How to Find Homeless Relatives
The discovery that someone in your family has been living on the streets or in a homeless shelter can be heartbreaking and frustrating. It can be difficult to think of someone you love struggling for basics like food, shelter and safety. Since homeless people, by definition, have no fixed home or work address, finding this person to help him or her off the streets may be frustrating.
However, there are people in every city that work with the local homeless, and they will be the best resource to help you find your relative.
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Things You'll Need
- A recent photograph of your relative
- Flyers
- Computer with internet access
- Car
- Telephone
Instructions
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1
Check out your relative's last known address. If your relative last lived and worked in a particular city, that is where you should begin your search. See if he left a forwarding address with a former landlord or employer and follow up to make sure your relative isn't living at the new address. Ask the former employer if your relative mentioned anything about a new job before leaving his old one and follow up at the new work location also.
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Contact homeless shelters and other aid organizations. Look on the Internet for charities that offer aid to homeless persons in your relatives' city---the Salvation Army, Catholic Charities, and various local soup kitchens and church aid organizations should all be listed online as well as in the local phone book. Call or email and arrange a time to go to the aid site and speak with the director and volunteers. While there, ask some of the other homeless people present if they have seen or heard about your missing relative.
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3
Replicate a recent photograph. Even though the last photo you have of your relative may not be all that recent, make as many copies of it as you can. Incorporate the photo into a "Have You Seen..." flyer for distribution throughout the city where you know she lived last.
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Post flyers on telephone poles near homeless shelters and services. Take the photos of your relative with you to your meetings with the aid organizations. See if you can interest local television or print media in your search story.
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Check with hospitals and other facilities. Take your relative's photos to the local emergency rooms and see if anyone matching her description was treated there. Call the local police department in case your relative has been jailed for violating vagrancy or begging laws. Call the local morgue and ask if there has been anyone brought in that matches your relative's description.
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Keep trying. You may not find your relative in his last known town. Try other towns or larger cities in the area---many homeless people migrate to bigger cities because they have more shelters and other aid facilities than small towns. Retrace your steps and repost your flyers every six months or so. If you can, volunteer at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen; you never know when you'll run into your lost relative.
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References
- Photo Credit Stockbroker/Valueline/Getty Images
