As local and state officials work to clear their streets of homeless individuals, little attention has been directed towards the elephant in the room: where these individuals are meant to go following their displacement. 

The easy answer is a shelter. But following an extensive investigation conducted by Calmatters in February, California shelters were found lacking. 

How?

Firstly, given the fact that there are roughly 60,000 emergency shelter beds (provide temporary and immediate housing) in California and roughly 190,000 homeless individuals, it’s clear that there simply aren’t enough beds for the number of people.

Further, life in shelters has been found to be undignified, unhelpful and even unsafe by many individuals and experts. Calmatters reported that when one woman who had years of experience working in shelters was forced to leave her home without other housing options, she chose to sleep in her car over staying at a shelter because “it is safer and more dignified for me to sleep in my car than it is in a shelter.”

Safety

There were over twice as many deaths in California shelters than there were in California prisons between 2018 and mid-2024. Shelter operators including Oakland’s Bay Area Community Services and LA’s Special Services for Groups faced numerous lawsuits and allegations of fraud, harmful and inappropriate relationships with clients, violence, and sexual misconduct. 

Calmatters noted the story of one woman, Catherine Moore, who filed a lawsuit against her Anaheim shelter operators after finding drugs in the shelter, unresolved issues with cockroaches, and being sexually harassed by shelter staff.

Lawmakers need to step up

Calmatters noted a new state bill aimed at inspecting building standards, health, and sanitation at shelters. This is a step in the right direction as standards of health and wellbeing should be established, but in order to limit fraud, harassment, and violence, local and state shelter operators must be made more transparent in their workings and finances.

Ultimately, especially as the state government relies heavily on shelters following the Grants Pass decision, it is crucial that shelter safety and quality of life is not overlooked.