In case you haven’t left your home recently (lucky you!), there’s something you should know.

It’s really fucking cold outside. Today, for example, I am wearing my thickest coat—-it is reminiscent of a sleeping bag.

The city’s homeless population will have protection from this weather during the 24 hours around the inauguration. In that time, the city is opening up all of its homeless shelters. On Monday, buses will make one-way trips to two of the District’s largest shelters. Everyone should be out of parade area by then, according to the Washington Post.

There’s some concern about how this disruption will affect homeless peoples’ patterns and survival skills. What if they want to watch the parade, and they can’t bring their belongings with them? Some say it’s not fair to make people move. I say it is: People would practically (maybe literally) be trampled if they stayed downtown during the ceremony. So the plan’s good.

But what about afterwards? Or right now?

It seems like a terrible way to bring in the Change Era by getting kicked out of your shelter as soon as the inauguration festivities are finished…I haven’t heard anything about sweeping extended hours and/or more shelter openings since this frigid weather wave began. Does anyone know how the city is handling this?

Image by Photografar, Flickr Creative Commons