In London, Ontario, shelters are intended to be safe havens for people experiencing homelessness. For many, they fall short on that ideal.

Rigid rules, lived stress

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Many shelter programs impose curfews, limits on personal belongings, and mandatory programming. An evaluation in 2025 conducted by the Health and Homelessness Whole of Community System Response cited that clients reported:

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• Curfews that constrain daylight hours;
• Restrictions on storing personal items; 
• Mandatory participation in specific programs as a condition of staying. 

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What that means on the ground: after a long day on the streets, many residents will face anxiety, worrying about losing the few possessions that they managed to keep, or being turned away from breaking a rule that might feel out of step with life outside. 

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“A lot of people hoard things because there’s scarcity anxiety… they worry, ‘I’m going to lose everything’.”

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Discrimination, Accessibility, Exclusion

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The evaluation reports flags that gender-diverse individuals and people with physical disabilities “often struggle to find safe, appropriate shelter options”. This aligns with broader research: in shelters in Toronto, for example, systemic barriers and service restrictions have pushed people back into unsheltered homelessness. Such barriers mean that even when a bed is available, the term “safe haven” doesn’t always hold true (CAMH, 2024). 

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When Shelters Can’t Solve the Underlying Crisis

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In London, the Whole of Community System Response is a recognition of this: the city is moving beyond just shelter beds, to a multi-sector response involving health care, outreach, housing stability services, and coordination across more than 70 organizations. That said, the system still struggles with root-causes: lack of affordable housing, systemic discrimination in access, and the over-reliance on emergency responses rather than prevention. 

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What Needs to Change 

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• More supportive housing: Shelters alone are not enough, individuals require housing with on-site or closely linked wrap-around supports 
• Greater accessibility and inclusivity: Shelter rules and practices must align with the lived realities of people experiencing homelessness, especially those who are gender-diverse, Indigenous, or living with disabilities
• Flexible rules that respect dignity: Many shelter restrictions may inadvertently perpetuate trauma or exclusion. Restrictions correlate with unsheltered homelessness, hospitalizations, and relapse.

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London’s shelters are doing vital work- but the truth is they often mirror the constraints, anxieties, and systemic barriers faced by people experiencing homelessness, rather than offering true refuge. Moving from “managing homelessness” to ending it means shifting the narrative from crisis response to housing as a right, prevention, and equity driven policy. 

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References

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Health and Homelessness Whole of Community System Response: Research & Evaluation Report- September 2025 

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https://london.ca/sites/default/files/2025-09/Health%20and%20Homelessness%20Whole%20of%20Community%20System%20Response%20Research%20and%20Evaluation%20Report.pdf

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CAMH toronto report:

https://www.camh.ca/-/media/news-and-stories-files/shelter-safety-study-final-report-april-2024-sm-pdf.pdf?