An
emergency shelter is a place for people to live temporarily when they cannot live in their previous residence, similar to
homeless shelters. The main difference is that an emergency shelter typically specializes in people fleeing a specific type of situation, such as natural or man-made
disasters,
domestic violence, or victims of
sexual abuse. A more minor difference is that people staying in emergency shelters are more likely to stay all day, except for work, school, or errands, while homeless shelters usually expect people to stay elsewhere during the day, returning only to sleep or eat. Emergency shelters sometimes facilitate
support groups, and/or provide meals.