So, why don’t they sleep in shelters?

I get asked this questions quite often. Worse yet, I hear people asking the homeless “so why don’t you just move into a shelter”.

I have no more right to suggest that they move off of the street than one might have to ask me why I don’t live in a bigger house! The question is easy – but the answer is complicated.

Many of the homeless live on the streets (rather than the shelters) because there isn’t any room. The shelters only have limited space. In Dallas alone, there are estimates of 5,000 – 9,000 homeless (it all depends who you ask). There aren’t enough beds in all of the DFW metroplex shelters for even a fraction of those. In the picture to the left Cathy sits outside a shelter with a “Full” sign on the door. It was 40 degrees outside when we took that picture. Her choice was to go early to the shelter to guarantee a bed, or go to our ministry to guarantee a hot meal and enough food to last her the next few days. That is a choice that no one should ever have to make.

Many of homeless choose to live on the street rather than a shelter because sometimes the street is a better place to live. There are less rules, less politics, less regulations, less corruption and the opportunities are sometimes better. Some shelters are great places, but some are just “organized crack houses”. Some employ the homeless to manage the facilities. Sometimes this is great opportunity. Other times this is an example of homeless culture and turf wars given too much authority.

I think the question – is a dumb question.

A better question is “So why don’t you get off your butt – and help the homeless?”
Ha! – you thought I was talking about the homeless…