SA's homeless 'need' 24/7 accommodation

Homeless people in Adelaide desperately need a place stay at night, with SA's peak housing body saying a 24-hour shelter in the CBD would save lives.

A proposed around-the-clock shelter would provide hundreds of people sleeping rough each year with a safe place to stay, food, showers and even wi-fi, says Shelter SA.

"While there are day centres for homeless people in Adelaide which are doing a great job, there's actually nowhere for them to go at night-time," executive director Dr Alice Clark told AAP on Thursday.

"We don't like to think that there are people doing it so tough in Adelaide, sleeping in places that are really not safe for them ... people do die."