Homeless woman lived inside grocery store sign for a year

How did she get up there in the first place? It's an interesting kip.

La da dee la dee da

Wouldn't she have been better off living in the supermarket itself?

Didn't she boil up in the summer.

Is that considered a penthouse?

Michigan gets cold in winter.

Pretty ingenious.

Right above the Goodwill Store. (click photo to see wide view)

Homeless woman in aisle 7!

*

maybe she saved up a lot of money over a year.

did she shit in a bucket? It must have been cold out there in winter and boiling in summer.

[quote] maybe she saved up a lot of money over a year.

With coupons?

Welcome to America!

[quote] “From someone who works with the homeless, part of me acknowledges she was really resourceful,” said Saralyn Temple of Midland’s Open Door. “Obviously, we don’t want people resorting to illegal activity to find housing. [bold]There are much better options.”[/bold]

I don’t know. I think I’d prefer living in a store’s sign to in a public shelter.

[quote] did she shit in a bucket?

R12 is Frances McDormand.

The sign probably generated some heat in the winter. The article says she had a job elsewhere, so she had heating and cooling during the day and probably spent time in places like malls until things cooled off in the evening. She probably also wanted cover of darkness to slip in and out undetected.

Let her live there. Make it an attraction!

How did she get up there? Like Spiderman?

The real crime is not that she trespassed for a year but that we don't have nearly enough affordable housing for low-income families and single people.

And don't even start in with "But THEY like to be on the street."

This woman worked and had made a makeshift home in that space. You can't do that if you're drug-addled and/or mentally unstable.

Because we refuse to deal with our housing crisis, we want to blame the victim.

[Quote] “We provided her with some information about services in the area,” the officer said. “She apologized and continued on her way. Where she went from there, I don’t know.”

😢

Well she claimed to work. It seems like she slipped away, unidentified.

I guess identified, but certainly she refused any entry into "the system". So we can't really know if she holds a job.

Isn't it more like an attic? She was living *behind* the sign in that little peaked area in the pictures, but I bet it was a room

5 feet wide. Very narrow.

So few cunts around here bother to read linked articles.

The sign structure, probably 5 feet (1.5 meter) wide and 8 feet (2.4 meters) high, has a door and is accessible from the roof, Warren said.

Atta girl!

I agree, R20. Many of the middle class can no longer afford homes, as well. The working class has gotten completely fucked. When I was born my father was 32, had 3 kids (another would follow), my mother took care of us and didn't have to work, not did the other women on the block, we had a small home with a renter on the top floor, a clunker car but it got us to the Catskills for our 2 week vacation in the mountains, family and friends were always over and there never seemed to be a scarcity of anything, though we lived simply. My parents had only a high school education, mom was very smart and informed, and we lived on a blue collar income, dad was a fireman.

When I was 32, I realized that I could never duplicate this, even with a college education, even if I wanted to.

I like the tiny homes for homeless trend.

I have a dear, departed friend who spent several years in the NYC homeless system. A lawyer, and from a wealthy family. It is very very very very expensive to house homeless in NYC, at least.

Exactly, R20.

Where did she take dumps and showers?

I swear something happened in 1972 or the early 70s. I came across a website that explained it, but I can't find it, that totally changed the US economy for the middle and working class.

I guess she used these low and sloping sheds around back to hoist herself up to the roof?

R32 The change happened in Reagan's 80s.

1) union busting

2) getting rid of company pensions (it took awhile)

3) shifting the focus in capitalism from Employer-employee to company-share holders. The company MUST return income to shareholders. And executive suite.

4) the combination of 2) and 3) meant that all employees must turn to the stock market to hope to generate wealth. Stock market and real estate. Lower class people did not have the budget and wisdom to create 401Ks. Real estate priced out average folks from playing real estate game to accumulate net worth and income.

Result - downward mobility for middle middle class and below. Also - vast shift of the nations wealth to the rich and very rich, rather than it being spread around through the classes.

