As the number of homeless people living out of their vehicles grows across the US, one man shows what it's really like to live involuntarily out of a van for 2 years

• Jeff Slocum has been living out of his van for two years after struggling to find housing.
• Although he loves the freedom, Slocum has no bathroom and can't maintain a healthy diet.
• As homelessness continues to grow across the US, many are turning to vehicles for shelter.

For some, living in a camper van and traveling the US on the open road may seem a dream-like lifestyle, but for others, it is an unwelcome reality.

The van-life movement has picked up steam in recent years, prompting an increasing number of people to quit their traditional lifestyles, convert vans into a livable tiny houses, and travel endlessly. These people typically fill their new homes on wheels with luxury amenities like full bathrooms, full kitchens, and projector screens to watch TV.

Yet for a growing number of Americans, living out of a vehicle is not a choice - and far less glamorous. Like vanlifers, these houseless Americans live in their vehicles and travel the open road, but they're doing it involuntarily and facing the dangers of the lifestyle without any of the luxuries.

Jeff Slocum knows the realities of living in his vehicle all too well. He's called his 2005 Chrysler Town and Country van his home since April 2019. According to Slocum, a neighborly dispute forced him out of his living situation, and he moved into his car indefinitely. Since he is disabled, he said he has struggled to find another apartment that fits his needs. With no other options, Slocum has made a home for himself in the back of his car.

Slocum has made his car as livable as possible

When Slocum first found himself living in his vehicle, he said he thought of it "as an adventure." He quickly got to work turning it into a livable home by insulating the walls to regulate the temperature for himself and his Chihuahua.

He placed a mattress in the back of the car so that he would have a bed and a place to lay down. Slocum then built shelves to store most of his belongings and created a makeshift kitchen with an oven. He even installed solar panels on top of the vehicle to power some of his electronics, which include a small TV and a laptop.

"If you take a deep breath, slow down, think creatively, and [do one] task at a time, you can survive," Slocum told Insider. "Anyone can learn this stuff. Libraries are full of such survival books, and you can modify such things to suit your needs to make it warm and comfortable."

When the temperature drops, he doesn't have a battery-run heater like some vanlifers do. He bundles up and hopes the insulation and the small space heater will keep him warm. When it's time to eat, he boils a pot of water on top of his space heater.

Slocum said his lifestyle is a great way to stay in the upstate New York area so he can be close to his doctors without paying rent. To do so, he spends a couple of nights in various parking lots in the Batavia area and then moves on to another parking lot. For him, this freedom to move about is the best part of his living situation.

"I love being able to just get up and go," Slocum said. "It's the freedom of being able to go and not worry about your home."

Although he was able to make the space comfortable, Slocum faces significant hardships living in his van

He doesn't have a bathroom, and he said he hasn't shaved since 2019. He uses a plastic bag when he needs to go to the bathroom, and he uses body wipes to clean himself because there is no shower.

"I do the best I can to keep myself as clean as I can," Slocum said. "When I go out shopping and think that somebody might smell me, I don't like that."

Additionally, Slocum can't stand up or really move around in the van, so he spends the majority of his time lying down or crawling. The fact that he can't get much exercise is also a problem, and he says his living situation forces him to eat unhealthily as vegetables and other healthy foods rot quickly inside his van. He suffered a heart attack in early 2020, and now he struggles to maintain a healthy diet while living this lifestyle.

Despite the hardships of life in a vehicle, Slocum often repeats his mantra: "Life is an adventure."

The number of people living in their vehicles is on the rise

Nan Roman, the president and CEO of the National Alliance to End Homelessness, said Slocum isn't alone. In fact, the number of homeless people in the US increased 2.7% from 2018 to 2019 - bringing the total number to 567,715 people - according to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Although there isn't much data from 2020, Roman said the number has generally been rising since 2016.

"We're hearing, particularly on the West Coast but other parts of the country as well, that the number of people in their vehicles is increasing," Roman said.

During the pandemic, at a time when many Americans' have felt greater financial stress than ever before, Roman said many shelters had to reduce the number of beds in order to adhere to social distancing guidelines. This led some homeless people to seek shelter in vehicles if they had the option.

Over the past few years, Roman has seen firsthand how living under such conditions can impact every aspect of one's life.

"[Living in a car] certainly provides some shelter for people who don't have a place to live," Roman said, "but it's not a home. It has negative consequences for people in terms of work, their health, and their children's development."

Although living on the road was never part of the plan, Slocum learned to survive

On paper, vanlifers and Slocum seem to be living parallel lives. They both live in vehicles and enjoy the freedom of not being tied down to any one location, but in contrast, Slocum's life is about survival.

"You have to be able to adapt to the situation that you have," Slocum said. "I'm a survivalist. There are some people who rather give up than fight on, but I survive."

He recently discovered the van-life movement and said he was surprised to find people voluntarily living a similar lifestyle. But he isn't surprised people are finding road life and living in a vehicle easy because they can afford luxuries that make it bearable.

"I wish I could afford a small, used camper to stand up in, a table to sit down and eat, a counter [with a] sink for cooking and dishes, a shower and a real bathroom...but I make [do with what I have]," Slocum said in an email to Insider.

Despite living on the darker side of the same coin, Slocum has remained largely positive about his living situation, saying simply: "There are people worse off than I am."

Like the thousands of others across the country, he is hopeful about eventually finding an apartment that fits his needs, and he even dreams about one day joining the van life movement voluntarily.

"It's a beautiful way of life and less stress as far as I can see," Slocum said.