Homeless People Turn An Abandoned Mall Into A Hidden Village With Heat, Water And Power

A security guard opened a door he'd walked past a hundred times at a foreclosed mall in Providence and found 60 people living in the basement with electricity, running water, and heat in a building that had been condemned for 18 months. They hadn't broken in through the loading dock. 📖 The book I mention in the video — The Street Survival Manual: danny.myreads.store They walked through a basement utility access that was never secured after foreclosure, led by a man who'd worked mall maintenance for 11 years and knew exactly which doors get forgotten when properties change hands. They tapped power from a live transformer room still connected because the bank and the city were fighting over the shutdown. They bled water from the fire suppression system that stayed pressurized by code. They collected nine space heaters, ran them on rotation to avoid tripping breakers, and built a communal kitchen with two butane stoves and a three-bucket dish system. Sleeping spaces were marked in chalk, six feet by four feet per person. Trash went out twice a week in bags carried nine blocks to a public park. One rule held it together: no alcohol, no drugs inside, or you're out permanently. It lasted seven months. One drunk man started a fight, someone panicked and called 911, and police cleared the building in under 24 hours. No arrests, no charges. Most went back to the street. Two people found transitional housing. The mall was demolished eight months later. The lot's still vacant.