Posted on 07/29/2009 4:59:58 PM PDT by Extremely Extreme Extremist
Bloomberg Administration Initiative Provides One-Way Ticket Anywhere As Part Of Plan To Save On Shelter Costs
Homeless Advocates Blame Mayor For Increase On Streets In Past Year
NEW YORK (CBS) ―
It is said that you can't go home again, but that is exactly what New York City officials want some homeless families to do.
The city will buy one-way tickets for families in shelters who have a place back home to live. They call it "Project Reconnect."
Ruby Davis, who has been homeless since 2006, has firsthand knowledge of Project Reconnect. City Officials offered her and her family tickets back home to North Carolina, but she said no thanks.
"I didn't take it because when I was living in North Carolina I was sleeping on a broken pull-out couch and I wasn't getting along with my mom at the time," Davis said.
She said it felt like the city wanted to get rid of her, but others said a way back home could be a good thing.
"If you don't got the money to get there and they are giving you the help take it only if you have a place to go," Martha Pass said.
And while the city has paid $6,332 to fly a family home to Paris and $2,550 to fly another to Johannesburg, South Africa, the average cost per ticket is just $218 -- a bargain Mayor Michael Bloomberg said, when considering it, costs $36,000 to shelter a family for a year.
"This saves the taxpayer an enormous amount of money. And keep in mind that no one is forcing these people to go. They want to go," Bloomberg said.
The Bloomberg administration has been grappling with an explosion in the number of homeless families. Currently, 8,339 families are in shelters with nearly 15,000 children -- a 12.5 percent increase over last year.
Advocates for the homeless blame the mayor for the increase, particularly the decision to stop allowing homeless families to receive priority for federal housing assistance. And they said paying for a few families back home is hardly the way to address the swelling numbers.
"Until he gets back brass tacks and starts undoing some of these policy issues, we're in this situation because of Mike Bloomberg's doing and he can undo it," said Mary Brosnahan of the Coalition for the Homeless.
In all, 564 families have taken the city up on its offer since the city expanded the program two years ago. A scaled back version of Project Reconnect has been in existence since 2001.
So if you want a free airline ticket out of NYC... just declare yourself homeless? I wish Rush Limbaugh would do that.
gotta be true... please post document link
Rush left NYC about 6 years ago to get away from the crippling taxes. He resides in Florida.
Hey, wait until they figure out they can do this for registered sex offenders! And these don’t even need homes, just send them somewhere — else.
I don’t care how many times I read this story here today, I like it. If only every city could figure this out.
If this works for New York, let’s try it for Washington. The congress of course.
The source is linked... maybe you should find the State document yourself if you want to read it?
having a bad day?
maybe...:)
I see you know as much about Rush as you do about dogs.
I know what you mean! SaraLee is always running around crushing everyone’s twinkies! Hide your twinkies, quick, because I hear SaraLee is gonna tax ‘em all!
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