I basically just went to a local community support office and asked them for help. They hooked me up with GED services, medicaid etc and made sure I had a place to stay and so on.

(I lived in south TX at that time.)

Well I'll give you two answers. First's as broad as your question. And the second's as specific as the niche of this sub ...

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Surviving any form of society, at any age, primarily depends on the person; his or her immediate environment; and available resources.

For example, as a 14-year old guy (wasn't blind yet then) with a 6-year old sibling to support after both our parents needed to suddenly vanish because of the political climate here at that time — We survived the rough, 3rd world urban city (most populous in the Philippines) with me running errands for our neighbors like groceries and bills, and re-selling things like stereos, amplifiers, musical instruments, and so on from guys in our neighborhood willing to part with their stuff for a quick fix, just to pay rent, keep the lights on sometimes, and put food on the table.

And when someone gunned me down and left me completely blind at 23 years old with a wife and 4-month old child to support — I went on to be recognized by our national government as the 2008 Most Inspiring Entrepreneur of the Philippines, five years later ...

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Now for a more specific answer.

I've met some blind people here who, at 18 years old without parents to support them, mostly end up staying with their relatives, most likely because of the close-knit extended family culture here.

But a few fought to establish themselves on their own, with or without parents.

Some of them went on to study abroad, mostly in the US and Australia, through *\[ EDITED to specify type of scholarship \]* academic scholarships, which they worked hard for, while working as masseurs and transcribers / transcriptionists ...

Depends where you live and how admin-literate you are.

I live in a welfare state kind of country (France, so still a capitalist nation in essence), since I left my parents’ house when I was 18, I’ve been getting 1004€ worth of welfare (that’s $1146 USD) every month, free public transportation, free university tuition and an appartment in Paris for 260€ ($300 USD or sum), rent and utilities included. If you try hard enough, the government will pay for some stuff for you if you deem it necessary. I got O&M classes for a year and a macbook air for university.

It’s all about knowing how to work the bureaucracy and being born in the right country.

You sound disingenuous, shallow and unable to embrace the suck. You come off as a spoiled little shit.

You have said multiple times in this thread that you would simply off yourself if you were in that other persons shoes.

If I were your daddy, you'd lose you're internet privileges and need to write 5 page paper on the accomplishments of blind people throughout the world over the last 100 years in order to get you're internet privledges back.

Are you talking about the US?

Having read more of the comments, I'm gonna go ahead and shut this dumpster fire down.

I'm not sure why you would decide to join r/blind for the sole purpose of telling blind people you'd kill yourself if you were blind and that blindness must be so terrible.

Well, capitalism didn't kill me. In fact, I am doing quite well.
If you don't realize how patronizing and ridiculous this question is, I don't know what to tell ya.
Editing this post:
I see from your post history that you're 18 years old, seem to fetishize suicide and misery, and are into activisty sjw stuff. Sell your crazy some place else, believe me we're all stocked up here. We don't want your pity or your teen aged political rants. Its easy to be a communist or whatever when you have nothing to lose and no stake in the economy.

[deleted]

Well your question is rather loaded. But I'll try and answer. First, it's not "capitalism" that kills people off. Capitalism, and socialism, dont kill people. They are economic systems. And there is no "pure" capitalist or socialist system in action anywhere in the world, even if it sometimes feels like that.

Most countries have some sort of organisation to support those who are struggling in society. Call it socialist or whatever, when people need help they have something to reach out to. And there are charities that are also available for support. How well these support systems work is another matter for discussion elsewhere. Usually the government will provide housing or financial support if needed.

There is nothing inherent in a "capitalist" system that prevents support services from existing. Your economy can be designed around buying and selling goods and services, but that doesn't mean that you couldnt have a welfare state or free healthcare. We also have charities funded both privately and through government donations that would offer support that might be done through the government directly in other countries.

Personally, I prefer a less socialist system as governments are notoriously bad at running things anyway, so expanding their remit just gives them more things to run badly. You could also end up with the situation which the UK was in during the 70s, where many people were employed to do nothing, and the government was struggling to afford anything because the companies they owned werent able to make any money. In a capitalist system, companies are actively seeking to make a profit, to pay their staff and shareholders, to make better and more interesting things. And yes, profit is the motivation, but it encourages development and discovery too. The vast majority of business owners arent Elon Musk or Jeff Bezos. They are running small businesses with a handful of staff. They dont make a lot of money. They just had an idea and want to make it work.

blind man here:

I wasn't kicked out at 18 but I left for college 6 days after i graduated HS. I was still pretty mad at my folks for sending me to a blind private school for a few years. So when I got accepted into University I left just as quickly as possible. Helicopter parents are what I was cursed with and I love my independence. I have not done well in the real world, i live off of SSI a grand 733 dollars a month. I refuse to be that blind guy whoms mother takes care of them. I refuse to walk others paths and I refuse to live under any others rules under the roof of the house i live in.

has it been diffucult? hell fucking yes its like playing the game of life on legendary mode. Do i regret leaving my parents welcoming embrace? Hell the fuck no, helicopter parents are the worst type for the blind. blind people have to be independent because we either have it or not. There is no middle ground, at least for me.

so I got my BS degree and then have not found a job thats worth the effort. trust me, blind people have to put like 200 percent more effort into everything. Do you even know how much concentration it takes for me to fill up my coffee cup without spilling a drop?

It actually depends on the person, if a blind person is more streetwise then they will have a higher chance of surviving on their own but the biggest problem they will face is getting a job as employers don't feel comfortable hiring blind people. Personally I would say that most people would be ok but the biggest hurdle they'll face is getting a job.

In developed countries such as the UK the government may provide free accommodation however most of these properties are in a terrible condition.

I hope this answers your question and if you want to know anything else then feel free to ask.