HomelessHelp.net
Find help.
Volunteer. Donate.
Understand homelessness.
Whether you need a bed tonight, want to volunteer at a shelter, or are trying to understand the issue — this is a free, independent directory of homeless services and a plain-language guide to what actually works. US & Canada.
424+
Resources mapped
239
Cities covered
13
Crisis hotlines
Why are you here?
This site serves four audiences — pick the one that fits you.
I need help
Enter your city and we'll show the nearest shelters, day centers, food programs, and medical care. Always free, no account.
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I want to volunteer or donate
Type your city and we'll list shelters near you that take volunteers. With phone numbers and what they actually need.
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I want to understand
Plain-language guides on the causes of homelessness, what works, and how to talk to someone on the street.
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I'm a student or researcher
Citable statistics, a glossary, primary-source links, a downloadable dataset, and citation formats for your paper.
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For volunteers
Want to actually help? Start here.
People want to help and don't know where to start, so they donate used clothes or hand out granola bars from their car. There's a better playbook — and we've written it.
Find shelters near you
Type your city or share your location and we'll list nearby shelters that take volunteers. With phone numbers.
Find a shelter near me →
Run a drive
Sock drives, hygiene-kit nights, and sleeping-bag collections are easy wins. We have a guide and supply list.
Get the playbook →
Give effectively
Cash > new items > used items. We list effective charities by population: veterans, youth, families, LGBTQ+, Indigenous.
See effective charities →
Start here
All articles →Populations
Asylum-seekers, migrants, and the homeless shelter system
The 2022–2025 increase in migrant arrivals to US and Canadian cities strained the homelessness systems they overlapped with. The dynamic is more nuanced than most coverage suggests.
5 min read
Foundations
The actual causes of homelessness
Homelessness is not caused by personal failure. It is caused, overwhelmingly, by the gap between what housing costs and what people earn — plus everything that pushes people toward that gap.
3 min read
Populations
College student homelessness: the invisible problem
Roughly 1 in 10 US college students will experience homelessness during their studies. Most never tell anyone. Here's what's happening — and what helps.
5 min read
Foundations
Common myths about homelessness — and what's actually true
The most repeated claims about homelessness are usually wrong. Here are the ones that get in the way of helping.
3 min read
Action
Free showers, charging, Wi-Fi: a daily survival guide
Practical answers to the daily questions of being unhoused: where to shower, where to charge a phone, where to use Wi-Fi, where to keep food, where to store stuff.
7 min read
Populations
Domestic violence: the pathway to homelessness
Leaving an abusive partner is the single most common cause of homelessness for women and children. The system that exists to help has specific entry points worth knowing.
5 min read
If you need help tonight
Call 211 for shelter referrals. Call 988 if you're in crisis. Call 911 for emergencies.
These are free, confidential, and answered 24/7 across the US and Canada.
See all crisis hotlinesKnow a resource we're missing?
We're crowdsourcing the directory. Every shelter, day center, food program, and outreach group helps someone find help faster.
Submit a resource