It is no secret that homelessness is a major issue in North America, but the state of California seems to be doing a particularly worse job at handling it. California is notorious for having some of the most unaffordable cities, so naturally these cities have a large amount of homeless people. With that being said, most of these people are unsheltered and there are things that can be done to prevent this. Homeless shelters are a great way to potentially get these people back on the right track, it provides a sense of hope and gives some deserving people a place to stay.

Photograph: Lucy Nicholson/Reuters | Image source: The Guardian

California has been battling this social issue for many years and it ultimately boils down to how expensive homes are especially in the Bay Area. About 70% of people homeless in San Francisco in 2019 became homeless while living in San Francisco. Only 22% came from another county within California, and 8% came from another state.

Objectives of Homeless Shelters

Homeless shelters operate in a way to help the person in need. The goal of these shelters is to provide people with a safe place to sleep, but to also help them to never be in that position ever again. These shelters typically have designated people to help with specific problems, such as;

• Mental Health
• Addiction
• Physical Health

Identifying these problems is crucial as they help the care provider get down to the root problem of their homelessness. Depending on the shelter, they may allow people to stay for 3 nights all the way to 90 days. The length of stay is determined by assessments conducted by community-based referrals.

How Omland Does Their Part

Here at Omland, we have been supplying shelters all over North America for over 15 years. Shelters typically require a very niche set of products to be successful, which is why it is especially impressive that Omland can provide almost everything you need to start one. Some of these essential products include;

Metal Beds

These beds are ideal for any shelter. They are simple to assemble, extremely durable and long lasting. Metal beds are also great for maintenance, they remove the consideration of wooden beds as wood is heavier and comes with other preventable problems.

Bed Cots (Camping, Military, Army)

Cots are perfect for a facility of this sort as they are portable and compact, leaving room for many of them in one space. They require very little maintenance and depending on your needs, you can choose from a great variety of options.

Personal Hygiene Products

Having personal care products like these are essential to any shelter operation. It allows the person to collect themselves a little bit all while giving them a sense of equality. These products can range from toothbrushes and washable towels all the way to soap, lotions and deodorant.

Portable Stainless Steel Sinks

Although this may not be an essential product, it sure can make things easier. This innovative idea is ideal for any shelter as it features a towel bar, soap dispensary and a massive water tank. They come fully assembled, so you can use them right out of the box.

Bunk Beds

Like cots, bunk beds are a really great option to optimize the number of people that can stay at your shelter. They are sturdy, built to last and are a very practical method to save space. The only evident “downside” to these beds is that the initial time to assemble can be quite long (especially a large amount of them), however once they are up there is very little work to be done for maintenance. This makes them a very reliable product long-term.

Signage

It is clear that any type of shelter requires a lot of organization and commitment to keep it running. With so many things going on, it can be very easy to forget about other small factors that help the operation stay organized. In any operation, rules need to be enforced. Depending on your specific needs, signs can help with a lot. This is especially due to the fact that your shelter may have many guests and staff may not always be available for each individual at any given moment.

Plates, Bowls, Utensils

Any shelter with an overnight stay option needs food. It makes sense to have a good amount of reusable/washable plates, bowls and utensils. It is a good idea to have enough to support more than max capacity just to eliminate any potential shrinkage.

Conclusion

Unfortunately, it is unrealistic to try and solve the worlds’ homelessness issue. However, there are methods to help the severity of it. Shelters definitely seem to be one of the most effective as they are actively trying to give people some hope. They are directly tackling the problem by giving people exactly what’s needed to survive, we definitely need more shelters in our communities and here at Omland we try our best to do our part.