One public view point of van dwelling.

[yesican]

<p>This spring I saw what "hobos" do and why so many are inclined to think they&nbsp;should be expelled from their public area.&nbsp; Here's the story:&nbsp;<br><br> Last year, I mentioned here on the site a story about a homeless man who made his living fixing chips in windshields&nbsp;at the parking lot of Fred Meyers.&nbsp; I was impressed with him because even though he was an alcoholic and incapable of working a job on a routine basis, he fended for his own&nbsp;needs through self employment when he was sober.&nbsp; When walking the dog this winter behind Fred Meyers, I ran into his "secret campsite".&nbsp; When I walked there several months later, he was gone, but all his garbage was not.&nbsp; TRASHED...the whole area...made me sick!&nbsp; Not only from the sight of the garbage but the thought that this is why van dwellers have a&nbsp;bad rap.&nbsp; Most people probably think van dwellers are drunks and druggies without a care about how their nasty behavior negatively effects the lives of those who live around them and the public wants to rid themselves of those people who MAY produce such behavior before it occurs.&nbsp; <br><br>I thank Bob for this site and encouraging all to behave responsibly.&nbsp; Maybe in the future, van dwellers will be looked apon as stewards of the community instead of hobos who trash it!&nbsp;&nbsp;Only we can change the way people&nbsp;view us as a whole and perhaps we will be welcomed instead of chased out like stray cats from a garbage can.</p>

 

[Noah]

I completely agree!<BR><BR>&nbsp;I am often picking up other's&nbsp;garbage around my parking spot because I wouldn't want people thinking I left it there.&nbsp; I&nbsp;see other car, truck, or curb-dwellers in the area leaving garbage laying around all the time and I know it reflects poorly on all of us. Even though they probably aren't any worse than 'normal' people, judgments are certainly made.<BR><BR>&nbsp;I think we all need to do our best to leave our area better than we found it for so many reasons. Certainly to help the planet, beauty of the land, and also to help prevent our lifestyle from being outlawed.&nbsp; The Man is just waiting for a good reason to get rid of us. Don't let it be something as silly as littering...<BR><BR>-Noah

 

[Pikachu711]

Unfortunately there are some van dwellers who are not the best stewards of this lifestyle. Let's hope that more than less are doing the right thing and not giving van dwellers a bad name.<br><br>Years ago I used to work security here in Las Vegas, NV. One night while on vehicle patrol I entered the parking lot of an office complex to discover a white van in the parking lot. As I approached with my overhead lights turned on I noticed that the van's back doors were open and he was tossing items from the inside of the van into my parking lot. There was no system or area he was focusing the pile of junk so I doubt he was planning on cleaning up after himself. When he saw my security truck approaching he starting cleaning up the trash he had just been throwing out of the back of the van. I'm not certain if he would have do this had I not arrived at that moment. But I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. He did eventually pick up his trash and I asked him to politely leave the property as this office complex had a no parking rule after business hours unless they were employees working. This van I had never seen before and it was apparent he was living in his van.<br><br>I'm not certain if he was going to leave his trash in the parking lot but from the way he was tossing it out I had serious doubt it would be picked up and properly disposed of his trash. If I had not arrived at that time I strongly suspect that he would have left all trash in my parking lot. Again, I wanted to give him the benefit of the doubt. But sometimes people do give van dwellers a bad name. This may have been just a person.

 

[James AKA Lynx]

There is that and some people just do not want anybody around who they do not know. It is everywhere.<br><br>James AKA Lynx

 

[offroad]

1)&nbsp; There are evil stealth DUMPERS that will toss garbage in any secret location they can find.&nbsp; Its a business practice for some.&nbsp; Yes they should be arrested, but just try to take stealth pictures as much as you can WITHOUT getting caught taking pictures.<br><br>2)&nbsp; then agree you should start cleaning up the spot, regardless if you are the source for the garbage.&nbsp; Pay it forward and make it better for the next person.&nbsp; NO TRACE LEFT BEHIND is a camping motto you should have learned in scouts, or some other youth experience.

 

[mockturtle]

<span id="post_message_1278623359">NO TRACE LEFT BEHIND</span>

Exactly!

 

[my_vantasy]

Don't forget picking up after pets...I see lots of travelers walk their dogs and not have clean-up bags.&nbsp; I may pick up litter&nbsp;after others, but I draw the line at unclaimed dog poop.

 

[yesican]

I'm guilty of letting nature take care of dog poo, but in a city where dogs congregate, nature can't keep up and we owners should pick up!

 

[VanLifeCrisis]

I agree with james, i think people are just automatically suspcisous of anyone they don't know and especially people in vans for some weird reason.&nbsp; I was at my work parked in front of a room we no longer rent, and someone called down to my coworker at the office and reported me as suspicious.&nbsp; A cargo van parked at a motel filled with workers, utility trucks and pick ups is the suspicious one why?