Yep, the homeless population are pretty disenfranchised when it comes to such things. You can’t even register for a PO Box with the USPS unless you have a home address anymore. Make sense of that.
If you’re lucky enough to have a friend, it’s possible to “rent a room” from a friend for a ridiculous rate (a dollar a year?) and have them write up a basic lease, and sign it, and basically pretend to be your landlord. Then you can claim that is your home address for one bill, and then take that bill and your lease, sign up for a PO box, and get your mail there from then on.
If you don’t have someone willing to give you a fake lease, you’re pretty much stuck going through the process of getting a Homeless ID. Which, y’know, looks great to have the word “TRANSIENT” blazoned across your ID.
http://www.tampabay.com/news/advocates-for-homeless-want-to-make-it-easier-to-get-a-state-id/1277155
One of the biggest problems advocates say they encounter is getting birth certificates: An ID is required to obtain the document, which is also one of the major pieces needed to obtain an ID. Paperwork is next to impossible to retrieve from some states, and in some cases people don’t know in which county they formerly lived. Officials say the situation is even worse for married women, who must provide documents verifying any chain of name changes.
If you are really homeless – like, can’t get into a shelter homeless – you’re fucked, thanks to the two proofs of residential address requirement.
And just try getting a job when you don’t have a valid driver’s license or state ID.
All info given for Florida, which is where I live