In my community, I've heard from a lot of women that they'd rather live in their cars than in shelters. There's a lot of active drug use that goes on within the shelter system, and it's deterring them from going to these shelters. This is particularly difficult for women with children who don't want to expose their kids to unsafe environments and for our vulnerable seniors.
What can we do to address these issues of drug use and violence within these shelters, issues that seem to be a barrier for women, young adults and seniors seeking shelter?