Are homeless shelters the answer to the homelessness issue

(Part 2 of 4) After claiming my bedroll, I was assigned a bunk in a large dormitory with approximately eighty other men.The lower bunks were for those of us who had certain health issues (like a history of seizures), and, lacking these, I was placed in an upper one: W-21. The other clients were very helpful – showing me how to make up my bed, where the bathroom was, and who I could get a combination lock from (for my locker). One client in particular, whose name was Charlie, volunteered to be my Sponsor. A sponsor was another client who agreed to show a newcomer “the ropes.” Charlie was a recovering heroin addict, about 5′9″, with a slew of tattoos and a golden-toothed smile, about 30 years old and, after three months or so in the program, an old-timer. He would be my guide through the Orientation phase, one of five levels, and – hopefully – through the other levels as well( these were: Stabilization, Skills, Integration, and Program). I was supplied with a manila folder. Inside were copies of the Program rules, a clothing voucher, an Orientation class schedule, and a number of sheets with lists of “Life Skills” courses printed neatly within a grid of boxes which I would have stamped at the end of each class. The Orientation classes were required to move to the next level, but the first one I attended was a “stamped” class and the little box said it was a “Principles” course (of which there were eight); in this case Principle Four: Facing Reality.Everyone said the Principles were taught by a man known as Mr. Nick.

Mr. Nick was a grey-haired man in late middle age who began to speak as soon as we were seated:”Principle Four, for those of you who are new, is Facing Reality.”he said quietly.Suddenly he began to bellow,”You are in a homeless shelter. That is not a good thing!” Apparently he felt that some of us were unaware of that. He continued,”Many of you who go shelter-hopping throughout your lives may not agree with me, but this is not intended to be a permanent residence. This is supposed to be an Emergency Shelter. You’re not supposed to stay longer than sixty days. Now some of you will be here longer, and you’re lucky that sixty days is just an average. So many people leave sooner that some of you get a little more time, but no one is supposed to be here for five months or eight months like some of you will be.” What he failed to mention was that a large number of the people seated in the little desks all around me would be sent