>Why do people sleep on benches instead of shelters? When I was homeless in NYC, I followed the advice of a local and called 311 to see if I could get a bed. I

>Why do people sleep on benches instead of shelters? When I was homeless in NYC, I followed the advice of a local and called 311 to see if I could get a bed. In order to use the shelter's facilities I had to check myself into drug rehab. I also wasn't allowed to work a job if I was sleeping at the shelter. I was neither drug addicted nor willing to give up the full-time temp work I had taken up to survive. This was the only option offered me by the person over the phone. I asked if there were other options, she said no. I figured there might be private (religious?) charities but I figured I needed it less than most being a white young male. Instead, I slept on the street (about a week?) until a reddit user let me crash at their place until I got on my feet. That's why I slept on an uncomfortable park bench in Brooklyn rather than in a shelter. NYPD left me alone anyway. I would talk to them when I woke, around 5 or 6 am. I miss how well-rested I was then. I still remember how it felt.