[alex504]

I am definitely not an expert, don't know about the data around shelters. My understanding of shelters is that they make it a lot harder to do drugs and that is why a lot of the homeless prefer camps. My understanding is that abuse, violence and drug use are reduced at shelters and that is the main advantage of them.

[bifrost]

The shelters usually require sobriety and don't have a good track record of dealing with violent people.