By: Jomana Aly (@jomanaalyy)
More than 60,000 New Yorkers have no place to call home and the punishing cold weather can prove deadly for anyone sleeping on the streets. When the temperature drops below 0 C between 4 p.m. and 8 a.m., the city issues a Code Blue. The city resolves that, during a Code Blue, no homeless person looking for shelter will be turned away, Isaac McGinn, press secretary for the N.Y.C. Department of Homeless Services, announced.
According to nyc.gov, the following help is made more available for the homeless:
Shelters: During a Code Blue, homeless adults can access any shelter location for single individuals.
Beds are available system-wide to accommodate anyone brought in by outreach teams or walk-ins.
Drop-in centers: All drop-in centers are open 24 hours a day when Code Blue procedures are in effect, taking in as many as people as possible for the duration of inclement weather. Drop-in staff also can make arrangements for homeless individuals at other citywide facilities.
Safe havens and stabilization beds: Chronically homeless individuals may be transported to these low-threshold housing options, where they may go directly from the street to a bed.
Models Bella and Gigi and Anwar Hadid along with artist Zayn have posted on social media platforms about this issue in order to ask their followers in New York City to help make a change and support the cause.
There are similar movements in Nashville, Toronto and Montreal. There are over 12 million Egyptians that are considered or are in fact homeless, why are there no similar organizations or hotlines available for those people? Will Egypt ever have enough homeless shelters for all those people?
