WILLIAMSBURG, Ky. — The sole homeless shelter serving a town in Kentucky has reportedly changed its policy to prohibit women from staying there, and the director says the move is in reaction to those at the shelter having sex.
WYMT in Kentucky reports the Emergency Christian Ministries has asked around a dozen women to leave the shelter during the past few weeks.
The director, Billy Woodward, told WYMT the issue was people having sex at the shelter and that they cannot accept that.
“It seems like these last days it’s getting worse … the ungodly type,” Director Billy Woodward told WYMT.
The shelter is reportedly the only place for homeless folks in the area to find refuge, and WYMT reports women in the area will now have to travel about 30 minutes to a shelter in Gray, Kentucky. Woodward said they would like to serve women in the future, but he said doing so would require a renovation at the shelter.
Woodward said the decision to prohibit women was based on the fact more men than women stay at the shelter. He also told WYMT he made his decision based on the Bible and because he felt the sexual activity at the shelter was sinful. He added that he does not believe women are the cause of the “sex problem.”
“It takes two to do that,” Woodward told WYMT.“We are not biased or prejudice whatsoever.”
The rule change also means some children will not be allowed at the shelter, but a homeless male child and a homeless father would still be accepted.
Click here for more on this story from WYMT, including a reaction from the city’s mayor, who said while they don’t pass judgment on the shelter, they don’t feel like prohibiting women is something that ought to be done.