ABSTRACT
The task of locating mentally ill or addicted homeless people can be daunting. In the city, people who are homeless may be seen pushing shopping carts laden with all their belongings or sleeping on park benches or steam grates. In the suburbs, homelessness can look very different. Establishments that are open 24/7, especially laundromats, are popular with the homeless as they enable them to keep off the street at night. Although many people who are homeless avoid shelters, fearing a lack of privacy, theft, or violence, there are various types of shelters in the county. The Warm Nights Shelter, which a faith-based community operates from November to March, provides cots and van transportation for people who are homeless. A good outcome was helping someone to become stable on medication or clean and sober, to get into an appropriate treatment program and/or obtain a job, and to find appropriate, stable housing.
