It is the intent of the Homeless Shelter Assistance Trust Fund Act to provide funds aimed at meeting the needs of homeless individuals and other individuals with locally identified and documented special housing needs.

It is further the intent of the act that homeless individuals shall include persons who lack a fixed, regular, and adequate nighttime residence and who are living in a publicly or privately subsidized hotel, motel, shelter, or other temporary living quarters or any place not designated for or ordinarily used as regular sleeping accommodations for human beings. The act is not intended to include those individuals in prison or detained pursuant to state or federal law.