This paper analyzes nonprofit organizations that assist the homeless across the United States to explore how social and political context affect the interorganizational dynamics and distribution of homeless services. Using the open systems approach to the study of nonprofits while understanding populations of organizations can add to knowledge of nonprofit environments, population change, geographic concentration, and interorganizational relations. Interestingly enough, this paper found the HUD’s “continuum of care” agenda had unintended policy consequences with a shift towards faith-based orgs and short-term services. Through methodologically comparing 26 metropolitan areas – the availability of funds had a greater impact on the prevalence of programs than the need for services moreover their was a NIMBY (Not In My Back Yard) effect on allocation of services – areas with sharp distinctions of economic and racial inequality have greater geographic concentration of services compared to cities with economically mixed neighbourhoods.