rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/petition/no-time-limits-on-shelter-stays?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-petition-area-no-time-limits-on-shelter-stays' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> Housing Our Neighbors https://actionnetwork.org/groups/housing-our-neighbors-2 https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/petitions/photos/000/701/209/normal/90_Day_Shelter_Limit_Proposal_Response_AN_.png In August of 2025, the Mayor’s Office of Homeless Services (MOHS) issued a draft policy regarding shelter stays in Baltimore City shelters. Under this proposal, families would be allowed to stay a continuous 120-days with the opportunity for a 30 day extension and individuals would be allowed to stay a continuous 90-days with the opportunity for a 30 day extension. We at Housing our Neighbors (HON) believe that there should be no cap on shelter stays and we vehemently push back on narratives that folks are “cheating the system” or “make more money than the case workers” and choosing to stay in the shelters. Given folks' responses in 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 had backed down from moving this proposal forward after hearing concerns from community members, but it was recently reintroduced. Right now, the proposal is under consideration by the Baltimore City Continuum of Care. We are calling on the Chair Nico Sanders and Vice Chair Jamal Turner of the CoC to rescind it. https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/no-time-limits-on-shelter-stays