Homeless shelter

Homeless shelters are a type of homeless service agency which provide temporary residence for homeless individuals and families. Shelters exist to provide residents with safety and protection from exposure to the weather while simultaneously reducing the environmental impact on the community. They are similar to, but distinguishable from, various types of emergency shelters, which are typically operated for specific circumstances and populations—fleeing natural disasters or abusive social circumstances. Extreme weather conditions create problems similar to disaster management scenarios, and are handled with warming centers, which typically operate for short durations during adverse weather. Hundreds of homeless individuals die each year from diseases, untreated medical conditions, lack of nutrition, starvation, and exposure to extreme cold or hot weather. In a mild-wintered San Francisco in 1998, homeless people were purportedly 58% more likely to perish than the general population. In New Orleans, approximately 10,000 homeless were unaccounted for after Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Residents of homeless shelters may also be exposed to bed bugs which have been growing more prevalent in countries such as the United States, Canada and in Europe. Some residents of shelters have reported sleeping in roach-infested spaces at various shelters. Researchers have found that homeless people are at high risk for respiratory tract diseases, such as tuberculosis, peripheral vascular disease, dermatology problems, and infectious diseases, including sexually transmitted diseases. These high rates are attributed to environmental pollution and other risks associated with street life, including trauma, poor nutrition, a lack of access to personal hygiene facilities, and crowding and debilitation, which increase the risk of infectious disease. Besides physical health problems, homeless people are also at great risk of mental health issues resulting from alcohol and drug abuse as a lack of societal concern and care.

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Homelessness

Homelessness or houselessness – also known as a state of being unhoused or unsheltered – is the condition of lacking stable, safe, and functional housing. The general category includes many disparate situations, including: living on the streets, also known as sleeping rough (primary homelessness) moving between temporary shelters, including houses of friends, family, and emergency accommodation (secondary homelessness) living in private boarding houses without a private bathroom or security of tenure (tertiary homelessness) having no permanent house or place to live safely Internally Displaced Persons, persons compelled to leave their places of domicile, who remain as refugees within their country's borders The rights of people suffering from the devastating effects of homelessness also vary from country to country.

Warming center

A warming center (also a heat bank or warm bank) is a short-term emergency shelter that operates when temperatures or a combination of precipitation, wind chill, wind and temperature become dangerously inclement. Their paramount purpose is the prevention of death and injury from exposure to the elements. This may include acute trauma from falling objects such as trees, or injury to extremities due to frostbite. A more prevalent emergency which warming centers seek to prevent is hypothermia, the risk for which is aggravated by factors such as age, alcohol consumption, and homelessness.

Homelessness in the United States

In the United States, the number of homeless people varies from different federal government accounts. In 2014, approximately 1.5 million sheltered homeless people were counted. In 2018, the Department of Housing and Urban Development estimated roughly 553,000 homeless people in the United States on a given night, or 0.17 percent of the population. Approximately 65 percent of people were sheltered in provided housing while 35 percent were unsheltered.

Carton plein: A Story of Social and Environmental Innovation

Explores the journey of Carton Plein, a project that recycles cardboard to create jobs for the homeless, emphasizing social and environmental impact.