News & Politics - Another New York invasion -- homeless heading to Florida?

**vc318** · 07-30-2009, 06:35 AM

Man, look at this crazy news:

New York homeless being flown to Florida? - SFL

Another New York invasion -- homeless heading to Florida?!

Floridians can expect an influx of homeless people from the Big Apple.

New York Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg defended a city program to send homeless families out of New York on planes, trains and buses today, saying it “saves the taxpayers of New York City an enormous amount of money.”

And wouldn't you know it?

The most popular destinations are Florida, Puerto Rico, Georgia and the Carolinas.

Well, yeah, it's warm here, ya know.

The mayor complained that it cost the city about $36,000 a year to provide shelter for a homeless family. The average stay in a shelter is about nine months, reports the New York Times.

But shipping folks out. That's a bargain.

'“The average cost is trivial,” Bloomberg said. “Most go by bus. Very few go overseas, very few go long distances. Bus is the normal ways we pay for transportation, rather than air.”

But don't we get a say in all this?

What a stupid suggestion to be made by this mayor! Every place is facing their own crisis - what does it help by sending your problems to another state?! So crazy. I'm posting this in the Stranger News thread too.

**sunnykerr** · 08-03-2009, 05:28 PM

Well, he's doing the expedient thing.

I saw a couple of reports on it explaining that the homeless population targeted by the initiative is the segment who are originally from Florida. They're calling it the "Family Reunification Project" or something like that.

It makes sense to me that New York City would attract a lot of people from across the country, so that its homeless population isn't necessarily fully homegrown.

I don't know. To me, it makes sense to give these people a second chance inasmuch as the city is paying their way home.

**vc318** · 08-04-2009, 06:00 PM

If it's to reunite families then that's good. It just seems though that the mayor is only doing this to save the state money and not really out of the goodness of his heart. Where was this plan years ago?

**sunnykerr** · 08-04-2009, 06:16 PM

I don't know.

I'm thinking it's probably a little bit from column A and a little bit from column B. NYC is a freaking huge city, so you have to figure that the recession has hit it pretty bad, just like everywhere else. But it's also a magnet for people from all over the country, the way I imagine LA also is.

If the city's taxpayers are footing the bill for people from out of town... one real quick way to balance the budget would be to make sure your homeless are at least homegrown, you know?

And, if they do have family back home hoping for news from them, then that's a bonus.

Of course, New York is paying for the ticket home, not the tracking down and getting in contact with family members, so who knows...

**TheAngel** · 08-04-2009, 09:15 PM

I didn't think this had anything to do with families and the like. It seems like anyone could take advantage of this program and just say, "Yeah, I have a brother living in ______" and get a ticket out of town. I don't think it has anything to do with the "kindness" of his heart. It has everything to do with removing a part of the population with no redeeming economic value from the city. If it costs $36,000 a year to house a homeless family in a shelter, but they aren't paying any money back to the city through taxes or purchases or things like that, then in a recession, Bloomberg wants to get them the heck out of town because they're draining finances that could be allocated to other places that could provide a return on an investment instead of the homeless population, which is unlikely to.
What really frustrates me is that this doesn't address the real problem of homelessness. You send them to Florida, they'll probably be homeless in Florida, or anywhere else. It's not addressing things like job loss, poor education and training, or one of the biggest issues of homeless, mental health issues. My parents both work in mental health services and a large number of the people they see are homeless because their issues, things like developmental disorders, bi-polar disorder, and depression, keep them from keeping jobs, maintaining support systems, and being able to live effectively without help from other places, like state funded services and therapy. It's sad to see the homeless population shuffled around like cattle without having the real issues addressed.

**sunnykerr** · 08-05-2009, 06:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheAngel (View Post)

What really frustrates me is that this doesn't address the real problem of homelessness. You send them to Florida, they'll probably be homeless in Florida, or anywhere else. It's not addressing things like job loss, poor education and training, or one of the biggest issues of homeless, mental health issues.

Of course it doesn't. Let's face it, few if any local governments ever truly adress the root causes of homelessness. They leave that up to charity organizations or various NGOs.

None of it is adressing what causes these people to find their way in such vulnerable circumstances or how they came to find their way to New York City. Because, while I have no doubt that the relocation aspect of this program is certainly shifty, I also strongly believe that New York City attracts people from all walks of life and all areas of the world.

I don't believe all of the homeless in New York City is from that city. Just like I know that the homeless of Montreal are NOT all from Montreal.

**vc318** · 08-07-2009, 02:45 AM

Like I said before, it just seems like the mayor is trying to find a quick solution to the cost factor of feeding and providing shelter to these people each day. I'm sure it is a high cost factor but just shipping them off somewhere isn't the best solution too. However, if there's going to be a team in place somehow to truly help these homeless people to reunite with their loved ones, then I think it's a plan that could work.

**sunnykerr** · 08-10-2009, 07:58 PM

Here's to hoping for the best, huh?