Cons and Problems with Homeless Shelters

According to the National Law Center on Homelessness and Poverty roughly 2.5 to 3.5 million people a year are homeless in the United States. Homeless shelters are often the last place of refuge for people in our society who have hit rock bottom. While homeless shelters are meant to be a safe space they often suffer from issues that make them less than perfect places to stay.

SECTION TITLE 1
Safety Issues
SECTION TEXT 1
Safety issues are a chief concern at many homeless shelters. Due to the transient natures of the individuals that live in these shelters crimes they may commit against others at the noticed may go unpunished or unnoticed. According to the SF Gate Newspaper drug dealers regularly operate in homeless shelters and ply their wares with little consequence.

SECTION IMAGE
SECTION TITLE 2
Cleanliness
SECTION TEXT 2
Many homeless shelters also have issues with cleanliness and the quality of the living facilities. Often times there is not enough money in the budget to adequately maintain and clean the premises. According to the Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General, many shelters have problems including "proper sanitation, rooms that did not mean cleanliness standards and oftentimes issues with the bathroom facilities".

SECTION IMAGE
SECTION TITLE 3
Getting a Spot in a Shelter
SECTION TEXT 3
Just getting into a homeless shelter can be tough. Many shelters only allow families or individuals to stay for a couple days and this leads to streams of people moving in and out of different shelters which causes them to not have a permanent address, which causes issues with employment, and also is a financial strain on already strained families. Statistics on families or individuals turned away from homeless shelters are not kept, but a recent Minnesota Public Radio article highlights the case of of one shelter that is full nearly every night which causes many people to look elsewhere for a place to stay.

SECTION IMAGE
SECTION TITLE 4
Homeless Shelter Funding
SECTION TEXT 4
Homeless shelters are also facing a funding crisis. Due to recent economic developments The National Alliance to End Homelessness claims that up to 1.5 million more people and that out of 25 cities surveyed 19 had experienced an increase in homelessness at the same time having to scale back funding for nearly all programs.

SECTION IMAGE
RESOURCES
KEY CONCEPTS
homeless shelter
homeless shelter cons
problems homeless shelter
REFERENCES
"SF GATE"; Shame of the City; Kevin Fagan; December 2003
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2003/12/02/MNGB13E11F1.DTL&ao=3
"Department of Health and Human Services Office of the Inspector General"; Emergency Shelters for Homeless People; 1992
http://oig.hhs.gov/oei/reports/oei-07-91-00400.pdf
"National Coalition for the Homeless"; How Many People Experience Homelessness?; July 2009
http://www.nationalhomeless.org/factsheets/How_Many.html
"PBS"; Facts and Figures: The Homeless; June 2009
http://www.pbs.org/now/shows/526/homeless-facts.html

,

User Bio:
Jane Johansen has been a journalist and writer since 2006. She has worked as a newspaper reporter, copy editor and professional researcher. Johansen holds a Bachelor of Arts in journalism from Cornell College.