Honestly?

(all this is predicated on being someone in a western or developed country, that is all I know and cannot speak to anything else)

The bear necessities are still, Food, shelter, and water. You can survive with that, but that is all you are doing, just surviving.

My next step up the ladder would be functional necessities, the things you need to function in modern society. Electricity and access to the internet. You struggle to function in a modern society without those.

Anything after that and you are moving into the realm of wants, rather than needs.

I live in a remote place and a few times a year have to live without stuff, so my list after water, food and shelter (assuming those are the minimum version of what the word means) would be: A sanitary toilet A means of washing oneself A reliable way of cooking food A reliable way of providing light at night Access to xkcd.com

The “classics”, but with the stipulation that they not be poisoned, polluted, toxic, or otherwise unsafe to be near, contact, or consume. That used to be implied, but in today’s world, you have to be specific.

Telephone usage. Everyone assumes that everyone else knows how to use a phone. Even before kids are old enough to use a phone themselves, parents make their children memorize an important number.

“Reliable transportation”. That can mean public transportation or a bike in addition to a car. Transportation is a requirement for virtually every job.

Basic computer literacy. The bare essentials of computer usage are expected of just about everyone, even if you only know how to log on to Facebook, which brings me to the next subject…

Internet access. It’s gotten to the point that people assume you are homeless, stupid, or in a weird cult if you can’t/won’t get on the internet.

Bear necessities you say? All that a modern bear needs is a pic-a-nic basket and a trusty sidekick.

In an European context:

• Food, shelter and water.
• Identity papers.
• Access to the Internet for essential administrative proceedings, since it’s all getting digitalized really fast. If possible a smartphone with wifi access and access to a way of charging it, if not and in an urban area, public library access.

You may survive without it but it’s nice to have a (digitized) proof that you’re allowed to be wherever your shelter is, and to be able to renew your ID.

• Food and water

• Shelter

• Hygiene and healthcare

• Education

• Human connection

In Denmark, my list would, be in order of most essential,

• Potable Water (this can be had for free all year round if you know where to look)
• Food (also free if you know where to look, but unreliable especially during winter)
• Shelter (top priority in winter because you’ll freeze to death otherwise)
• Yellow healthcard (because all government services consider it valid ID)
• WiFi capable smartphone (because you can’t interact with a lot of government services without one, I tried…)
• An address (even if you don’t live there, because some government services don’t consider you a person without one)

It should also be noted that unless you get a very special exception (non-digital citizen), you will need regular internet access from a device with a modern up-to-date browser to connect to government and municipal services. If you don’t, you’ll need the non-digital citizen exception and require an address with a mailbox that you can access instead.

Municipalities generally also offer homeless shelters, but last time I was at one, about a decade ago, they were definitely not nice places. I’d rather sleep on a bench most of the year.

I think Maslow’s “hierarchy of needs” is interesting. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maslow’s_hierarchy_of_needs “… the idea is that individuals’ most basic needs must be met before they become motivated to achieve higher-level needs.” I think the bare necessities are the lower levels: food, water, warmth, rest. My first thought was that technology would be at the higher levels (eg “creative activities”), but actually it is involved in the lower levels also. I say this because the boiler providing my family with heat broke down during snowy weather earlier this year.

Unless you mean bare in the literal sense… clothing should be on that list as well 🤣

Food, shelter and hygiene facilities and clothes. Beyond that we don’t need more.

Food, water, shelter and love.

Be a helluva lot less stressed if these 4 things were securely guaranteed.