Register with a homeless shelter

[DrJean]

I am probably going to register with a local homeless shelter rather than go through the hassle and expense of a mail service address.  This is a legitimate way to have a "base address" and legally be able to obtain driver's licenses, voter ID and the like, with a legitimate address.   It just seems too iffy about the others, especially with the Patriot Act and the increasing crack downs on people who don't have a permanent residence, with the non-residential addresses being flagged in the computer and all that.

I think that's what I'll do.

 

[Ballenxj]

I am probably going to register with a local homeless shelter rather than go through the hassle and expense of a mail service address. 
<----snip---->
I think that's what I'll do.

It feels such a shame that people might have to resort to things like that here in the land of the free. One would think that if they really needed to find you. they could just do it through your license plate number?

 

[akrvbob]

Lots of misunderstanding on this topic. To get a driver's license, you must have 2 addresses:

1) A mailing address
2) A residence address.

For most people, they are the same thing and they combine them into one address.

But for us nomads with no permanent address, we need two different ones.

NO ONE CARES WHERE YOUR MAILING ADDRESS IS, AS LONG AS IT IS IN THE SAME STATE YOU ARE A RESIDENT OF!!!

A stick and brick home-owner can use a PO Box or a UPS store address and no one cares. The same with us!

All states now, or soon will, require you to prove your residence address, that is where the problem comes in but it has nothing to do with a mail forwarder.

YOU CAN USE A MAIL FORWARDER--YOU JUST ALSO HAVE TO PROVE YOUR RESIDENCE ADDRESS.

TWO TOTALLY SEPARATE ISSUES!

 

[akrvbob]

I am probably going to register with a local homeless shelter rather than go through the hassle and expense of a mail service address.  This is a legitimate way to have a "base address" and legally be able to obtain driver's licenses, voter ID and the like, with a legitimate address.  

But they won't forward your mail. What will you do when you are traveling? 

You can use them to get your drivers license and get a mail forwarder for everything else. That way you can get your mail forwarded.

 

[Oswegatchie]

It feels such a shame that people might have to resort to things like that here in the land of the free. One would think that if they really needed to find you. they could just do it through your license plate number?

The mistake in this country many people seem to make is believing we are the land of the free. We are not free in any true sense of the word. Not now, and probably, looking at our history, never. It is a nice slogan though, and Americans love slogans,
specially those that sound really nice but mean nothing.

 

[Ballenxj]

The mistake in this country many people seem to make is believing we are the land of the free. We are not free in any true sense of the word. Not now, and probably, looking at our history, never. It is a nice slogan though, and Americans love slogans,
specially those that sound really nice but mean nothing.

So, are you not free to travel from state to state as you please? Can you not make decisions about how to run your own life? Can you go to the RTR's freely? Are you not free to leave this great country if you desire?
I understand that there are huge corporations,etc. that would try and push their agendas on people, but are we not free to push back?
 Is there another country in this world that offers a better place to live, and more freedom?
Please explain this to me so I might have a better understanding?

 

[Belinda2]

DrJean,
Your frustration is valid. Here is what I did and I hope it helps:
Google: year round campgrounds in your area
Stay one month. Receive mail, so you know the campground has added you as a resident there.
Apply for a P.O. Box using the campground address. ( This is your "home" address on the P.O. box form).
Google: an apartment that is in the local area with an apartment number
Apply for a driver's license, Motor vehicle card, and voters card all at the same time on the motor vehicle website. Use "your apartment" address (resident address) and your P.O. box number ( mailing address).
Wait at the campground another 5-7 days for the above cards to come in the mail.
Check out of the campground.
Enjoy.
I hope this helps,
Belinda2

 

[Queen]

As a former shelter manager, I would suggest caution in deciding to register. In many places shelters are under tremendous pressure to justify and account for every single service/meal/shower they offer, it is how most funding works. By stepping into that environment and requesting service, you are entering a system that has a vested interest in tracking you and reporting about you. Depending on who manages the shelter some offer more anonymity that others. The shelter I ran was under the auspices of the local mental health center, so our clients had much more protection than, say, a place run by a municipality or church.

