"Newspapers, television and films cast homeless shelters as places of desperation, sadness and sickness. In the last 25 years, however, the homeless and the shelters they access have diversified greatly. There are now men's and women's shelters, youth shelters, family shelters and Indigenous shelters. Shelters have become more professional and sophisticated in addressing homelessness in their region. They do much more than offer a bed and a meal for the night - they offer different methods of intervention, different forms of connection to the communities they serve and, inevitably, different visions of the future of the homeless shelter. Beyond Shelters offers essays by experienced shelter workers who address the future of the homeless shelter in Canada, including: Dr. John Rook of the Mustard Seed in Calgary, Karen Hoeft of the Salvation Army in Edmonton, Matthew Pearce of the Old Brewery Mission in Montreal, Dion Oxford of the Gateway Shelter in Toronto, and Brian Duplessis, formerly the executive director of the Fredericton Homeless Shelter in New Brunswick . The contributors have years of experience understanding the causes of and solutions to homelessness and the role that shelters can play in reducing homelessness. They set out the steps that will achieve their ultimate goal - the elimination of all forms of homelessness in Canada."-- Provided by publisher.