Transgender

okay, now having rested a bit, here we go.

First off, so much of being homeless depends on the area. Jspelts' accounts of where you are are far better than we could ever provide.

However, in our experience, one of the important things was to not look stereotypically homeless/like a drug addict. So, keep your hair well done, wash your face with (clean!) water if you can, don't smell bad, and try not to dirty your clothes.

Our reasoning is that out here in Oregon at least, the homeless population are pretty much just viewed by the governments (municipal and state) as a thing that is solely problematic. There are organizations (like shelters) whose goal is to assist those who are homeless, but if you don't keep up your looks, while they might give out some supplies, they probably won't help you out with getting a roof over your head.

Some organizations might be able to get you a hotel for a couple days or weeks, although they are usually ones related to domestic violence etc. With your status as a transgender woman, some of those may be willing to assist you, but don't count on it.

With regards to homeless shelters, in our experience here in homeless-unfriendly Oregon, the multiple-day ones were awful. The ones that we've heard are good for LGBTQ+ folk and women were usually just overnight shelters, or had a huge waitlist. It is worth noting that in the midwest (in Wisconsin) where the homeless population were treated with decency, getting a three month stay at a quite good shelter was fairly managable. From the accounts of other commenters though that may not be the case for you sadly.

We were lucky to be able to shelter in a car (this is back here in Oregon), albeit it was cramped with two other folk (we knew them very well). In one of the places we car camped there were a couple other groups also car camping, one of them out of an old chevy SUV (think like a late 90's suburban) they got for super cheap. They said that they got it off someone for a few hundred dollars, as it had some pretty severe mechanical troubles and awful bodywork. They only drove it when the police told them to move, but other than that it stayed stationary, with some supplies and a ladder strapped on top. This may be sustainable in the long term if you can't find housing, or it may be a terrible idea depending on your situation, we can't say really.

With what we said in our other post—"keep comfy in a way you can keep up"—we should have emphasized the "in a way you can keep up" part. For instance, while hotels are very comfy, you can't keep that up unless you had enough money to the point of just being able to rent a place. Books are great for the mental aspect of this, and some libraries don't have any late fees at all! Whatever type of shelter you pursue, ensure you have decent bedding as well; used/free stuff is often your friend here. A super big mattress might be unfeasible, but even a few inch thick roll of memory foam can be okay to lay on.

Besides this stuff, as Jspelts mentioned try and sign up for government assistance such as SNAP EBT and public health plans (medicaid). And do try and get in touch with your friends! They are often the best resource out there.

We shall stress once again this is our experience in Oregon, so use your own judgement.

Stay strong, stay close with your dear shorky, and you'll manage :)