Many people take having a roof over their heads for granted.
According to a report from the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD), over 580,466 people were homeless in the U.S. on a single night in 2020.
The homeless crisis was made worse due to the pandemic. That statistic saw an increase from 2019 by 12,751 people.
Addressing those who were able to come out the other side, Redditor green131313 asked:
"People who have been homeless before, what is your scariest story?"
Some people who found makeshift places to sleep in thought they were going to die while battling the forces of nature.
The Unbearable Cold
"For a while, after my mom lost the house we lived in a burned-out camper in the woods. One night it got really cold. We honestly thought we were going to freeze to death. It was one of my first near-death experiences as a kid. After that, my mom reached out to my dad and had me move in with him while she got our stuff together."
The Tornado
"The first night we had a tornado. We were between two hills so it mostly jumped over us. Though it also picked my brother and me up in our tent and flung us a good twenty or so feet. We were awake so we knew what was going on, but it still terrified me. It felt like we flew for ages. We joined the circle after that and everyone sort of tied the tents together."
A deadly Bite
"I almost died getting bit by a snake in arizona while sleeping in front of a old store."
With drugs added to the mix, the situation became nightmares for these Redditors.
The Crack Den
"I was 19 and needed a semi-warm place to stay. I was in New Orleans and not dressed for the cold winter night. I didn't know anyone there and found a dark, abandoned house on the outskirts of the quarter. I crawled under the porch and found a place to pass out. I woke some time in the night to a LOT of screaming and breaking things. Some very serious sh*t going on. Turned out it was a crack/meth den I was sleeping under. The fighting continued until just before dawn. I waited for about an hour of quiet before I slinked away."
Drugs And Consequences
"I almost died when someone gave me 'medical e' and my stupid a** took some. I'll never know what really happened that night under the bridge, but I'm alive tho."
Terrifying Visions
"I suffered from something which I now believe is called Alcohol-induced-psychosis. It's what some can get if you drink way too much hard liquor and begin suffering withdraws."
"I would see ghostly figures of people who weren't actually there, I saw blueish holographic people that weren't there, I would hear random auditory hallucinations and the only thing that seemed to make it die down was to drink beers. Basically I'd walk down the street and see figures working in their front lawns, or friends sitting on porches, etc. When I walked closer to inspect them, the figure had vanished. Sometimes they'd appear erratic, like a person with Parkinson's disease. Once, I saw a large menacing holographic head of a personal friend in a window, and it terrified me."
"The scariest time is when I walked to the park alone during night, I could hear children's laughter, and I could see figures walking about, I looked towards a fence and saw two figures pointing at me, I kind of just laid down on the ground and shut my eyes to ignore it all. Eventually it all subsided on it's own and I left the park. I haven't suffered any of this since gladly. But mind you some homeless are stuck in this hallucination mind state every day, and that must be a living hell to live through. Drinking alone was the stupidest thing I ever did. Please only drink with friends, it's always better anyway."
– RyanFire
As if life couldn't get any worse, the following people were victims of physical violence.
The Attack
"Had a junkie hold a knife to my neck for next to nothing and a cop threaten to kill me but the worst was a business owner that came out of his business and asked me to panhandle further down the block. I was sober and being polite and to top it off I wasn't even in front of his business I mentioned this and told him I wouldn't move."
"He snatched a skateboard that had just been given to me by somebody that had picked me up hitchhiking and turned around. I started standing up to try and get it back from him and the next thing I know I was in the back of an ambulance with a broken jaw and a bunch of missing teeth and to top it off the emts didn't know who they had given my dog too just that they thought it was my friend."
"I refused treatment, we were still right where it had happened and I had to find my dog. Turns out she was with someone I trusted but the emts couldn't even describe who they gave her to and no one I knew was with me when it happened."
"I tried talking to some lawyers in the area but no one seemed to want to help some homeless kid (I think I was 19 at the time) and I didn't plan on staying in that city for more than a couple weeks anyway."
Brutal Beating
"I got jumped by 3 people. I'm sure this isn't the rarest experience but it truly terrified me. One of them held me on the ground, one of them repeatedly kicked/stepped on my face, and the other guy acted as a lookout. They finally stopped when he told them there were people coming."
These Redditors wouldn't be alive to tell their stories if their situations ended differently.
Interaction With The Police
"Someone called the cops on me for parking a little too close to a neighborhood. The cops knocked and asked me to come out of my RV. Having a dozen guns pointed at you is really scary. They never put them down either while asking me questions why I'm there and asking me for proof which like if they wouldn't let me move how can I get you my ID or my work cards, my work schedule, etc."
"I only parked near my work because I had a three jobs which all needed me that day with one shift starting at 7am for setups. And I'll be there until 10pm."
"It's really scary to think because someone had negative ideas and didn't think I deserved to be there, I could have died if that interaction went wrong. I had been called on maybe 4 times in the year and the others thankfully weren't this. It was usually just 2 cops, ask me to kindly move and that was it. This particular cop group had a hard on to get me on something. They towed my RV. Made me miss my shift, and I had hundreds dollars worth in impound fees I didn't have."
