Community Guides

Community guides

These guides are practical, voluntary, and non-punitive. They do not create a right to camp, promise a service, or replace local law, medical advice, emergency response, or legal aid.

For the public

People living outdoors are neighbors. Frustration about blocked paths, noise, or waste is real, but it does not justify harassment, filming, taking belongings, or posting a person’s location. Ask before approaching, offer a specific choice, accept “no,” and use outreach or 2-1-1 rather than confrontation. Never photograph or publish a person, tent, medical detail, or exact location without consent.

For people living outdoors

You do not owe a stranger your full story to deserve help. Ask what will be public, decline optional fields, request a correction, and keep recovery cards private. Choose safer locations where possible; keep exits and accessible paths clear; reduce noise at agreed quiet hours; and ask outreach where toilets, showers, water, trash, sharps disposal, charging, storage, and medical care are available.

Living outdoors with respect

• Avoid doorways, curb ramps, fire lanes, transit stops, unstable slopes, flood channels, rail corridors, and active construction.
• Bag trash; never burn it. Put sharps in a rigid closed container and ask a service site for disposal.
• Keep food sealed, wash hands, protect wounds, and seek help for heat illness, infection, overdose, or other urgent symptoms.
• Keep music and visitors controlled, secure pets, clean up after them, and leave a clear path out.
• Do not camp on private property without permission; permission forms do not override law or safety rules.

Voluntary neighbor materials

The Respectful Neighbor placard and QR sticker are signals of voluntary cleanliness, access, quiet, safety, and communication commitments. They are not leases, legal defenses, or enforcement exemptions.

Practical print resources

The repository also includes a private emergency health card, document-recovery tracker, mutual-aid mediation agreement, and San Diego verify-before-travel resource directory. Keep health/recovery details off public maps and confirm hours, eligibility, and capacity before traveling.

Canonical guides: docs/.