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Comment by qingcharles | Hacker News Reader

As someone who previously made millions of dollars and is now reduced to a single broken suitcase[*] for all his possessions and is homeless, living in a sleeping bag, this article resonates with me. I help a lot of other homeless people and it is very, very hard to totally reboot your life when all you have in the world is the one set of dirty clothes on your back.

[*] it was a wheelie suitcase I found, but I wore the wheels completely off it carrying cans of food from the food pantries for everyone.

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Not quite doubting you, but you mentioned having a landlord 3 days ago.

Didn’t you read the comment? His landlord got hit in a head-on collision and refused an ambulance because he was carrying a stack of rent cash in his car. You have to assume the landlord died and OP became homeless 3 days later.

(I’m joking lol. I definitely want to call cap on the sleeping bag homeless situation.)

They appear to be either mentally ill and/or prone to fabricating outlandish stories to make a relevant & interesting comment. The 10 years in jail story is rather consistent, though, so I wouldn't be surprised if it was true and perhaps related to their... odd comments.

I think almost anyone that ends up in jail is somewhat mentally ill. I've seen various statistics concerning the mental illness of confined persons, but the percentages seem low compared to my personal experiences from being inside.

Most sane people will not commit a serious crime or put themselves in a position where they are arrested and have to fight to prove their innocence.

I was living in a halfway house. I was served my 30 day notice three weeks ago. I have my sleeping bag. I have two days left here.

I don't understand how a person falls into complete homelessness, barring severe mental illness or addiction. Don't you have family or friends you could at least stay with temporarily? I moved to a country where I have zero family, but even here I have friends I could stay with if I ended up being unable to pay the rent.

'I moved to a country where I have zero family, but even here I have friends I could stay with if I ended up being unable to pay the rent.'

Not parent post but...

Imagine a scenario where friends and family are the last people on Earth you are going to ask for help. Not everyone is of the same mindset you describe.

Pride, mental health issues, family history, etc all play a part. I was homeless once, a combination of these things is what stopped me asking for help.

I have relatives who are regulars on the Sunday Times Rich List, some good loyal friends and 3 siblings. Go figure.

> even here I have friends I could stay with if I ended up being unable to pay the rent

Time plays a factor. How long do you think they'd put you up? One month? Six? A year? Two years? Five years?

And if you pick up some bad habits while being unable to get back on your feet and living with friends... that can get you booted more quickly.

I moved to the USA, I have zero family here. I went to jail and every single friend I had over here decided to forget I existed. I had one useful friend left in the UK. I'm wanted by ICE too, which doesn't help. I do not have anyone I can stay with.

Not everyone has friends or family capable of helping them… or doing so without it significantly impacting their family/friends ability to avoid falling into the same situation.

Additionally, temporarily is fine when you have prospects to lift you from having to resort to relying on the generosity of friends/family but for those that don’t, it’s difficult to ask for help (don’t want to burden those you “love”), and difficult to provide any (“want to help but can’t afford it”)

How did that happen, if you don't mind me asking?

https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=36440612

Just curious but where did the millions go? I assume a split between assets and consumables (food, drink, events/experiences).

The first millions I made from Beanie Babies in the mid-90s. The second was from running a TV torrent site. I recklessly spent pretty much everything both times and didn't really save anything. I had a lot of nice things, but then I ended up in jail and when I got out I had literally zero. Well, I had a COVID stimulus check and that was it. Then I went back to jail again and got reset to full zero.

Thanks for sharing, I appreciate the insight

This was me: https://torrentfreak.com/major-tv-torrent-site-thebox-bz-cal...

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