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I wouldn’t like being homeless, and if I insisted on staying in my hometown without my mother’s retirement paying her mortgage, I would end up homeless, but there are worse places to be.Photo: Monica and Michael Sweet/Getty ImagesPhoto: Robert HardingCan my wife and I keep our jobs? We may be able to negotiate a low (for the market) rent from one of my coworkers who own numerous homes for rent. Less than half our salary, anyway.If not, can I keep my new $600 van? It’s just inspected, registered and insured, and I just got it back from the shop. I’m continuing my work on it. I’m doing temporary things to sleep in it, before doing the big job of sanding and painting, and building the interior later.Van for sale $600 (Craigslist)I know the local offices I should go to for assistance if we were out of a job and money.Kauai County, HI Shelters, Homeless Housing, Halfway HousesLocal food banks and the state employees union helped furloughed federal workers with food. I would prefer being secretly homeless to asking people I know for help. There was a time that Honolulu on the next island, used to be this helpful (emphasis mine):Homeless, But Enjoying Hawaii On $3 A Day - NPRAt the Sumner Homeless Men's Shelter in downtown Honolulu -- less than a mile from Honolulu Harbor, where luxury cruise ships are docked -- shelter operations assistant Alfred Ho'opi'i tells guests to line up for their lunch."The majority of people that I can see here are from the mainland," he says. "You have your locals, but not too many."The meal is chopped beef steak with vegetables, mashed potatoes, bread, a fresh apple and cake. Ho'opi'i and his volunteers serve from 750 to 900 meals a day at the three shelters operated by the nonprofit Institute for Human Services.The shelters' resident population has increased 10 percent in the past year, and one-third of all the guests -- 1,300 annually -- come from out of state.Gary Phillips purchased a $400 airline ticket to Hawaii three months ago. He was homeless in San Diego for years, but is now earning cash from Hawaii's 5-cent redemption program for plastic bottles and aluminum cans."I recycle here," he says. "I make money doing that." Some days, over $40, he says.And he sleeps at the IHS shelter for $3 a day, with three free meals, $200 worth of food stamps and the state's free health care program."I went to the dentist today, and I had a tooth pulled," Phillips says. "It cost me nothing."The shelter's annual operating budget of $2 million is funded largely by state taxpayers. Connie Mitchell is executive director. She says 28 percent of her shelter and food budget is spent on new arrivals from the mainland."We are a tourist destination that attracts people who are homeless or people who have resources, and that's something that we really can't control," Mitchell says. "But I think that if people do want to take up that particular lifestyle, that it shouldn't be at the public's expense."Meanwhile, Hawaiian taxpayers face a $1.2 billion budget deficit, which is being addressed in part with deferred state tax refunds and deferred Medicaid reimbursements. [note: population 1.4 million]Honolulu's homeless demographic -- on the streets and in shelters -- is changing. The University of Hawaii's Center on the Family estimates the city's homeless street population has shifted from being 21 percent Caucasian in 2005 to more than 43 percent today. [note: Hawaii is only 24% caucasian people]Many are single, middle-aged men from the mainland, like former computer programmer Gary Titleman."Well, I was kind of homeless in Flagstaff and Prescott [Arizona], and a guy told me that you could go to Hawaii for $150, so I had some savings and bought a ticket," he says.Denby Fawcett: 5 Myths About Homelessness in Hawaii - Civil BeatInterestingly, a homeless person arriving here from the mainland can begin the process of applying for welfare benefits and social services the minute he or she steps off a plane. There is no residency requirement.“Interestingly”IHS: Mainland people looking to be homeless in Hawaii [The Institute for Human Services]DO NOT COME TO HAWAII TO BE HOMELESS ON PURPOSE. DON’T. You may find out why some locals hate “haoles”. Hawaii is one of the few places (as an entire state) where people look down on whites as a minority. White people (not majority newcomers with brown skin) are considered the alien immigrants here. People from the Philippines with visas sponsored by family members ad infinitum are not the reason homes cost $1 million here. It’s stuff like this:No lei! — Facebook's Zuckerberg sues hundreds of Hawaiians to force property sales to him - CNBCFacebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg is suing hundreds of Hawaiians to compel them to sell the billionaire small plots of land they own that lie within a 700-acre property that Zuckerberg purchased on the island of Kauai two years ago for $100 million.Here’s how timing in my life works. I’ve been holding onto money to buy a vehicle for seven months. I’ve regretted missing what appeared to be vans perfect for my needs, for up to $5,000. I prefer a cargo van for privacy and so there aren’t so many expensive windows to break (yesterday I cut out plastic panels to cover my windows when not driving), but I’ve already put $1000 into this $600 van to get it inspected and registered, and to take care of some gremlins (no issues from having 213,000 miles so far). For $600, it came with new tires not even dusty yet, and after replacing the blower (no fan), I find the a/c actually works. It has commercial shelving and a partition in it. Except for the rust around the edges, it’s good. I shouldn’t complain even if I were to pay $2,000 for a van like this (except for the high miles). It starts perfectly, and drives fine so far. It seems better than my 1995 Ford Explorer. I’ve only put 1.25 gallons of gas into it, despite expecting it to get only 10–12 miles per gallon.Look what suddenly appeared two days ago. Where were you last Saturday?2006 Ford E 350 van - $2200 (Craigslist)Edit 1/29/19: Free two man kayak 2006 Ford E 350 van Oh my God.Everything works even the a.c., guarantee pass safety. Has one year back taxes. I just aint got the room or I would kit it out Myself. Runs and drives only 37000 miles. For the price it will make a Cherry hippy home!37000 milesIt made me feel like screaming and stomping around. Yes, I see it’s missing an antenna and there may be minor rust holes in it. For the lols, I’ll take care of that myself, either teaching myself to do body work, or I’ll use a fiberglass repair kit or HVAC foil tape with rust reformer. It will be a “hippie” van.Only once can I recall, and just this week, seeing a vehicle with such amazingly low milage for the year. It would be worth it for me to buy this larger van with more room inside, to have a spare engine and transmission with only 37000 miles on it.I can see on Craigslist because of how things are (high cost of housing, many small businesses, many local vendors for farmers’ market), old commercial vans like mine can get snapped up with an asking price as high as $5,100 even with high mileage and serious flaws. I only got mine because I was the first in line. I’m wondering if I should flip my van to get something that could last longer than I expect to live. (I’ve seen beat up “homeless” vans from as early as 1982 still for sale.) I know for a fact that the rear bench seat in a full sized van is all I need to sleep. The extra space is just a bonus.