I was homeless for two years living out of my car. I used a mail forwarding service to maintain proof of residence and get id and stay registered somewhere.

Think back to when you signed up. What did you need? When I signed up, I had to fill out USPS form 1583, and show two forms of government identification (I used drivers license and passport; the list of accepted ID for this form is strict and non-obvious). My girlfriend couldn't be added to my account when she started traveling with me because she didn't have the second acceptable form of ID.

Now, imagine you also had to choose between your next meal and paying your mail forwarding service bill.

I live in an RV and travel mostly full-time, and I use a mail forwarding service, myself...but, even with that, it's sometimes a pain in the ass to deal with the government. And, it's also not all that cheap. I spent about $400 last year on mail forwarding for my personal account, and about the same for the business.

Look, I don't want to diminish your experience here. You've been there, to some degree, and I'm glad you got out of homelessness. But, just because you've shared some of the experiences of being homeless, it doesn't mean everyone who deals with this can follow the path you followed successfully.

In a nutshell: it is very hard to see privilege from the point of view of the privileged.

Polish proverb: I thought I was as low as I could get and then I heard knocking from below.

Smart of you to see ahead.