Secretary of Housing and Urban Development Marcia L. Fudge expressed optimism for the relief effort to end homelessness.
"Thanks to President Biden's leadership, we are once again putting Housing First to end this crisis and build strong, healthy communities, as reflected in the American Rescue Plan," said Fudge.
"I look forward to working with President Biden to implement this historic package to deliver robust, equitable relief to those experiencing homelessness. Housing should be a right, not a privilege, and ensuring that every American has a safe, stable home is a national imperative."
Experiencing death is a fascinating and frightening idea.
Who doesn't want to know what is waiting for us on the other side?
But so many of us want to know and then come back and live a little longer.
It would be so great to be sure there is something else.
But the whole dying part is not that great, so we'll have to rely on other people's accounts.
Redditor AlaskaStiletto wanted to hear from everyone who has returned to life, so they asked:
"Redditors who have 'died' and come back to life, what did you see?"
Sensations
Happy Good Vibes GIF by Major League SoccerGiphy"My dad's heart stopped when he had a heart attack and he had to be brought back to life. He kept the paper copy of the heart monitor which shows he flatlined. He said he felt an overwhelming sensation of peace, like nothing he had felt before."
PeachesnPain
Recovery
"I had surgical complications in 2010 that caused a great deal of blood loss. As a result, I had extremely low blood pressure and could barely stay awake. I remember feeling like I was surrounded by loved ones who had passed. They were in a circle around me and I knew they were there to guide me onwards. I told them I was not ready to go because my kids needed me and I came back."
"My nurse later said she was afraid she’d find me dead every time she came into the room."
"It took months, and blood transfusions, but I recovered."
good_golly99
Take Me Back
"Overwhelming peace and happiness. A bright airy and floating feeling. I live a very stressful life. Imagine finding out the person you have had a crush on reveals they have the same feelings for you and then you win the lotto later that day - that was the feeling I had."
"I never feared death afterward and am relieved when I hear of people dying after suffering from an illness."
rayrayrayray
Free
The Light Minnie GIF by (G)I-DLEGiphy"I had a heart surgery with near-death experience, for me at least (well the possibility that those effects are caused by morphine is also there) I just saw black and nothing else but it was warm and I had such inner peace, its weird as I sometimes still think about it and wish this feeling of being so light and free again."
TooReDTooHigh
This is why I hate surgery.
You just never know.
Shocked
Giphy"More of a near-death experience. I was electrocuted. I felt like I was in a deep hole looking straight up in the sky. My life flashed before me. Felt sad for my family, but I had a deep sense of peace."
Admirable_Buyer6528
The SOB
"Nursing in the ICU, we’ve had people try to die on us many times during the years, some successfully. One guy stood out to me. His heart stopped. We called a code, are working on him, and suddenly he comes to. We hadn’t vented him yet, so he was able to talk, and he started screaming, 'Don’t let them take me, don’t let them take me, they are coming,' he was scared and yelling."
"Then he yelled a little more, as we tried to calm him down, he screamed, 'No, No,' and gestured towards the end of the bed, and died again. We didn’t get him back. It was seriously creepy. We called his son to tell him the news, and the son said basically, 'Good, he was an SOB.'”
1-cupcake-at-a-time
Colors
"My sister died and said it was extremely peaceful. She said it was very loud like a train station and lots of talking and she was stuck in this area that was like a curtain with lots of beautiful colors (colors that you don’t see in real life according to her) a man told her 'He was sorry, but she had to go back as it wasn’t her time.'"
Hannah_LL7
"I had a really similar experience except I was in an endless garden with flowers that were colors I had never seen before. It was quiet and peaceful and a woman in a dress looked at me, shook her head, and just said 'Not yet.' As I was coming back, it was extremely loud, like everyone in the world was trying to talk all at once. It was all very disorienting but it changed my perspective on life!"
huntokarrr
The Fog
"I was in a gray fog with a girl who looked a lot like a young version of my grandmother (who was still alive) but dressed like a pioneer in the 1800s she didn't say anything but kept pulling me towards an opening in the wall. I kept refusing to go because I was so tired."
"I finally got tired of her nagging and went and that's when I came to. I had bled out during a c-section and my heart could not beat without blood. They had to deliver the baby and sew up the bleeders. refill me with blood before they could restart my heart so, like, at least 12 minutes gone."
Fluffy-Hotel-5184
Through the Walls
"My spouse was dead for a couple of minutes one miserable night. She maintains that she saw nothing, but only heard people talking about her like through a wall. The only thing she remembers for absolute certain was begging an ER nurse that she didn't want to die."
"She's quite alive and well today."
Hot-Refrigerator6583
Well let's all be happy to be alive.
It seems to be all we have.
Trying to lose weight is a struggle understood by many people regardless of size.
The goal of reaching a healthy weight may seem unattainable, but with diet and exercise, it can pay off through persistence and discipline.
Seeing the pounds gradually drop off can also be a great motivator and incentivize people to stay the course.
