Police and Crime Commissioner Sue Mountstevens met homeless people at Julian House as part of a tour of Bath.
Mrs Mountstevens, 57, who is Avon and Somerset's first PCC, has been touring all the districts in her patch in an attempt to get to know communities better.
As part of her visit to Bath she met clients of the revamped Julian House night shelter in Manvers Street.
Mrs Mountstevens was met by manager Matt Hanna and operations manager John Isserlis, who told her about the work that Julian House does in Bath.
She was then given a tour of the facilities, before talking to people who had been helped by the charity.
Mrs Mountstevens said: "It has been nice to hear about the work of Julian House.
"The fact that the shelter is full almost every night highlights the constant need for the service in the community.
"The role of the PCC is to engage with the community, and that is what all these visits have been about.
"People want to be heard, and I intend to do that."
The new shelter opened last month after a £460,000 revamp that saw old dormitory accommodation replaced with 20 individual sleeping pods.
This gives people more privacy, and means more women can stay at the shelter.
The centre is also now open 24 hours a day.
Following the visit to Julian House Mrs Mountstevens went to the B&NES Council CCTV control room elsewhere in Manvers Street, before meeting people at the charities Developing Health and Independence (DHI) and Project 28.
She ended the tour with a visit to the Guildhall to meet council chief executive Jo Farrar.
Mrs Mountstevens has outlined her priorities for the new role as tackling anti-social behaviour, violent crime, particularly against women and girls, and burglary and giving victims a louder voice.
