Its Role in Ending Homelessness
Emergency Shelters
Providing immediate and temporary shelter for those experiencing homelessness, all shelters include spaces to sleep, and restroom and food access with many equipped with full kitchens and laundry rooms.
Find Resources & Support
If you’re experiencing or at-risk of homelessness, find help now, by calling 211 (toll free: 866-698-6155) or visiting 211info.org.
Find a shelter near you by accessing our map of shelter locations or viewing this list of JOHS-funded shelters.
Our Approach to Shelters
Shelter stays are meant to offer connection to permanent housing options and other support services. Most emergency shelters are low-barrier, meaning they welcome partners, pets and possessions, and are designed to be trauma-informed and able to meet participant needs for privacy and community. Shelters are reservation-based, with most open 24/7, and do not require people to line up for beds each night.
Expanding Shelter Capacity
Our work prioritizes new shelters and developing new models (villages, safe park sites, motels) that meet people where they are. As of 2023, the JOHS supports a maximum capacity of nearly 2,000 beds, motel rooms and sleeping units — up from 650 in 2015 — with plans to grow.
How to Find Shelters
The JOHS primarily supports low-barrier shelter opportunities designed to be trauma-informed and able to meet participants’ needs for privacy and community. Our focus is to create shelters that center the needs of those experiencing and at-risk of homelessness while providing equity-focused and dignity-oriented models for sheltering.
Types of Shelters
Congregate Shelters Facilities with multiple people sleeping in bunk beds or cots in the same room, often in rooms divided into private bays, with amenities like kitchens, bathrooms, case management rooms, community spaces, clinics and laundry rooms.
Motel Shelters A new model of shelter providing stays in a motel room funded by the JOHS. Priority for motel room shelters is given to people in vulnerable populations, such as those who are at higher risk for severe consequences from COVID-19 or who have chronic health or disabling conditions.
Family Shelters Spaces with a private room and bathroom reserved specifically for parents or guardians with children. Shelters also provide access to meals, showers, laundry, computers, and clothing. Family shelter providers include Path Home and Our Just Future.
Domestic Violence Shelters Confidential, safe spaces where people who are survivors of domestic violence or sexual assault can find safety and shelter in a protected location.
Alternative Shelters 
