Shelter, a registered welfare organization, has been in existence since 1981, to help abused, abandoned, neglected or at-risk children. Shelter Home for Children started as a result of the vision of a group of seven friends who wanted to help the children in a squatter settlement along Old Klang Road. They initiated tuition classes so that the children could do better in their studies.   When the group found three homeless boys sleeping in the corridors of the State Cinema (now Lotus Restaurant, at New Town, Petaling Jaya) the group decided to rent a single storey bungalow in Section 12, Petaling Jaya. "All that we had was an empty house without any furniture. We sat, ate and slept on the floor. But, in the end, the boys stole some money and ran away!" said Mr James Nayagam, former Executive Director of Shelter, one of the seven friends who started Shelter.   Not disheartened, the group of friends decided to bring one of the families from the settlement who had been evicted from their home, to stay in the house in Section 12. Most families in the settlement were living on rented premises but found it difficult to pay the rent.   Not disheartened, the group of friends decided to bring one of the families from the settlement who had been evicted from their home, to stay in the house in Section 12. Most families in the settlement were living on rented premises but found it difficult to pay the rent.   In time, Shelter established 10 kindergartens in squatter settlements with the first one being in Damansara Dalam (1989). A nominal fee of RM5 per student was charged.

These kindergartens were an effort in helping children from underprivileged homes to have a good start in life.  Shelter decided to close down the kindergartens after 15 years of operation when it was noticed that there was a dramatic drop in the number of children attending the kindergartens.  Urban affluence had also affected low income families in their perception and preferences for education for their children. As Shelter evaluated the work, we decided to move to a more proactive approach in helping disadvantaged children, by being a positive influence on teenagers.   Hence Shelter ventured into community youth work among young prisoners in Kajang Prison. There are about 1,000 delinquents in Kajang Prison and Sg. Buloh Prison. Shelter wanted to educate, train and help the juveniles regain their self-respect and integrity, so that they can rejoin society at a later date. This is very gratifying work as it requires discipline, commitment and focus, to run the social work programmes. Currently, this programme has been discontinued.   Besides venturing into youth prison work, Shelter has also initiated a youth community centre known as "DropZone". This is a centre for youths to hang out, where the focus is on personal development through healthy and positive activities. The target group is 13 - 20 years old youth. It was originally set up by Shelter but now it is under Leaderonomics.   Shelter saw the need to  help teenagers who were beyond parental control. Hence the setting up of our Homes i.e. Shelter 2 (1987), Shelter 3 (1995), Shelter 4 (1996-2007), Home Parenting Scheme - which is now known as Shelter 4 (2007) and Shelter 5 (2001-2006). Currently we have only have 3 homes which are  Shelter 1, Shelter 2 and Shelter 3.