Little yen to enter a squalid neighbourhood for shelter (6)
I believe the answer is:
asylum
'shelter' is the definition.
(asylum is a kind of shelter)
'little yen to enter a squalid neighbourhood' is the wordplay.
'little' says to take the initial letters.
'to enter' is an insertion indicator.
'squalid neighbourhood' becomes 'slum' (I've seen this before).
The first letter of 'yen' is 'y'.
'a'+'slum'='aslum'
'y' placed inside 'aslum' is 'ASYLUM'.
'for' acts as a link.
(Other definitions for asylum that I've seen before include "Place of shelter or refuge" , "Haven or hospital for the mentally ill" , "Institution for care of the insane" , "Madhouse" , "Place of safety or protection" .)