move to, Des Moines is also a viable option.

ryneandal 8y ago
Des Moines has a significant tech footprint now.

karmicthreat 8y ago

A similar story is pdxHomelessDev from last month. Some people on HN helped him out but I never heard if he got off the streets. His gofundme hasn’t updated. https://www.gofundme.com/homeless-dev-support https://www.gofundme.com/homeless-dev-support

danjoc 8y ago

>keeping a charge was almost impossible Hey Jesse, pick up a solar panel. You can get waterproof two usb port that'll crank out 20-30 watts ~$50. I'd recommend an ARM laptop too. They're cheaper and Intel is generally too power hungry anyway. A Samsung Chromebook Plus used on swappa would be really nice. It has a really bright display so you can still see it outdoors in the sun. For data, T-Mo is unlimited for $30/mo pre-paid. Put your panel in the sun, sit in the shade at a park, tether your phone for internet, and you're golden. You can strap the panel to your backpack and charge on the move too.

istorical 8y ago
Any link or suggestion for laptop solar chargers? I want one.
- danjoc 8y ago
  Here's a few choices, https://www.amazon.com/SOKOO-Portable-Efficiency-Reinforced-Waterproof/dp/B01HJKJVG2/ https://www.amazon.com/SOKOO-Portable-Efficiency-Reinforced-... https://www.amazon.com/Foldable-Waterproof-Efficiency-Cellphones-Flashlight/dp/B07537SR48/ https://www.amazon.com/Foldable-Waterproof-Efficiency-Cellph... https://www.amazon.com/Balight-Outdoor-Foldable-Powered-Charger/dp/B01N2RJJ46/ https://www.amazon.com/Balight-Outdoor-Foldable-Powered-Char... 28W basically gives you an fourth panel, but your backpack is probably 3 panels tall.
  - int_19h 8y ago
    Most of these don't provide anywhere near the advertised wattage. And when they do, it's usually in direct bright sunlight (i.e. depending on where you are and what season it is, it can be that efficient only for a few hours, and sometimes none at all). If you want a decent portable solar panel, get the non-flexible monocrystalline one.
    - danjoc 8y ago
      Any suggestions on models? I like the flexible one because it's lightweight and not easy to break. I'd be open to other options though if you have suggestions.

adiusmus 8y ago

Get a job: don’t tell or show recruiter how desperate you are. Don’t tell recruiter you’re homeless. Work on portfolio of projects. GitHub. Shelter: Get a van. Live in it. Boondocking is better than the cardboard box or couch surfing. Food: Noodles. Vegetables. Rice. Chicken. Tech: android tablets can run Linux and can support mouse and keyboard. Tablets are easier than laptops to charge. Laptops can do more. Trade offs. Security: get some money into bank account ASAP. Make it a regular habit. Any money you’d put into alcohol etc put it into bank account. This is your safety net. Start from zero. Street address: get a mailing address. Parents/friends may be able to help. You only need to visit. post office box can help as well but costs money. Relationships: be careful. Your safety net is likely not strong enough to tolerate much failure. Counter argument: having someone else around can help in little ways. Decisions: think critically. Need versus Want. Mental health: read autobiographies. Read fiction. Read. Improve all gaps that seem easy to fix. Understand that homelessness is a hole you can dig yourself out of. Health: teeth, hair etc hygiene is king. Drop any kind of drug other than coffee. Alcohol etc will make you an easy target. Small steps.

throwawaytote11 8y ago

This may sound a bit harsh, but dude you need to lower your standards. In the coding and startup world we created a cult like impossible dream to fulfill. I have a startup that went through some very low lows. I had just quit my cushy job and had saved enough money to last for 2 years, but not my co-founders. When we ran through our funding, things became harsh. I funded everything out of my pocket. The CTO couldn't afford his apartment anymore so I paid for his rent. Not long after, I got a family emergency and couldn't afford it anything anymore. I told him to get a part time job to help out. He squarely told me no. "Every successful startup founder lived in a van and dined on Ramen." I stopped paying his rent. He moved into the office. I urged him to get a job because I couldn't afford it anymore. He refused. I stopped paying the office rent. He went homeless. He lived on the generosity of strangers, though he went days without eating. He refused to get a job. As long as someone was helping him, he wouldn't work. We had to trick him to help him, a friend gave him some space to live together, then later told him that he needs to participate on paying rent. Only then he started looking for work. There are a lot of conflicts the OP only mentioned in passing and didn't go into details. There is a lot more to this story, maybe the mental health issue nullify anything I say here. But thinking your story is like that of every unicorn tech founder can lead you to make terrible decisions. Sometimes you have to be humble and make sacrifices to be able to move forward.

