my experience with a homeless shelter

I have really been wanting to live at a homeless shelter for at least a week.  I wanted to experience it (see the previous post) in order to know what my friends go through.  I went there the other day and found out what my friends have been saying is true- the shelter a lot of rules.  Below I listed a few that stuck out to me.  I am not going to write my thoughts about them but feel free to share yours.  Just know that I believe that all shelters make rules with the best intentions, but maybe some go to far?

1. It costs $45/week to live there, or you can work for them to pay it off.
2. There is an 8 pm curfew every night, including weekends, but you can get a "weekend pass" if you are going out of town.
3. You cannot have your cell phone, laptop or any electronic device on the property.  There is a phone in the lobby you can use (within certain time restrictions) and a public library with computers/internet nearby. 
4. If you bring a car on the property (I don't thing many people living there have a car) it has to have insurance and tags.

I am by no means an expert because as of now I have only set foot inside of a homeless shelter once and have never spent the night.  I do know that the thought of staying there brought up feelings of inferiority and being out of control.  Why do I love people who are poor?  Because they daily face the feelings of shame, inferiority, humiliation, social isolation, depression and hopelessness that I have dealt with my whole life.  Feel free to ask me my story sometime.  It is a good one.

I have some friends staying at the shelter right now.  I can only imagine what they have been through and continue to go through each day, while I have everything I need.  Will we help them?

As for me, I spoke with a case manager who said that I could not move in unless the friend I have been staying with kicks me out.  I decided that it would be lying to have her write a letter to that affect, so no homeless shelter for me, at least not until I truly am homeless (one day, maybe).  Praise God that I have so many friends here in BCS to support me and take me in.  Unfortunately, others are not in this situation.