I will be homeless soon, and so I am just preparing myself as best as I can. Specifically on the dos and don'ts, the internet has been of great help with this but I have some UK specific questions, that I have not gotten an answer to.
Foremost on my mind is a place I can lay my head down for 6 hours, I say "6 hours", because that is all I want, I dont want a shelter, I dont want to burden others, neither to burden myself with shame and what else.
I am not turning my nose up on anyone but after heeding the council of my close friend and visiting a few institutions, who save for one, looked me up and down, before asking for some "referral letter" from an authority or some other institution, I had to forego it all.
Just as a practice, I slept in a park over night, it was one of those parks that the deeper you go in, it gives way to a forest and shallow bodies of water. It was not comfortable, the small stones bit into my back but above all it was secluded, and so it meant I could potential shame and embarrassment and just focus on work and saving up.
I am left to wonder, why dont homeless people sleep in parks then? I like nature and going for walks in parks, cemeteries, forests. In all my life there, I cant ever say I saw a single homeless person in a park, be it the small gated ones that close and open a certain time or the large ones that are in effect always open.
Is there a obvious answer that is evading me here? This is what worries me to be honest, I can be pretty bad with discernment and often, what is obvious with everyone is not so with me, so I though I would ask here. I truly dont want to find out last second, and pay with my life.
I dont drink, smoke nor take any substances, so I am not going to be causing a mess nor attract attention. My plan is to only come with a very small sleeping bag, and leave with it every morning at around 6:00.
Also, do you think, safety wise this is a good idea for a male in his mid 20s?
Thank you.
Edit:
I thought I would update everyone who was kind to impart their wisdom for the past two days, of which has been of great help to me.
– Two days ago or (or just over a day, hazy memory), a individual reached out to me via PM, offering a place to stay, and the oppurtunity to earn my keep with basic manual labour.
– Today, a lady also reached out to me via PM, offering me a place to stay, on agreement that I would mind her dog for her, on the days she travels out of city.
This nice lady's house is convenient to get to with a bike, from where I work. She was kind to offer me a choice between a small detached house on her compound or a room in her main house.
Her only requirement was that I would need to verify my age and that I was drug and alcohol free, as I claimed in my OP, which is not an issue at all for me.
I did not really know what to say to her or the other individual, going to sleep after realising through all the comments how impractical my idea was and feeling trapped, to how I feel now.
I will not forget these acts of kindness by these complete strangers to me, and if I am ever in a position to help someone else, I will pay it forward.
Thank you to everyone else too.