Shelters have become California’s go-to solution for homelessness. A CalMatters investigation finds the vast majority of residents stay homeless.

A fraction of people in temporary shelters end up in permanent housing, according to CalMatters’ year-long investigation . Conditions are squalid. Fraud is rampant. And residents often endure physical and sexual abuse.

All across California, temporary homeless shelters have become the foundation of taxpayer-funded efforts to get people off the street and back into housing. Our new investigation found that shelters have instead turned into housing purgatory.

Emergency shelters are supposed to be a safe haven, but records show they’re ineffective — and rife with abuse and scandal.