Just some things to be aware of.

 

[mayble]

Google: an apartment that is in the local area with an apartment number
Apply for a driver's license, Motor vehicle card, and voters card all at the same time on the motor vehicle website. Use "your apartment" address (resident address) and your P.O. box number ( mailing address).

Curious - why do you need the fake apartment address if you already have a real RV park address?

 

[John61CT]

And flat-out lying on government forms establishing identity documents doesn't seem a smart move given the way things are going, even if there may not be immediate consequences may bite you in the butt down the road.

 

[Drewskers]

I agree, the quickest route to an experience of not being free is to get into legal difficulty.

 

[Belinda2]

Well, you only stay at the campground a month and then check out. So, you ARE lying because you didn't update your drivers license "each time you moved to a new apartment or campground".
Twist it anyway you want, you don't have a permanent address, and that's what the government forms ask for.

 

[DrJean]

Thanks for all the replies.

I plan on volunteering physically with the group first... I already support them otherwise (money and goods).

AND folks, to the average government official and citizen, we who van dwell ARE HOMELESS! (their ignorance, not mine)

The shelter WILL hold mail, and I suspect that I could give them donation to forward it from time to time. I receive very little mail now... and most of that are things that I just need paper billing for or I'll forget them (electric which to pay automatically has them tap into the checking account, not a credit card, and I won't do that)... etc. I removed all charities that used to send me paper requests: they all come via email now. hahahah

I think I would enjoy a occasional hot shower even at a shelter! In hurricane zone, I used to manage Red Cross disaster shelters and find the people quite normal to say the least; I have no trouble mingling with regular people in a shelter! (I am regular people).

The Patriot Act changed many things... but made some secret things open. For privacy and security some of us could have our mailing address on our driver's license (as long as our real domicile was also listed with police). Now nearly all, if not all, addresses are categorized as residential or business or "not residential" and the computer kicks it back if it doesn't qualify. I'm about to find out this year....
(But some real addresses are coming up as not real... like online with the DMV today... said my home address wasn't real... foreseeing future now does it? Or is Echo recording and reporting my conversations with my dog? ) (Gotta get rid of that thing! I already put tape over the cameras on phone, computers.... haven't yet pulled plug on smart tv when I talk to myself wink wink)

I have always had a PO Box since some miscreants (govt and PIs) would go through mail at my home... from the box there.... The shelter offers a "residential" address for at least 8 months at a time I believe... and if I'm an active volunteer... hmmmm I've inquired and will let you know if I find out anything worthwhile.

The government already tracks all of us. Don't call me paranoid when they really are out to get us hahaha You think the huge computer system in (UTAH?) that can track 6000 bits of information PER SECOND on EACH of the nearly 7 BILLION people in the world is playing dominoes? The cellular phones, the GPS's, the black boxes that shut off your vehicle engines, the toll ticks and photos of your plate.... you cannot even move $5000 from one bank to another or to anywhere else these days without the government being informed (and you need 2 IDs in the bank to do so.) I won't get political but you have to realize that when Sen John McCain, upset over Trump's election stated publicly NOW THE NEW WORLD ORDER IS DISABLED (or some word like that I forget...dismantled... in disrepair ?) there's a problem for freedom. Satellites track our every movement.. no they might not know who "we" are right then, but they can know if they want to. (Think of this: Hitler knew where every Jewish person in the world was... even had them mapped out...one country only had 1 Jew yet Hitler knew where he was in that country! So with computers and technology.... don't kid yourselves.)

I doubt the RV places that are mail-forwarding warehouses will be ignored.

My only hope is that if being a Christian becomes a crime that they'll be enough evidence to convict me! (Rant over )