1.
a place that accommodates people in need of shelter, e.g. homeless people, refugees, or survivors of natural disasters, until more permanent accommodation can be found
2.
a children's home run by a local authority to house children whose families cannot look after them, either temporarily or for a longer period
3.
a building in which people who have arrived in a country and have no home, or who have had to leave their home, stay temporarily until someone in authority decides where they will go