Sometimes you just get angry. Nevermind about not having the means. My 1950s 3 storey walkup is scheduled to be demolished. For 1950s it has huge rooms and closet space. 9 foot ceilings.

To find a comparable place now means spending at least twice as much. And who knows when that one will be demolished or renovated. I almost have no choice but to triple my rent and move to a high rise. Try finding a 3 bedroom place.

I'd like to go back to owning but those prices and accompanying fees, anger me even more.

More power to her.

We tried that but the birds kept crapping on us.

No pics of her setup ? Disappointing !

It must have been a dingy smelly hellhole. 5 feet wide. No windows. No air. On a tar rooftop.

Ah, so that's where Bai Ling has been staying!

Amazing story

Shit in a bucket? I LOVE IT!!!!

If you were homeless that would be a pretty sweet place

No mention of a bed roll or where she slept. But she had a computer, printer and coffee maker.

I slept in my car for four months with my dog in mid to late 2017. I don't recommend it.

r43 I would love to hear more about what it was like if you are up for talking about it.

[quote]I agree, [R20]. Many of the middle class can no longer afford homes, as well.

Screw the middle classes! I will never accept them. And they will never deny me anything again.

My father's other family were middle class. And we were kept out of sight, hidden from view.

A year? Bitch, please.

Me as well r43. Please educate us.

I'd like to hear about it too please R43 and R47.

I'm a renter with little to no chance of ever owning my own home and I am extremely worried about where/how I am going to live when I get older. I'd love to hear your experiences.

R45 = Marie Antoinette, headless Queen of France.

After "Sunset," I will play the homeless sign woman and get back to back Oscars!

[quote]5 feet wide. Very narrow.

Very Ann Frank-ish.

At the rate all these tacky McMansions are being abandoned it’s only a matter of time before we start seeing Golden-Girlsesque groups going in on a mortgage where an entire community sets up house together. Some of these gaudy souvenirs of excess have 10K square feet. A dozen people could live together without ever bumping into one another. Way more space than senior centers or cruise ships and lots of amenities like home theaters, pools, tennis courts, gourmet kitchens.

R50 is not G. It’s Julie Delpy.

homeless people don't want to go to shelters because they don't want to be raped, robbed, or harassed by other homeless people. the sharper and more functional they are, the more likely they are to have the sense to avoid other homeless people at all costs.

Spot on R54.

What was the temperature inside the sign during the winter?

Let the bitch try a soup bowl and see how long she lasts.

r44 and r48 - I took another job in the private sector to leave local government. I was sick of the stupidity.

That job was recommended to me by a family member. It was a new office space for a spa procedure, and once I outfitted it, was dumped and told they lost all kinds of money in Brexit and they couldn't afford staff (2017).

It was sudden and I liquidated my home and put the rest into storage. I descended into alcohol over 5 months and decided to put the rest of my stuff into storage. I also spent one night - and one night only in a homeless shelter. It was hell.

I lived in my car, writing, drinking and being sad for those many months. I had my car's windshield and driver window broken into during that time. I received my first ever (and only) DUI during that time (people in my car at the time forcing me to drive), I was raped twice because I let someone into my life and car that was a lowlife).

It was a shit of a time.

Damn r58! Thanks for telling your story. I hope all is good in your realm now.

[quote]Ah, so

I see what you did there.

I won't bore anyone with the details, but since then, my best friend let me crash on my couch, and yadda yadda, after some time later elsewhere I got a job as a loan processor and made the most money I've ever made in my life for a few years. Then rates went up...got laid off, was on unemployment for as long as I could but essentially lived for 2 years on savings and unemployment.

Now I'm an Office Administrator for a non-profit for almost a year. I'm happy. I've been living on my own for four years now, in a real apartment with a garden.

I will always - since that time in my life - make sure I have a car that can support me having to live and sleep in it, just in case. I just bought an SUV that I can sleep in if shit gets real, which was a major purchase for me - I don't have any credit card debt. This country's trajectory scares me and this is my way to make sure I have a way to live through it if I need to. I grew up with my parents living in a VW camper van for several months while we relocated, so if I have to, I am ready to do that. Nothing in my house is that important that I can't sell, and put the rest into storage.

