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11
Jan 2025

Homeless heating kit for the elderly living in cars or tents

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Living the RV dream off-grid in the wild is like playing nature’s own game show – Survive the Elements! No AC? Get ready to sweat through the summer. And winter? Forget about cozy; the floor might as well be an ice rink, with the cold sneaking up on you from below! Now, imagine living in a tent or a car.

What sparked this post was a homeless friend living in an older Suburban. He ran out of propane one night and brought in the 20-lb tank. The hose had a leak and caught fire. I was graciously able to obtain a refill kit and refillable 1-lb tank to send him. These tanks fill in about 60 seconds compared to 30 minutes to an hour or more when using the disposable green tanks. While many people do this successfully, these tanks are very dangerous and actually illegal to transport refilled.

Unfortunately, homelessness has grown greatly in the United States. In particular, many elderly people find themselves in a very difficult position. Since COVID-19, housing costs along with almost everything have increased in price drastically. Many found themselves unable to continue living in a house or apartment because of the huge increases in housing.

  • 2020 to 2022: The number of people entering homelessness for the first time increased by 30% (Source: HUD)
  • 2022 to 2023: There was a 12% increase in homelessness, marking the sharpest increase since data collection began in 2007, which led to approximately 653,104 people experiencing homelessness in 2023. (Source: PBS)
  • 2023 to 2024: There’s been an 18.1% increase in homelessness, bringing the total to more than 770,000 people counted as homeless. (Source: MSN)

There are undoubtedly many classes of homelessness now. And you have to be careful with how you handle any sort of giving — especially money or physical products — as many people, unfortunately, end up on drugs while on the streets. The face of homelessness has changed greatly in that many people are living all across the US wherever they can. Some have enough money to live in a car at a campground while others are hidden in the woods or go from parking lot to parking lot.

When dealing with the winter weather, I have found this is one of the best combos: a 20-lb propane tank, refillable 1-lb propane tank, refill adaptor(s), and a buddy heater. The 20-lb is a little dangerous indoors (think gas leak and a massive fire show).

The kit:

My goal for the future would be to create a non-profit to help alleviate some of the discomforts of the hidden people suffering from homelessness. If you have questions about how to give or who to give to, please reach out and I will try to help you find a local reputable agency or answer whatever questions you may have.