When children arrive at the shelters, staff explain to them why they are there and what to expect. Then, they begin "detective work," trying to find out who they are and where they should go, said Susan Trudeau, who runs the Heartland Alliance shelters. Children often arrive with only a name of a relative, an address, a memorized phone number. Although many are Central American, last year kids from 50 countries stayed in Chicago shelters, whose 450 employees speak 40 languages.