I think we can agree that this weekend was brutally cold – with the wind blowing it felt like all of my fingers were going to fall off. But while everyone at NYU ended their night warm in their beds in any given dorm, others were left to fight the cold out in the streets. The New York Post reported that the city has ordered almost two-dozen church homeless shelters to shut their doors.

City officials decided to put a little used and known city rule into effect. The rule states that shelters can only operate if they are open a minimum of five days a week. The church shelters do not have the resources to stay open year round.

According to the Partnership for the Homeless, hundreds would be left without a place to sleep. The churches not only provide people with a place to stay but are also more comforting than the prison-like city shelters. Not to mention that for someone who is homeless and doesn’t exactly know where the city shelters are, churches can give them a warm bed for the night.

DHS, Department of Homeless Services, stands by their decision, stating that the city shelters have more than enough space to provide for all of the people now left without a place to stay. But honestly, these people have nothing already – did they really have to take away one of the few places in which they felt safe enough to put their guard down and sleep?

Photo: Flickr courtesy of Dr. Savage