newnewpdro 8y ago

Look at the bright side: at least he can pass background checks, there's no mention of a criminal record. There's a guy in his 40s on freenode/#SDL who is constantly ranting about being unable to find work because he was involved in some gang stuff in his youth giving him a criminal record.

driverdan 8y ago
I have a felony record. Unless your in fintech the tech sector doesn't care.

teunispeters 8y ago

Been there done that. Worked a lot of other jobs too to survive (driving forklift, welder's help, construction) - got too injured to continue that so went back to fighting to work office jobs. Eventually succeeded. I spent 20 years in that half way world of not enough to survive, not enough to stay off the streets but I'm off now and have been for 7+ years now. The first employer that got me off the streets I didn't tell I was homeless. I worked for them for a month crashing out in friends' couches until I could move into a tiny apartment walking distance from the job. (there's levels of homeless. I only spent weeks on the streets themselves and about a year living out of an old beater car I could keep functional) I don't really have anything to add, other than try to work other stuff. Unless you live somewhere ridiculously expensive (like - oh - my last city of Vancouver BC) - you'll probably be able to drag yourself out with even a minimum wage warehouse job or the like, and get yourself set for going back into main career. My favourite warehouse job I worked for a year. Every day saying how great my vacation was going ;) (half of that was living in a car. But I made it)

vanpelt 8y ago

Thanks for sharing man, I hope it gives you hope that so many people are engaging with your story. I'm from Iowa so I know how brutal the winters can be, can't imagine what it's like without a roof over your head. Fortune landed me in San Francisco at the right time, but it wasn't so kind to my brother. He's making ends meet back in Iowa, but just barely. The advice I would offer is self love and hustle. Anytime you hear that voice saying you fucked up, acknowledge it and let it go. Today is a new day full of opportunity. Have you tried grabbing gigs on Upwork or Freelancer? If you've got the chops, most gigs would pay well enough to get you rent in Iowa pretty quick. Keep your chin up, and keep hacking!

gammateam 8y ago

Moving to a larger city with a tech focus will allow him to sleep in a rented tent on the sidewalk. This is a lot more economical.

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songzme 8y ago

Good news for op. I know a homeless developer who is not so lucky (yet?). Emmanuel (we call him Mani) is a 50 (or 60?) year old homeless man who would smile and shake our hands every day when we showed up at our local library to hold coding hours. He came in to every single office hour from (4-8pm) to learn as much as he could and literally never missed a day in the 3 months pilot that we were there. We learned from the librarians that for the past year, Mani has been coming to the library right when it opened (9am) and stayed until it closed (8pm) every day (including the weekend), trying to teach himself how to code. He was hoping to launch his website so he could make some money off ads. With a notepad++ on his usb drive, he coded every day piecing little things together. We taught him basic JavaScript and simple server stuff and helped him get his website up! https://newsgusher.garagescript.org/ https://newsgusher.garagescript.org/ Our office hours has ended, but Mani is still plowing away at the library. If you want to meet him, you can find him at Downtown San Jose Public Library on the third floor.

jtchang 8y ago
Wow that website loaded so fast. It kinda grows on me. Reminds me of the web back in the 90s when all HTML was coded mostly by hand.

deleted 8y ago

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austenallred 8y ago

Hey Jesse, I'm also formerly homeless, and now the cofounder of https://LambdaSchool.com https://LambdaSchool.com (YC S17). We have a nonprofit fund designed specifically to help out homeless software engineers looking for a job. I'd love to put you in a cheap airbnb or apartment, hook you up with Lambda School's career services team who will help review your resume, get your github and portfolio in shape, practice interviewing, and help you land a job. We've already seen multiple success stories (for example David https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/homeless-man-handing-out-resumes-in-bay-area-lands-software-engineer-job/1386955148 https://www.kron4.com/news/bay-area/homeless-man-handing-out..., who is now making almost $100k/yr). Generous donors have allowed us to continue to grow the fund after Lambda School's original $50,000 contribution. I know how hard it is to focus on getting a job when you're just trying to survive, so let's try to eliminate that distraction. Hit me up at austen@lambdaschool.com and let's help you focus and get to where you need to be. PS if anyone on HN wants to donate to the fund it's here - https://www.gofundme.com/lambda-perpetual-access-fund https://www.gofundme.com/lambda-perpetual-access-fund. Generally we can help someone who knows how to write code go from homeless to hired with a couple thousand dollars all-in.

