The choices otherwise are to find scant space at a private shelter, or to give up.

But each of those private shelters, run by volunteers, accepts only a handful of people.

Only two of the private shelters accept women, and sometimes only three beds are available.

On the list are 326 shelters, public and private, whose combined population or capacity is 29,612 people.

It is the largest, private, homeless shelter in the United States.

There are also private shelters, soup kitchens, and food banks.

These costs have been crippling to a small, private shelter.

Now the nation's largest network of private shelters, the program has a professional staff of about 70, and 11,000 volunteers.

A few private shelters will accept some children, but county officials said they tend to accept only the most cooperative ones.

North Shore, as all other private shelters, has a waiting list months long to accept pets that owners cannot or will not keep any longer.