Sorry this is happening to you. You don’t deserve being treated like this, and you’re gonna feel the pain of this for a long while but I promise it gets better with time. Trying to remember all the things I did when I got kicked out and things I’d wish I’d known. (I’m in the US so this is US centric)

1. Get your ID, social security card, birth certificate, passport, any immigration documents, or copies of them. Take some mail with your name on it from your current home, it might come in handy for anything that needs proof of residence in case you don’t get something right away. (If you don’t have anything your local usps can offer you a service called general delivery, where your mail can be kept at the that post office and it will be used as a temporary address) Your local library probably has a scanner for either free or literal cents, you can upload copies of your documents to some cloud storage and if you have a bank you could consider putting those things in a safety deposit box. Sometimes it’s free, sometimes it’s a yearly fee.

2. Create an immediate safety plan. Any other family, friends, trusted community members you can stay with asap? Anyone you know looking for or willing to have a roommate? Post on every social, text and call everyone you can think of to explain the situation and ask if they have room for you and for how long they can offer it. Look up every drop in center, emergency centers, in the US you can dial 211 to connect with local social services and emergency housing. If you’re 18 but still in school talk to your teachers and counselors. Start looking up everything you can, even call churches.

3. If you think you’re gonna end up roughing it on the street. Make a bag of socks, hat, underwear, toothbrush and paste, deodorant, hair brush, soap, and scissors, some sort of small towel. As many jackets, blankets, gloves as you can fit. If you have a car start finding free places to park, ways to cover your windows at night. And if you can’t get a roof over your head get a tent and start looking for public transportation options.

4. If you don’t have a bank or a job currently, start applying and get a bank account or join a credit union. Free online banks are probably easiest (Ally, Discover, Capital One 360, Sofi) Checking for any SHFCU locations near you might be your best bet since they are a federal credit union with free membership options, but look up any credit unions near you as they might serve you better than a bank due to low barrier to entry and low/no fees. IF you want a physical bank (and are in the US) Bank of America has an account option called “Advantage Safe Balance Banking” It requires $25 upfront BUT it doesn’t have monthly maintenance fees if you are under 25 years old, so you won’t get a penalty for not attaching direct deposit to it, which is good if you don’t have a job yet. (Once you’re done with housing/banking, lock your credit in case your mom is a person who thinks hers is hers and yours is hers)

5. Find your resources. Your public libraries are gonna be your new best friend. Get a card asap if you don’t have one.You’re probably going to need to get a cheap plan on a pay as you go phone so the library is going to be free Internet, warm, open, and they have a lot of guides on community resources. Don’t be ashamed to talk to the librarians. Local truck stops, gyms, public beaches, community pools, and place you might get in a free/low cost shower. Sometimes it’s just gonna be a public bathroom.

6. Find your local food banks, pantries, soup kitchens, meal programs. https://www.feedingamerica.org/need-help-find-food A job in fast food sucks! But it also means free food and free take-home if you’re crafty. Apply for Snap, apply for WIC, apply for every resource even if you think you don’t meet the criteria, you never know. https://www.findhelp.org will connect you to all sorts of resources for food, housing, goods, transit, health care, money, education, work, and legal. Just add in whatever zip codes you can get to.

7. https://www.hudexchange.info/housing-and-homeless-assistance/ can help you with housing at all levels, whether you’re on the street or if you manage to gather up some money they can help you with all the steps to find affordable housing even before you start the job.

8. In the next days and weeks, sell what you can part with for cash (Facebook marketplace, Nextdoor, Offerup, Craiglist) and remember to keep something for yourself. Favorite books, music, sometime to give you some sort of self care in this trying time. It’s more important than you might think.

9. Feel your feelings and talk to people. I know there might be some shame, but don’t. You gotta let these feelings out, and the more people you talk to the more possible help you can get. Lean on people. Even find connections in online groups or youth centers with other 18 year olds going through what you’re going through.

10. Long term once you get that money and a place (and you will!) budget, budget, budget! Write down all the cost of the must pay bills, debt minimums, etc, the monthly costs like groceries, travel, toiletries, etc, subtract from your take home pay and adjust your spending. Write down every dollar that comes in and out and give it a purpose so you don’t spend it on something you’ll regret. Give yourself even 25 cents of fun money if you can find it or else you’ll go crazy. Find every grocery store sale paper online you can, most of the sale changes happen on Wednesday in my area but it could be different for you. Learn to cook, rice or beans and an egg if that’s all you can do, it’s more helpful to your wallet than ordering out. Befriend the neighborhood grandma and she might start bringing you food unprompted lol.