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Homeless young man living in a shed next to my backyard - should I call the cops, ignore or help?
My neighbors moved away, so their house is now up for sale and vacant. We share a fence running along our backyards, and they have a shed next to the fence. This week, I noticed a homeless man with his bike and backpack coming and going from the shed. He sleeps in the shed at night with a candle. My dog freaked out 2 nights ago because she heard the man in the shed, so my husband went to the fence line with a flashlight to calm her down and called out to the man. My husband asked him what he was doing, and the man/young man said he was sleeping there but also cleaning the place up. This is when my husband noticed the candle, his age, and that he was clean, lucid, and just working on his bike. The young man was apologetic and started to grab his things, so my husband said, "Hey man, I'm not running you off, just stay on that side of the fence."
I'm on the fence about my feelings. On one hand, it's cold, he's homeless and about the same age as my own son. My heart wants to give him a care package with food, warm blankets, etc. On the other hand, I am concerned about how he came to find the shed in the first place. He must have noticed the house was empty. He had to walk through the side of the property around to the back of the house and explore the backyard until he found the open shed.
I'm curious, should I be worried, or should I be a good samaritan? What would you do?
UPDATE. OH my goodness, so many wonderful people responded with such kind and helpful advice today. With such an overwhelming response, I'm unable to respond to everyone's comment but plan to read and use your advice to do the right thing. Thank you all so much.
Using all of the helpful advice given, my plan is to create a care package to help this young man, including most of what y'all have suggested, and leave it for him as a secret gift. I won't call anyone unless I have a concern and leave him safe to keep shelter for the winter.
Thank you all so much.
#conversation
source
My neighbors moved away, so their house is now up for sale and vacant. We share a fence running along our backyards, and they have a shed next to the fence. This week, I noticed a homeless man with his bike and backpack coming and going from the shed. He sleeps in the shed at night with a candle. My dog freaked out 2 nights ago because she heard the man in the shed, so my husband went to the fence line with a flashlight to calm her down and called out to the man. My husband asked him what he was doing, and the man/young man said he was sleeping there but also cleaning the place up. This is when my husband noticed the candle, his age, and that he was clean, lucid, and just working on his bike. The young man was apologetic and started to grab his things, so my husband said, "Hey man, I'm not running you off, just stay on that side of the fence."
I'm on the fence about my feelings. On one hand, it's cold, he's homeless and about the same age as my own son. My heart wants to give him a care package with food, warm blankets, etc. On the other hand, I am concerned about how he came to find the shed in the first place. He must have noticed the house was empty. He had to walk through the side of the property around to the back of the house and explore the backyard until he found the open shed.
I'm curious, should I be worried, or should I be a good samaritan? What would you do?
UPDATE. OH my goodness, so many wonderful people responded with such kind and helpful advice today. With such an overwhelming response, I'm unable to respond to everyone's comment but plan to read and use your advice to do the right thing. Thank you all so much.
Using all of the helpful advice given, my plan is to create a care package to help this young man, including most of what y'all have suggested, and leave it for him as a secret gift. I won't call anyone unless I have a concern and leave him safe to keep shelter for the winter.
Thank you all so much.
#conversation
source
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