There are a lot of nice people about, if you're lucky enough to find them. Vault City or Hub generally seem most likely to find helpful people. NCR's probably best avoided. I was helped out by one or two people when I first started, and have done so myself since (though I was shot in the back as you describe many times whilst looking for my 10th Brahmin skin).
Once you've got a tent, and therefore a safe place to keep things, that frustration becomes less severe. Yes, you die and lose what you're carrying, but over time you'll start to have "replacement sets" of all your stuff back at your tent. A lot of people will have 20 or more sets of complete armour / weapon / ammo / stims etc, ready to go straight back out again after death, as though nothing happened. These people often say "wasteland is harsh", though for them it obviously isn't.
If I'm in a helpful mood, and I spot someone with ~35HP shovelling shit, I'll normally volunteer to help them get started. Weapon, armour, a handful of brahmin skins, then take them hunting for the rest, get them a tent, then take them for a bit of gathering, hunting and crafting. I happened to be up and about when I saw your original post, so I went looking for you in Hub, but it was deserted, so I stashed a few weapons and armours and bits around the shit shovelling and box carrying areas. Hopefully someone that actually needed them found them.
If you're still in the same situation now, and nobody else is already helping you, send me a PM, and I'll try and find you and see if I can help you get started.
