LOUISVILLE, Ky., Sept. 28 (UPI) -- Outraged opponents are gearing up to battle a new policy at Louisville's Salvation Army that says families must pay to stay there.
As of Sept. 1, after one week at the shelter, families have to pay $5 at the door per night to extend their stay, the Louisville Courier-Journal reported Sunday.
Maj. John Tolan told the newspaper the policy was enacted to prod people to better their lives.
Marlene Gordon of the Coalition for the Homeless, which coordinates services among shelters in Louisville and Southern Indiana, called the policy "pathetic" and "totally unacceptable."
In an attempt to stop the Salvation Army, the Kentucky Council on Homeless Policy plans to recommend government grants be withheld from any homeless agency that charges families before they've stayed 30 days.
The National Coalition for the Homeless,in Washington, D.C. and the national Salvation Army in Arlington, Va., said no other shelters in the nation charge families.
