This Shelter Doesn’t Want Homeless Women Because Of A “Sex Problem”

A homeless shelter in Kentucky has stopped accepting women because of what its director calls a “sex problem.” Emergency Christian Ministries in Williamsburg, KY, announced last week that it will no longer accept women and children, in order to prevent people from having sex at the shelter, according to WYMT. The shelter’s director, Billy Woodward, told the news station that the problem lies in the “ungodly type” that have come to the shelter. Woodward said he made his decision based on the Bible. Ten to 12 women have been turned away in the past few weeks; they have been redirected to a female-only shelter about 30 minutes away. Emergency Christian Ministries is the only homeless shelter in the town. Children are also being turned away, likely due to the fact that most homeless children arrive with their mothers — the National Center on Family Homelessness estimates that nearly 80% of homeless women have a family. Woodward said that he would accept a male child and homeless father. The new policy has drawn criticism from the community. Williamsburg Mayor Roddy Harrison told WYMT that the city doesn’t agree with the policy. "I guess I'm a little old-school, but the first people off the boat were the women and children,” he said.