Those who've achieved their respective weight goals shared their experiences when Redditor apprenti8455 asked:
"People who lost a lot of weight, what surprises you the most now?"
Redditors didn't see these coming.
Shiver Me Timbers
"I’m always cold now!"
– Telrom_1
"I had a coworker lose over 130 pounds five or six years ago. I’ve never seen him without a jacket on since."
– r7ndom
"140 lbs lost here starting just before COVID, I feel like that little old lady that's always cold, damn this top comment was on point lmao."
– mr_remy
Drawing Concern
"I lost 100 pounds over a year and a half but since I’m old(70’s) it seems few people comment on it because (I think) they think I’m wasting away from some terminal illness."
– dee-fondy
"Congrats on the weight loss! It’s honestly a real accomplishment 🙂"
"Working in oncology, I can never comment on someone’s weight loss unless I specifically know it was on purpose, regardless of their age. I think it kind of ruffles feathers at times, but like I don’t want to congratulate someone for having cancer or something. It’s a weird place to be in."
– LizardofDeath
Unleashing Insults
"I remember when I lost the first big chunk of weight (around 50 lbs) it was like it gave some people license to talk sh*t about the 'old' me. Old coworkers, friends, made a lot of not just negative, but harsh comments about what I used to look like. One person I met after the big loss saw a picture of me prior and said, 'Wow, we wouldn’t even be friends!'”
"It wasn’t extremely common, but I was a little alarmed by some of the attention. My weight has been up and down since then, but every time I gain a little it gets me a little down thinking about those things people said."
– alanamablamaspama
Not Everything Goes After Losing Weight
"The loose skin is a bit unexpected."
– KeltarCentauri
"I haven’t experienced it myself, but surgery to remove skin takes a long time to recover. Longer than bariatric surgery and usually isn’t covered by insurance unless you have both."
– KatMagic1977
"It definitely does take a long time to recover. My Dad dropped a little over 200 pounds a few years back and decided to go through with skin removal surgery to deal with the excess. His procedure was extensive, as in he had skin taken from just about every part of his body excluding his head, and he went through hell for weeks in recovery, and he was bedridden for a lot of it."
– Jaew96
These Redditors shared their pleasantly surprising experiences.
Shopping
"I can buy clothes in any store I want."
– WaySavvyD
"When I lost weight I was dying to go find cute, smaller clothes and I really struggled. As someone who had always been restricted to one or two stores that catered to plus-sized clothing, a full mall of shops with items in my size was daunting. Too many options and not enough knowledge of brands that were good vs cheap. I usually went home pretty frustrated."
– ganache98012
No More Symptoms
"Lost about 80 pounds in the past year and a half, biggest thing that I’ve noticed that I haven’t seen mentioned on here yet is my acid reflux and heartburn are basically gone. I used to be popping tums every couple hours and now they just sit in the medicine cabinet collecting dust."
– colleennicole93
Expanding Capabilities
"I'm all for not judging people by their appearance and I recognise that there are unhealthy, unachievable beauty standards, but one thing that is undeniable is that I can just do stuff now. Just stamina and flexibility alone are worth it, appearance is tertiary at best."
– Ramblonius
People Change Their Tune
"How much nicer people are to you."
"My feet weren't 'wide' they were 'fat.'"
– LiZZygsu
"Have to agree. Lost 220 lbs, people make eye contact and hold open doors and stuff"
"And on the foot thing, I also lost a full shoe size numerically and also wear regular width now 😅"
– awholedamngarden
It's gonna take some getting used to.
Bones Everywhere
"Having bones. Collarbones, wrist bones, knee bones, hip bones, ribs. I have so many bones sticking out everywhere and it’s weird as hell."
– Princess-Pancake-97
"I noticed the shadow of my ribs the other day and it threw me, there’s a whole skeleton in here."
– bekastrange
Knee Pillow
"Right?! And they’re so … pointy! Now I get why people sleep with pillows between their legs - the knee bones laying on top of each other (side sleeper here) is weird and jarring."
– snic2030
"I lost only 40 pounds within the last year or so. I’m struggling to relate to most of these comments as I feel like I just 'slimmed down' rather than dropped a ton. But wow, the pillow between the knees at night. YES! I can relate to this. I think a lot of my weight was in my thighs. I never needed to do this up until recently."
– Strongbad23
More Mobility
"I’ve lost 100 lbs since 2020. It’s a collection of little things that surprise me. For at least 10 years I couldn’t put on socks, or tie my shoes. I couldn’t bend over and pick something up. I couldn’t climb a ladder to fix something. Simple things like that I can do now that fascinate me."
"Edit: Some additional little things are sitting in a chair with arms, sitting in a booth in a restaurant, being able to shop in a normal store AND not needing to buy the biggest size there, being able to easily wipe my butt, and looking down and being able to see my penis."
– dma1965
People making significant changes, whether for mental or physical health, can surely find a newfound perspective on life.
But they can also discover different issues they never saw coming.
That being said, overcoming any challenge in life is laudable, especially if it leads to gaining confidence and ditching insecurities.