songzme 8y ago
Could I recommend someone? I made a comment below about Mani, whom I met when I was volunteering at our local library.
- austenallred 8y ago
  Just saw the comment. Can you send me more details about him, and we can figure out the best way to help him? austen@lambdaschool.com. Seems like he has housing, but I'll do anything I can to help someone who has enough hustle to be at a library all the time. Easiest might be that we provide a computer, internet, and can give him self-paced access to our course archives (normally reserved for student review).
kraftman 8y ago
What about changing your model to take a cut of the jobs people end up with? Then you'd end up being self sustainable. Recruiters take about a 20%, so with your one guy getting 100k you could help 10 more.

timwaagh 8y ago

my boss is hiring and i have a spare room to let. only half a world away.

seddin 8y ago
Is the offer still up?
- timwaagh 8y ago
  yes

baby 8y ago

I'm not from the US but can't the state help you with money and a shelter? If you have problem in the US the streets is your only option?

alexbecker 8y ago
Pretty much. Shelters are either provided by charity or the local government, and state/federal money is only for very sympathetic classes like women with infant children.

Izmaki 8y ago

Hey dude Just read your story. I'm sorry that it ended how it did but I am really amazed of your strength and determination! I mean, wow, to go through that and still keep on fighting? That takes character! I'm certain things will change to the better. Our industry need more people with your determination. Keep up the hard work, Jesse. All the best from hopefully a future colleague

fouc 8y ago

Hi Jesse, I want to recommend two books for you to read. One is about developing your monetary power. The other is about developing your career capital. "Early Retirement Extreme" by Jacob Lund Fisker. "So Good They Can't Ignore You" by Cal Newport. You might be homeless right now because you haven't been protecting your personal power. The personal power to command a good salary. The personal power of having money in the bank. You might have been giving away your power and depending on other people. Try to watch out for that. The more you build your career capital, and the more you build your bank capital, the more free you'll be. Imagine having money in the bank that lets you walk away from a shitty job. Imagine having the savings that lets you take a few months to find a new & better job. We know you have skills. Your linkedin profile could be improved, some more detail on what you did at each job, and include some of your portfolio in there. You can find work on upwork.com or other sites. Setup a profile on there, set your hourly rate at $20/hr, and start from there. On your profile, highlight the fact that you're in Iowa and fluent in english.

wintorez 8y ago

Becoming homeless is one of the greatest fears of my life.

leke 8y ago

I recently quit web development and decided to get regular work. It just wasn't working out for me in my town/country (not in the US). My catch 22 was no experience, no chance. I couldn't even offer my services for free to get that experience, because companies just didn't need/want me. I could have easily been homeless during the 2 years after I graduated, but thanks to the social welfare system, I was taken care of as a job seeker. I'm now interested in something I call self startup ideas, which is currently making games for (mostly) mobile that might take off. This is only a hobby I allocate a couple of hours a day to though. Otherwise I'm doing unskilled labour for minimal wage. I've had mixed feelings about my experience as a web developer. It was something I had so much passion for (even before I went to study it), but now I'm kind of glad I've walked away, as it has been a source of so much toxicity in my life recently. Kind of like kicking a really bad habit.

ido 8y ago

One thing I found interesting straight off - by the cartoons and tech described (Pentium ii as a hand me down computer, internet connections at school and at homes) the author is at least 10 years younger than me - yet they started using the same language I did: qbasic. Being poor rather than middle class put them about a decade behind on the tech curve.

clarry 8y ago
At least in my part of the world, qbasic remained a popular beginner language through the 90s to the early 2000s. It was easy to get, and there was plenty of tutorials available for it. Visual Basic didn't have the same appeal unless you wanted to do desktop applications, and I guess it was harder to get your hands on. C and C++ were not considered too beginner friendly. I don't think there was much competition for QBasic on its merits, at least in the Microsoft world. To me it looks like a lot of hobbyists here started their dabblings with QB until web development (read: PHP) took over.
- ido 8y ago
  As they have gotten the pentium 2 (the top of the line, most expensive CPU in 1997) as a free hand-me-down computer & considering ubuntu first released in 2004, the author probably got started at the earliest in the mid '00s - by then you'd probably get started with something like flash. But I agree QB was surprisingly long-lived, this 80s era tool probably lasted as long as Windows 98 (i.e. till XP became the "default" windows version).
Ultimatt 8y ago
Luckily Ubuntu on a Pentium II might be dog slow but most programming languages will work just fine.
- ido 8y ago
  Oh yes you can definitely do useful programming on a Pentium II!

