Those are strings, yes. And while it is perfectly understandable that shelters may need such rules, they do ultimately cut some people off from help. Other typ

Those are strings, yes. And while it is perfectly understandable that shelters may need such rules, they do ultimately cut some people off from help. Other typical strings include strict bedtimes, including getting awoken early and told to leave. Mandatory religious activities. And a lot of homeless people will report being talked down to at shelters, and generally not being treated well. The good shelters are always filled, if it is cold enough, the bad ones are as well. Homelessness is mainly a result of poverty, if you want fewer homeless people you should do something for the poor people, so that they may stay or return to being homed. What government programs exist for this purpose are generally woefully inadequate. Another example of strings attached is SNAP/food stamps. You set up a bureaucratic system in order to give money to poor people that can only be used for food. Those poor people then wonder how they are going to pay rent.