Or disabled/elderly, or homeless with pets or caretakers/long term companions.
Shelters in California are too often just bunk beds in large warehouse rooms, gendered separately, with communal sanitary facilities and common dining service. And No Drug policy, which includes no Medication, especially psychotropics, or addiction medication. When you actually talk to homeless living in their cars along the main streets or in tent communities, the primary reasons they won't go to a shelter is because of
1. Limited hours, no storage, and first come, first served availability of beds every night.
2. rampant theft and lack of security
3. inability to bring medicine, family members, or companions...
See, most shelters offered are are first come/first served daily only, individuals need to be out by 0800 for cleaning and can't come back until 5 or 6 PM to claim a bed, and access is locked down after 8pm.
Disabled and only upper bunks are left? Work a late shift? Sorry, maybe they'll call around and secure a lower bunk for you at another shelter you're going to have to find some way of getting to.
Sick? You're not going to a shelter, you're going to a ER, and maybe your belongings will be sent along with you. Maybe
Need someplace to store what belongings -like the tools you need to do a job while your looking for work during the day? You're SOL.
Your choices are a bed at a shelter or a job, or live rough while you wait for more individual housing that actually fits your needs to open up on the list.
Individual housing coupled with maintenance and a Social Service component - even if it's just a safe camping/RV location or a lot with Tiny Houses on it, works. Massive warehouse rooms shelters only work for the individuals who have lost everything to keep them off the streets at night.
I have interacted with the homeless more than a few times; most are just people that couldn't afford housing after a bout of bad luck and are trying to keep what few belongings and documents they still have. Whatever the bad luck reason that put them in the situation, they still have some items they're desperate to hold on to, and most shelters offered either aren't safe enough or would let them keep those items
Despite the obvious junkies or mental cases most people notice and assume define the homeless, a majority of homeless are simply poor - retired, or work day jobs or part time low wage.
They have an income, but they're basically the "Two Paychecks Away" folks - who are living that saying "Most Americans are only two paychecks away from homelessness".
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