R58 are you a man or woman?

Non binary.

I'm a woman.

I've been here, and commenting since 2010...paid member for a few years now.

So many questions, but the main one I have is: If this woman had a job somewhere and kept going to it regularly, how could she have possibly avoided being seen leaving and returning to her hiding place 10 times per week or more?

It can happen.

R65 Plot twist: she ran an OnlyFans lol

[quote] lol

LoL! :)

Joyce DeWitt?

She should be shipped out of Michigan.

Sadly, this is the second story I've read like this recently.

There was a man living in an abandoned Circuit City.

Oh wait, ignore that. I mixed up my stories, that dude was actually a criminal hiding.

Sorry, my bad.

R69 Imagine that New York Post article “One-third of TVs greatest threesome was found living in conditions that belie the former actresses swanky bachelorette life in Santa Monica.”

When times got tough Joyce slept in her plant store.

Well, she had to keep up her DL posting, didn't she?

I forgot to add I lived in my 2005 Subaru Forester. Crossover before they were a thing.

(true story).

She wasn't Brendad, was she?

No judging, but it's staggering how many people are unable to accomplish the simple goals of adulthood: job, living space, transportation, food, insurance and clothing.

There are housing options everywhere, if you know where to look.

R78, if not to judge, then what is the point of your comment? You do realize that once a person loses a job, it's often a cascade of loss that follows--i.e., food-clothing-housing-insurance. In our merciless economy, that list of basics has become perilous for many. I just got let go frome my well-paying job and am fucking terrified. Worked hard, never called in sick, never picked fights, have advanced credentials and experience, but there you go.

Just wait until it happens to you.

Tasteful Friends..

Some guys pitched a large tent in a small wooded area behind the convenience store up the road from me. The one guy (who's missing half his right arm) openly carries (illegal here) a revolver in a holster on that side of his belt (??). But there are many guys like that in the Forest area, homeless, drunk all the time on those tiny bottles of liquor from the convenience store, and with enough money for cigarettes and Vienna sausages in a can. Three neighbors (that I know of) have one homeless person each living in a tent in their yards. You see the same scruffy bastards hitchhiking around here all the time -- some are mentally ill in all kinds of ways, and others are just plain drunks, meth heads, and heroin addicts.

But I guess it could be worse; I could be living in California in a million dollar+ property and have to deal with the same type of motley crew. At least I got my place cheap.

R71 Thanks for the article. A fascinating story and very creepy psychology.

R82 I am confused. These homeowners LET homeless camp in their backyards. On their property?! Seems like a recipe for disaster.

Yup, R84 -- but the homeowners' homes aren't exactly anything a tasteful friend would live in, and the homeless people are often someone the homeowner knows, if only from seeing them walking around the neighborhood all the time.

This will soon be a Stephen Spielberg movie.

Publix housing.

No wonder Greg hasn’t posted in a few days.

You are so amusing, R88.

You must not know how to read.

Hi, Greg.

Greg has just been busy perfecting his rock candy recipe.

R89 👏😵‍💫🤡

Hello, R90.

[quote] Greg has just been busy perfecting his rock candy recipe.

How clever you are, R91.

Cause she cares, y'all.

Sign O’ The Times

I've noticed a lot of You Tube videos of young people living in their cars. Why?

R97 Because they're poor.

Next question!

Why does this remind me of that great book from when we were kids- the one where the kids get locked up/ start living at the Library? FUN!

isnt it the met museum?

[Quote] Welcome to America!

And it’ll get ten times worse if plutocrat Trump slithers back into office in November.

Really there is a book for children about living in a library? How cool is that for us introverts. Just have it exist as connected to a Target store and we'd be golden. 👍

And quit picking on Greg. I have enjoyed their posts. Maybe he ought to just go anonymous for awhile or try another moniker. Just sayin'.

Body cam footage of the cops confronting her.