Ultimatt 8y ago

This guys code on GH is quite a bit better and broad than plenty of actual hires I've been part of. Kind of ridiculous someone who's gone as far as understanding and playing with cellular automata off their own back can't find stable work. Also someone presenting code in Lua, PHP, Python, JS and Ruby... you're lucky if someone has 100 lines of pure copy paste Python on GH.

bambataa 8y ago

> I was still stubborn and would not agree to believing in the almighty bearded creator in the sky, so one of the two shelters would not help me. I know it’s really common but it still shocks me when charities make receiving support contingent on believing whatever they happen to believe.

louwrentius 8y ago
Which is profoundly immoral and also shows their true colours.
jessehorne 8y ago
I was incredibly humble and polite when I walked into that shelter. My past activism with the Catholic Workers which were a couple blocks away flagged me as a dirty communist liberal, in their eyes. I volunteered there in several different ways. When I asked that the other shelter let me become a member, I was brought into a room with three larger males and pretty much trash talked and intimidated. The guy that ran the place said something like "You think you're better than us?". I was almost crying at this point. I was hungry and tired. My knees ached. They thought I was a drug addict. I had just walked a couple miles from the library. He told me that if I didn't believe that I would die on the streets with no help. I politely declined to be subject to that sort of treatment and I walked out of that door nearly sobbing knowing that I may have to be cold again that night. But I will risk pain any day over giving power to people like that. Being content is the problem. I was thinking bigger picture. It may have helped me to conform in that situation, but it would be doing the next person in my place a disservice. I'm happy I was strong that day but many other times I was weak.

justaaron 8y ago

Someone hook this human up with some gainful employment and attempt to assist him in auto-stabilizing. He sounds like he would be a real asset given a relatively small investment. FWIW, I can't think of any other country this is possible in besides the USA.

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leandot 8y ago

Hey Jesse, I am throwing a couple of random ideas here: - https://www.indiehackers.com/forum/how-would-you-make-an-extra-500-in-one-month-97a9a74efc https://www.indiehackers.com/forum/how-would-you-make-an-ext..., most interesting I found the "teach chinese kids english" - Small freelance gigs, as a native english speaker you have distinct advantage - https://www.upwork.com/ https://www.upwork.com/, https://www.fiverr.com/ https://www.fiverr.com/ - Probably not an option because of initial costs but there is a huge shortage for developers in Europe, especially CEE where costs are low and wages growing fast. Even call centers would gladly pay $1000+/month just for your english. - Drop me a line (email in profile). I don't have anything right now but sometimes I'm looking for some help for side projects. Good luck!

jrochkind1 8y ago

Every government should be addressing homelessness with "housing first" approaches. https://endhomelessness.org/resource/housing-first/ https://endhomelessness.org/resource/housing-first/ Being homeless is HARD and does not make it any easier to address any of your other problems. We should all be telling our elected officials we want a "housing first" approach.

err4nt 8y ago

Hey Jesse, I can sympathize with your situation, and I've seen you get some really solid advice in other comments here so I'll just add my 2¢ about presenting yourself. I have a couple of probing questions, and I mean no offense, just to provoke thought: 1) What good is atheism as a worldview if it prevents you from communicating, and even receiving help you desperately need? 2) Why would a recruiter or potential employer care about your past, living arrangements, or financial troubles? You sound like a smart, driven guy, but I think you're letting your situation and your beliefs cripple your potential right now. You don't have to _change_ those things, they're real, but you might want to limit who you share them with, or in what context, especially until you can find the help you need. Wishing you the best!

chriscappuccio 8y ago
That's his "activism" getting in the way of reality. Seems to be a common thread for people brought up in abusive "Christian" households.

sigi45 8y ago

Why not work any job first and get your life straight? McDonalds, cleaning, Kirchenhelp whatever. Than with a small flat, internet and a computer you have enough to try again a career in it.