I've talked to homeless people who "refuse shelter" heres a few reasons why:

• Shelters are a good place to get assaulted, especially for women.

• Shelters are a good place to get robbed.

• you have to pray to eat in many

• you lose a lot of autonomy

• you can't shoot up

• they're crowded, and if you're mentally ill, that can be terrifying.

• there's a long wait for maybe not getting a bed, and then you're stuck downtown

• they're surveilled, and therefore potential routes into prison

• camps are communities with job leads, mutual aid, friends. Shelters are collections of strangers.

Also, "offering shelter" isn't the city giving you a room, it's a flier with a list of shelters to call.