The Hawaii government is getting tired of paying for the nearly 17,000 homeless people living in the state – so much so that the Aloha State is willing to buy one-way tickets to fly them back to the mainland.
According to MSN News, the voluntary “Return to Home” program, which is set to begin this fiscal year, is a three-year pilot project run by the state’s Department of Human Services. Participants in the program will be given one-way tickets – and possibly even beds on cruise ships – free of charge so the homeless can return to their families back in the contingent 48 states.
The program will help the state save money on food, shelter and medical services provided for the homeless, however, the program requirements are “costly and administratively burdensome,” department spokesperson Kayla Rosenfeld told MSN News. She added that lawmakers expect the program to cost upwards of $100,000 to implement.
There are also a series of administrative issues that could come up as a result of the plan, including transporting the homeless to the airport and getting the participants to sign voluntary departure agreements.
“Given these requirements and others, and a minimal appropriation of $100,000 for a three-year pilot project, providers are understandably reluctant to take on a state-funded ‘return to home’ program,” Rosenfeld said.
To be eligible for participation in the program, individuals must have a support system in place with relatives on the mainland and must be “indigent” and unable to return to Hawaii, according to MSN News. The state’s DHS “remain concerned this program is an invitation to purchase a one-way ticket to Hawaii with a guaranteed return flight home,” however, according to MSN News.
Hawaii state Rep. John Mizuno, who represents part of Honolulu, helped get the program passed in the state house, but even he has his doubts about its success.
“It’s fractional, it’s not for 5,000 homeless people. It’s going to be a handful of homeless people that we send home…to their support unit,” he told Hawaii News Now.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg tried to implement a similar program to little success in 2009. The cities of Baton Rouge, La. and Fort Lauderdale, Fla. also offered similar ‘one-way ticket’ programs in the past as well.
