Public Library View in Salt Lake City, Utah

Recently I was in a modern urban survival situation in Salt Lake City, Utah. Some of the realities I encountered differed greatly from what I read in Survival Quarterly, Issue #2, “Shelter”. First hand experience taught me most of the article was bias or living in the 1970′s. I did find some stuff helpful like picking up pennies was not a way to buy food or living expenses, but might top off a purchase when a few pennies short. It ends there.

First and foremost, you can not walk into a restaurant and wash dishes for a meal. You need to go through job service or craigslist, email a resume, and show ID, and maybe multiple interviews to get that minimum wage dish washing job and with the job market in depression, expect the competition to be fierce.

Urban camping is great if you can find a spot to stay more than one night without geting your shit ripped off or going to jail for trespassing. Some parks, like during this Occcupy Salt Lake City have the park open to tent campers and others who wish to stay but not sell crack and heroin or smoke outside designated areas on the sidewalk or fours corners. Of course, this is temporary. Most likely, like I found myself without bedding and sleeping pad, to sleep in a Road Home for three nights in a room with 300 (or so) guys, shitters, pissers, showers (no soap or anything beyond a grab of paper roll towels and toilet to dry, or use your clothes).

Food. Yeah, I see lots of wild edibles around urban areas, but it a big risk getting sick from poisons or even dieing so even the most skilled botanist will stay away. During the Occupy and End the Fed protests there were more than the usual meals in the park, meals under the bridge near Salt Lake Central on Sunday mornings with bread and other resources offered, including sending off snail mail for you if you brought a letter and had addressed it, meals at the Rescue Mission that kicked ass, and daily at the CCS (Catholic Community Services) for lunch and dinner, the rescue mission had breakfast. A coffee line starts at 7:30am at the place where crack is also sold, take my advice and choose the Christian crank and not the other stuff. Included are pastries. Yeah, the homeless and whoever wants them get the perishable leftovers, like pastries and fruit. There were so many options I just could not eat that much. So, you are going to starve and be lightheaded, docile, and risk injury for your pride? Nonsense.