I've been helping out at the Emergency Nightshelter in my town. It's been both uplifting and throughly depressing.
The guests are wonderful, so grateful for a blow up bed on a church floor, they're funny, polite, thankful.
However, it's also very difficult because they're all so vulnerable and this facility is only available in the winter months. Obviously it's great that they get somewhere etc sleep in the coldest months, utterly most will tell you the thing they're most grateful for is somewhere safe to sleep 😪
Out local council don't support the shelter at all, considering that it attracts rough sleepers from outside the town (it does) and they don't want to add to the burden. I don't know what the answer is to that, I alimagine least of the towns voters would rather not be paying for homeless people from other Boroughs.
I've also learned that in Wales, hostels aren't allowed to ask guests to sleep on the floor. Unless there are proper beds, shelters can't run. Obviously it would be great if everyone could be offered that dignity, but I know our guests would much rather sleep in our beds (and help with the setting up and putting away) than on the street 😪