Hawaii is trying to get rid of its homeless population and to do this they're offering free one-way flights back home.
Under the "return to home" program, Hawaii is trying to reduce how much it spends on food, shelter and other services for the homeless population, which currently stands at about 17,000, RT reports.
The program is a pilot program that will last three years and will be launched during the fiscal year. The state has $100,000 to pay for the one-way airline tickets and maybe even some cruise ships to take the homeless back to the main US states.
The program will be run by the Department of Human Services, which says that there could be some issues with the program.
The program itself will be run by the state's Department of Human Services, which recently told MSN News that it had certain reservations regarding the concept of one-way trips out of the state for those with limited means.
"The administrative requirements ... are costly and administratively burdensome," department spokeswoman Kayla Rosenfeld said according to MSN.
"Provisions include: transportation to the airport, orientation regarding airport security and ensuring proper hygiene. Additionally, if state funds were utilized for the purpose of sending people home, the participants would be required to sign voluntary departure agreements that would need to be recorded in databases.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," she said.
She also fears that some will take advantage of the program and come to Hawaii knowing that they would have a free ride back home.
Local media has mixed feelings about the program. Some see it as a quick fix to a large problem while others see its benefits and the fact that Hawaii would be able to put more focus on locals.
"Selectively used, it is a way of providing an appropriate solution for people in a particular situation," Victor Geminiani, executive director of the Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice, a nonprofit that works on affordable housing issues, told the Honolulu Civil Beat. "But the devil is in the details."
Homeless people must voluntarily want to go back home. To be eligible, they must have a support system back in their home state and can only participate in the program one time.
While this program may sound strange, it's not the first of its kind. A similar program took place in New York in 2009, offering one-way trips out of the city and to places such as Paris, Johannesburg and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
San Francisco, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, and Fort Lauderdale, Florida have also offered such programs.
"These kinds of programs have been used historically to ship homeless people out of town," Michael Stoops, director of community organizing for the National Coalition for the Homeless, told MSN News.
"In the homelessness field it was once called greyhound therapy. Hawaii now goes a step higher with airplane therapy. Oftentimes local police departments run such programs offering the stark choices of going to a shelter, jail or hopping on a bus or plane home."
This article is copyrighted by Travelers Today, the travel news leader
