Many Police Aren’t Aware of the Homeless Directive

Local law enforcement agencies in the Southern Tier say they have not been looking for homeless people to get them into shelters in spite of an executive directive from New York Governor Andrew Cuomo that went into effect January 5.

The order says homeless people have to be taken to shelters when it’s below freezing whether they want to go or not.

A check with some local police found many didn’t even know about the directive.

Meanwhile, questions remain on how to implement the order, given limited space at local shelters.

Reports in afternoon January 4 already had shelters at the Volunteers of America and YWCA at capacity.