No Time Limit on Shelter Stays!

In August of 2025, the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services (MOHS) issued a draft policy regarding shelter stays in Baltimore City shelters. The most recent version of the proposal would limit shelter stays to 120 days for individuals and 150 days for families. When it was initially released, MOHS provided only a 7 day window for responses and feedback. This sidelined many important voices and folks with lived experience who could speak to the impact that this proposed rule change would have.

We at Housing our Neighbors (HON) believe that there should be no cap on shelter stays and we vehemently push back on narratives that shelter residents are “cheating the system” or “make more money than the case workers” and are choosing to stay in the shelters. Given the responses to our Shelter Conditions Survey, we know that many feel safer sleeping on the street than they do staying in shelters. Ultimately, this is an issue of a lack of affordable and dignified housing options. At minimum, we’ve also found that it takes folks six (6) months to be placed in housing through the Coordinated Access system, though we know it usually takes much longer.

The proposed policy also leaves a lot of discretion to Case Managers and staff at the shelters who are able to make determinations around whether a resident is demonstrating “active engagement and participation in housing navigation services” and able to receive extensions if they need it. From our Shelter Conditions Survey, we have heard countless stories about staff mistreatment and fear of retaliation for speaking up about shelter conditions and we are concerned that this policy would perpetuate a system where folks do not feel safe using their First Amendment right to free speech.

We hoped city officials would back down from moving this proposal forward after hearing concerns from community members, but they unfortunately have not.

Right now, the proposal is under consideration by the Baltimore City Continuum of Care, with a vote expected on October 15, 2026.

Please join us for a rally on the day of the expected vote. We will send a clear message to the board of the Continuum of Care: No Time Limit on Shelter Stays!