Shelter Conditions Survey

HON's Safe Shelters Now! Shelter Conditions Report includes information about existing shelter standards, how federal and state money flows to city shelters, and the results of HON's shelter conditions survey of over 70 homeless neighbors.

Baltimore City shelter residents have long raised the alarm about undignified, inhumane, and dangerous conditions within city shelters — brown water coming out of faucets, dirty linens, lack of safety, bed bugs, and lack of staff compassion or care. There is very little enforced oversight of shelters and of their treatment toward guests. The levers that we currently have for holding shelters accountable often depend on funding source. Some shelters receive no federal, state, or city funds and are not held accountable in the same way shelters that receive public funding could be. But regardless of funding, shelters should be delivering quality care and services to our neighbors.

What kinds of conditions are our unhoused neighbors experiencing in city shelters? What federal, state, or city regulations are there over shelter conditions? What can shelter residents do if they have a complaint or grievance?

Read the Safe Shelters Now! Shelter Conditions Report to learn more: