r/NoStupidQuestions • u/Garey_Coleman • 10d ago

Where are the homeless supposed to go?

Cities have been cracking down on homeless people so they can’t have encampments or stay on sidewalks. At the same time usually the shelters are full. So those who are unable to get into a shelter, where are they supposed to go?

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u/Possible_Resolution4 10d ago

I don’t think it’s because shelters are full, it’s that they don’t want to live in the shelter.

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u/ExcitingMoose13 10d ago

Shelter straight up don't exist in many regions, and many towns and cities will actively resist even private construction of them 

New Jersey just had a whole legal battle that ended in a church attempting to build one giving up, which would have been the only actual homeless shelter in two neighboring counties 

There's no real question why so many end up in New york, Or San francisco, or anywhere else that isn't actively chasing them off the streets 

It's because so many suburban and rural areas drive them out

https://www.nj.com/ocean/2025/08/church-drops-homeless-shelter-plan-after-nj-township-rejects-idea-and-threatens-to-condemn-the-property.html