Homeless people across New York state may not have to fear sleeping in the brutal elements during freezing weather.

An order signed by Gov. Andrew Cuomo to protect the homeless went into effect Tuesday. Cuomo signed the executive order on Sunday, calling for police and social services to move people into shelters during freezing weather - even those who may not want to go.

By Tuesday night, some of the homeless people who live down a rocky embankment just below Route 59 in Spring Valley may be forced to go to shelters due to the new order.

The homeless colony of up to 40 people sleeps there each night, under filthy blankets, beside rotting garbage, with only a fire to stay warm.

Guatemalan immigrant Edwin Monsone says he ended up living there because he was unable to work construction when an injury shattered his knees.

"I got a lot of hospital bills," he says. "I have no money for an apartment."

While several nonprofit organizations have raised questions of the legality of forcing the homeless into shelters against their will, Cuomo has vowed to defend the order in court.

Some also wonder where the homeless community will be housed in Rockland.

Rockland is the only county in the state without a full-time shelter for single men and women.