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Will a shelter separate me from my kids tonight?

Use the free tool — Food & Shelter Tonight

What we know tonight

Families are generally kept together in family shelters. 211 can tell you which shelters are taking families tonight. This is what is known — it is not a promise of a bed for you.

Call 211 first

211 is free, confidential, and available 24 hours a day, in any language. Say you have children with you and ask which shelters are accepting families tonight. Write down the names and numbers they give you.

• 211.org — the same service, if you'd rather look online first.

Check a shelter finder too

HUD's shelter finder lists emergency shelters, food, health care, and clothing near a ZIP code. It can show you options while you wait on hold with 211.

• HUD Find Shelter

Neither this guide nor any finder can confirm that a specific shelter has room for your family tonight. Confirm by phone before you travel.

If you're leaving someone dangerous at home

Call the National Domestic Violence Hotline first: 1-800-799-7233, or text START to 88788. It's available 24/7. Domestic violence shelters are confidential and do not appear in public finders like 211 or HUD's shelter finder — that's on purpose, to keep you safe.

If your phone shares your location, someone could see where you've been. Consider turning that off before you call or text. If you are in immediate danger, call 911.

A caution

This guide cannot see what is open near you tonight. Call 211 to confirm before you travel. This is general information, not legal advice — confirm any shelter's rules directly with 211 or the shelter itself.

What to do next

No one can promise you a specific bed or a legal guarantee that your family will stay together tonight — only 211 or the shelter can confirm that. The free tool below reads the ZIP code and details you enter — children, a pet, a car — and gives you an ordered plan for tonight: who to call first, what to say, and the finders that list what's open near you. Nothing you type is stored.

Food & Shelter Tonight does not know what is open near you tonight and never names a specific shelter or pantry; it gives you the hotlines and finders that do, and a plan for using them. Confirm by phone before you travel. If someone is in immediate danger, call 911. Nothing you type is stored.