Survival Guide

Colorado looks sunny and friendly until it tries to kill you at 3am. The trick isn’t one giant jacket – it’s layers you can change with weather and sweat.

• Base: synthetic (not cotton). Cotton stays wet.
• Mid: fleece or wool (keeps heat even when damp).
• Outer: windproof, rain resistant if you can get it.
• Sleep: dry socks, dry shirt before getting into a bag.

When you sweat and then lie still in cold air, you lose heat fast. The goal is “warm and dry”, not “hot and soaked”.

Where you sleep can decide your whole week. You want quiet, low-traffic, low-visibility, low-conflict. Near water can be peaceful but colder.

• Stay above creek level. Melt + rain can flood fast.
• Avoid dense brush – police look for “paths”.
• Watch for wind channels – can feel 10° colder.

If cops wake you up: be calm, don’t argue law in the dark. Tell them where you’re going and go. Fight laws in daylight, not at 2am in the cold.

Wet gear is misery. It also makes you sick.

• Trash bags inside your backpack, not outside.
• Everything critical goes inside its own bag.
• Dry socks are life. Hoard them.
• Heat water bottles before bed if you can.

Shelters take your energy. They’re loud, chaotic and you lose control of your nights. That’s normal. It’s not your fault if you feel like you’re breaking down.

• Don’t expect “rest”. Expect “not freezing to death”.
• Noise: earplugs or headphones help more than you think.
• Protect your bag. Tie loops together and sleep on straps.
• Don’t tell strangers everything. People profile weakness.

The RTD system is your lifeline. But it burns hours of your day. You want a rhythm that doesn’t get you stranded at 8pm or freezing at 5am.

• Screenshot bus schedules when you have Wi-Fi.
• Know last runs: FF1/FF2 to Denver, 204/205/L to Boulder.
• Stash $4 in a safe place for emergencies.
• Stop riding when you’re exhausted – missing a stop is real.

Your ID, Social Security card, SNAP card, phone – these are mission-critical. Losing them can take weeks to undo.

• Photos of everything stored on your phone + cloud.
• Keep originals in a sealed bag deep in your pack.
• Memorize SSN digits – you’ll need them constantly.

Homelessness is sensory overload and isolation at the same time. Your brain is not broken – it’s adapting.

• Avoid the “scroll hole” at night. You need sleep more than dopamine.
• Pick one goal per day. Not six.
• Talk to someone once a day. A stranger counts.
• Tell your brain “not today” when it spirals.

Protect your mind the same way you protect your body.

• Shivering stops = bad. That’s not “getting used to it”.
• Confusion, numb speech = get inside now.
• Grey fingers = frostbite. Warm slow, not fast.

No shelter bed is worth dying outside for. Cold doesn’t play fair.

Wool keeps warmth even when wet. Cotton kills because it holds water. Synthetics are cheap and dry fast.

• Wool socks if possible, synthetic base.
• Avoid jeans in freezing weather. They get icy.

Harvest of Hope, Bridge House, EFAA, OUR Center, Sister Carmen might have socks, gloves, jackets, sleeping bags. It changes week to week.

Ask volunteers directly. They know the real info.

• ARC Thrift – Longmont & Lafayette
• Goodwill – Boulder & Longmont
• Savers – Denver

Jackets for $10 can save your life in December.

Sometimes Boulder Food Rescue and mutual aid groups drop blankets, sleeping bags, coats during cold fronts.

Don’t argue law on the street. Colorado has shifting rules around camping, blocking sidewalks, and “public nuisance”.

• You have the right to stay silent.
• You can ask “Am I free to leave?”
• You don’t have to consent to searches.
• Record interactions if safe to do so.

For deeper info: ACLU Colorado – Know Your Rights

Colorado law protects people who call for help during an overdose from certain charges. If someone stops breathing, call 911 and stay.

Carry Narcan if you can.