Moving the Homeless Out of Hawaii

If I was going to be homeless I guess Hawaii would pretty much be the place to do it. 

Evidently a new program is offering the homeless a one way plane ticket to the mainland.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2010/07/25/homeless-in-hawaii-offere_n_658572.html

And they are not the first to do this. Several cities/states have similar programs. One of them was originally called 'Clean Sweep'

So what do you think about this BT?

Doesn't really seem like a solution to me, just shuffling people around. I work (volunteer) with the homeless some, and I don't necessarily have a solution to the problem of homelessness myself except I believe we should treat all people with dignity so they will realize they have value. 

I believe we should treat all people with dignity so they will realize they have value. 

Agree that all people should be treated with dignity, but not so that they can realize their value. Do it because it's the right thing to do. True self worth comes from within. Being a productive member of society can help with that; sitting on a street corner covered in filth asking me for money out of my pocket, not so much.

Heard a thought provoking (for me) quote once but cannot find the source. To paraphrase; no man is truly in need who drinks, smokes, or keep a pet. I cannot believe that in 2013, in the western world, any person has to live "on the street" who truly does not want to and is willing to do something about it.

Look harder.  These men and women are everywhere.  It takes a tremendous support system and amount of resources to get out of that situation once you are in it.  When you don't have an address, it's hard to get a job.  When you don't have a job, it's hard to get an apartment.  Recently it took my former church an incredible amount of time, connections, people willing to work and sacrifice, and after two years they got ONE MAN off the street.  One man who accepted responsibility for why he was on the street and desperately wanted to change and worked very hard himself at it. 

Agree that all people should be treated with dignity, but not so that they can realize their value. Do it because it's the right thing to do. True self worth comes from within. Being a productive member of society can help with that; sitting on a street corner covered in filth asking me for money out of my pocket, not so much.

Heard a thought provoking (for me) quote once but cannot find the source. To paraphrase; no man is truly in need who drinks, smokes, or keep a pet. I cannot believe that in 2013, in the western world, any person has to live "on the street" who truly does not want to and is willing to do something about it.

Look harder.  These men and women are everywhere.  It takes a tremendous support system and amount of resources to get out of that situation once you are in it.  When you don't have an address, it's hard to get a job.  When you don't have a job, it's hard to get an apartment.  Recently it took my former church an incredible amount of time, connections, people willing to work and sacrifice, and after two years they got ONE MAN off the street.  One man who accepted responsibility for why he was on the street and desperately wanted to change and worked very hard himself at it. 

A confounding factor is that a significant number of the homeless suffer from mental illness, particularly schizophrenia and manic depression. Family support is either fractured or non-existent. Moving them from point A to point B won't solve the problem. 

Actually, it solves the problem for Hawaii. They are not trying to get homeless off the streets or America... they are trying to get the homeless off the streets of Hawaii. A plane ticket is probably cheaper than social services. Not saying I agree or disagree.... just saying, it does indeed solve a problem.

My thoughts exactly.  They're not doing the homeless a favor, they're doing the state and it's non-homeless citizens a favor.

My thoughts exactly.  They're not doing the homeless a favor, they're doing the state and it's non-homeless citizens a favor.

Not sustainable though. Only works until it catches on and the receiving states return the favor. Assuming NJ has approximately the same numbers (and I don't know if that is true) we could even things up pretty quickly.

So eventually all homeless people will be in the air somewhere.......problem solved, eh?

Not sustainable though. Only works until it catches on and the receiving states return the favor. Assuming NJ has approximately the same numbers (and I don't know if that is true) we could even things up pretty quickly.

Look harder.  These men and women are everywhere.  It takes a tremendous support system and amount of resources to get out of that situation once you are in it.  When you don't have an address, it's hard to get a job.  When you don't have a job, it's hard to get an apartment.  Recently it took my former church an incredible amount of time, connections, people willing to work and sacrifice, and after two years they got ONE MAN off the street.  One man who accepted responsibility for why he was on the street and desperately wanted to change and worked very hard himself at it. 

So eventually all homeless people will be in the air somewhere.......problem solved, eh?

I suppose I should have been more specific about what I mean. I'm not talking about permanent residency vs homelessness. I'm talking about people who live, literally, on the street. In Philadelphia they have to take them, often by force, and get them into shelters on very coldwinter nights. Shelters are there, resources are available. Homelessness does not have to equal sleeping under the over pass, or in a park in Hawaii.

Sometimes, being willing to do something about your own situation means things liked don't drop out of high school, don't run away from home, don't use drugs, don't go off your meds. Again, I have a very hard time with the idea that anyone is literally living on the street through no fault of their own.

I suppose I should have been more specific about what I mean. I'm not talking about permanent residency vs homelessness. I'm talking about people who live, literally, on the street. In Philadelphia they have to take them, often by force, and get them into shelters on very cold winter nights. Shelters are there, resources are available. Homelessness does not have to equal sleeping under the over pass, or in a park in Hawaii.

Sometimes, being willing to do something about your own situation means things liked don't drop out of high school, don't run away from home, don't use drugs, don't go off your meds. Again, I have a very hard time with the idea that anyone is literally living on the street through no fault of their own.