Code Blue Cam is on the scene

Damn, she really is a Roof Ninja. She sounds pretty sharp and seems to have a steady job. I wonder why she couldn't find some kind of normal living situation after a year, or did she just really like it up there?

I fucking hate pigs. Those body cam videos made me want to rage.

Wasn’t that urgent, she could’ve packed some things in the 7 minutes they were chatting with her. Doesn’t seem they suspected she was dangerous so they could’ve also offered to carry a few things.

It's a riveting story of ingenious resourcefulness. She might well prefer to maintain anonymity - but surely her account in a book would compel attention, and improve her living conditions.

R103 poor thing. The manager is a CUNT.

Have you read anything about this story, R109. The store manager was not a cunt, at all. There is no way a store manager can allow someone to live on their store's roof. Also, this manager specifically told the police that she was not pressing charges, and the police relayed the message to the perp. Also relayed was that the store would clear out the possessions and keep them in the store and the perp could come back to get them safely. NOT A CUNT.

R110 I agree, the store manager isn't a cunt. She probably did feel bad for the woman, but as a manager she would have to answer to higher up and there's likely many liability issues for the store to have someone living up there. She handled things to the best of her ability and it was good that she didn't want charges pressed against the homeless woman.

Roof Ninja could have started a fire up with all her devices. They said she had stacks of frozen hamburger patties...how the heck was she cooking them? I'm disappointed that we didn't get a proper tour of the inside.

I watched the longer video and while she does seem very smart and lucid, she also seems to have some paranoia. I wish someone would follow up with her and get her some psychiatric help (if she would accept it).

[quote]isnt it the met museum?

Yes,it was. The book is From The Mixed Up Files of Mrs. Basil E. Franweiler by E.L. Konigsberg, and there is also a movie version.

[quote]Have you read anything about this story, [R109]. The store manager was not a cunt, at all. There is no way a store manager can allow someone to live on their store's roof. Also, this manager specifically told the police that she was not pressing charges, and the police relayed the message to the perp. Also relayed was that the store would clear out the possessions and keep them in the store and the perp could come back to get them safely. NOT A CUNT.

Exactly. Some of the comments here about this story are unbelievably stupid, and of course, those people would change their tune completely if it was ever discovered that someone was living on the roof of their private home or even their apartment building. Idiots.

Has anyone here found, in any of the articles or videos about this story, an explanation of how this woman managed to get back and forth to her little residence on the roof so many times for so long a period without anyone noticing?

I posted up thread pictures of the back access. at R33. She had something to help her reach the lowest roof and from there it as just a series of little ups. Due to sightlines from the parking lot, I doubt she would be seen walking across the roof from the back toward the front and up to the sign.

Thanks, R116. Also, I wonder how the woman became aware of her future domicile in the first place. I don't think it would ever occur to me that there would be something like that as part of a sign on the roof of a store.

*Frankweiler

[quote] Has anyone here found, in any of the articles or videos about this story, an explanation of how this woman managed to get back and forth to her little residence on the roof so many times for so long a period without anyone noticing?

Maybe she was on the roof casing it for possible breaking and entering.

Also, everyone just buys her claim "I have a job" but who knows, really.

I finally found a Reddit thread with a few photos of the interior. She had to haul all that stuff up there bit by bit, including a chair. I guess the first pic answers the question I had about the bathroom situation.

I wonder if she had Faygo brand soda up there.

[quote]I finally found a Reddit thread with a few photos of the interior

A shame she had to give all of that up.

[quote]homeless people don't want to go to shelters because they don't want to be raped, robbed, or harassed by other homeless people. the sharper and more functional they are, the more likely they are to have the sense to avoid other homeless people at all costs.

I've always thought a fairly simple solution to this admittedly serious problem would be to hire one or two security guards to patrol each of the shelters. And if the city, state, and federal governments won't spend the money for that, it on them.

I've heard of people living in their cars and RVs pooling to pay for a security patrol. I don't know how that turned out, but it was an interesting idea.