Seattle homeless couple gets city-paid plane tickets to leave town

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

Seattle homeless couple gets city-paid plane tickets to leave town

SEATTLE (KOMO) - San Francisco and Portland openly admit to buying bus tickets to send their homeless out of town. But Seattle has been very quiet about it.

This week, a homeless couple received plane tickets to get off the streets of Seattle.

"People feel that I have some obligation to justify myself to them and I really don't," homeless camper Melissa Burns told KOMO News.

Burns camped on 3rd Avenue, near the Space Needle, for 81 days in the so-called "homeless mansion" and refused city offers of shelter and services.

"We can provide something better for ourselves at this point than the city can provide us," said Burns.

But, the city did provide something better: two plane tickets for her and her husband to relocate to Kansas - at the city's expense. They left Wednesday.​

 

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

I'm not really sure what to make of this. I would say from what I've observed, the city of Seattle is one of the more compassionate locales when it does to dealing with it's homeless problem although I did not agree with it's attempt to extort money for it's most successful businesses (the head tax that was rescinded) to generate money to deal with the issue especially since Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan found $15,000,000 to address the issue. This money provides an additional 500 shelter beds but I have no idea what comes along with the bed or for how long these beds are available.

 

[JoeMoma]

Good Deal. Looks like everyone's happy.

 

[Billy_Kinetta]

Good Deal. Looks like everyone's happy.

Except Kansas.

 

[Penelope]

I'm not really sure what to make of this. I would say from what I've observed, the city of Seattle is one of the more compassionate locales when it does to dealing with it's homeless problem although I did not agree with it's attempt to extort money for it's most successful businesses (the head tax that was rescinded) to generate money to deal with the issue especially since Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan found $15,000,000 to address the issue. This money provides an additional 500 shelter beds but I have no idea what comes along with the bed or for how long these beds are available.

They refused services.
"We can provide something better for ourselves at this point than the city can provide us," said Burns.

 

[Moonglow]

Good Deal. Looks like everyone's happy.

Except Kansas.

When are they ever happy?

 

[mdk]

It’s shady. Here’s a ticket out of my city that goes to yours. Not my problem anymore.

 

[JoeMoma]

Marshal Dillon will be able to handle them.

 

[Silhouette]

Everyone acts like a rise in homelessness and drug addiction isn't linked to a failing economy. I'm in the middle and lean conservative ish but mis-reporting how the economy is doing is a bit of a snag. Everyone can see there are no jobs, fewer can afford housing because of escalation. The homeless epidemic is only getting worse. A young man I know who had a trailer he was renting, and a good job from a college degree he had, is recently seeing his area of expertise dying away. He's now fixing up a camper truck to live in and hinting around to different landowners he knows if he can park it at their place?

Next step is when he can't afford even to do that and the truck breaks down. Then in a couple years this promising young man will also be on the streets begging or stealing, hopefully not on drugs. But that seems to come with the territory of hopelessness. I'm watching a homeless person in the making, taken straight from the American dream of an education, a promising job...right down to hell. And it's because the US has abdicated all of its real durable industry to the Orient and Mexico. While we let illegals in by the hordes so we don't have to pay American workers a living wage.

I don't know how much longer the US can sustain this toxic system of economic-denial. I don't imagine it can last too much longer.

 

[SeaGal]

I'm not really sure what to make of this. I would say from what I've observed, the city of Seattle is one of the more compassionate locales when it does to dealing with it's homeless problem although I did not agree with it's attempt to extort money for it's most successful businesses (the head tax that was rescinded) to generate money to deal with the issue especially since Seattle mayor Jenny Durkan found $15,000,000 to address the issue. This money provides an additional 500 shelter beds but I have no idea what comes along with the bed or for how long these beds are available.

Maybe the couple have family or friends in Kansas. I don't have an issue with it.

I would like to comment on the statement that the couple refused shelter. That is not uncommon - don't know about city-run shelters but am familiar with Salvation Army shelters, food banks and meal services.

Shelters offer clean beds, a/c and heat, laundry facilities, showers (required daily), clothing, personal hygiene items, counseling and meals. But they have rules - curfew, very small charge for long-term stay, no drugs, alcohol or tobacco allowed, dorm-style bunks and separate facilities for men and women. Some have family units for parents with children. Most don't allow 'sleeping in' or accommodate napping as the dorms are vacated during the day unless the weather is inclement.
The SA soup kitchens will feed breakfast and supper to anyone who walks in off the street - lunch is for registered 'guests' only.

Many would rather face the uncertainty of life on the streets in exchange for freedom from shelter rules - and then some are just mentally incompetent.

 

[DarkFury]

So you making room there for ILLEGALS?

 

[TNHarley]

Just ship the problem somewhere else?
People are so goddamn lazy and selfish.

 

[LuckyDuck]

Seattle homeless couple gets city-paid plane tickets to leave town

SEATTLE (KOMO) - San Francisco and Portland openly admit to buying bus tickets to send their homeless out of town. But Seattle has been very quiet about it.

This week, a homeless couple received plane tickets to get off the streets of Seattle.

"People feel that I have some obligation to justify myself to them and I really don't," homeless camper Melissa Burns told KOMO News.

Burns camped on 3rd Avenue, near the Space Needle, for 81 days in the so-called "homeless mansion" and refused city offers of shelter and services.

"We can provide something better for ourselves at this point than the city can provide us," said Burns.

But, the city did provide something better: two plane tickets for her and her husband to relocate to Kansas - at the city's expense. They left Wednesday.​

Rather than democratic cities busing people to red states, they're now flying them in.

 

[TNHarley]

They should have saved some money and did a carpool. No doubt there are enough people leaving that shithole to give all the homeless a ride

 

[Ringel05]

It’s shady. Here’s a ticket out of my city that goes to yours. Not my problem anymore.

Not to mention that (if I remember correctly) in most cases it doesn't work. One of the usual stipulations is those being shipped out must have someone on the receiving end willing to help them until they can get back on their feet, the transferred persons more often than not end up being homeless again either where they were sent or return to were they were shipped out of and are still homeless.

 

[Claudette]

Good Deal. Looks like everyone's happy.

Except Kansas.

YUP Now they can be homeless in Kansas.

Seattle just kicked the can down the road and out of their streets right onto someone else's streets.

 

[JoeMoma]

Town's Overrun with the Homeless

 

[Syriusly]

Seattle homeless couple gets city-paid plane tickets to leave town

SEATTLE (KOMO) - San Francisco and Portland openly admit to buying bus tickets to send their homeless out of town. But Seattle has been very quiet about it.

This week, a homeless couple received plane tickets to get off the streets of Seattle.

"People feel that I have some obligation to justify myself to them and I really don't," homeless camper Melissa Burns told KOMO News.

Burns camped on 3rd Avenue, near the Space Needle, for 81 days in the so-called "homeless mansion" and refused city offers of shelter and services.

"We can provide something better for ourselves at this point than the city can provide us," said Burns.

But, the city did provide something better: two plane tickets for her and her husband to relocate to Kansas - at the city's expense. They left Wednesday.​

In 2016, $25,000 was set aside. In 2017 it was doubled to $50,000 for "flexible reunification or travel support" for people who have family or a job that is confirmed and documented in another city.

Seems like a winning solution- if they are being sent to some place where they have family or a job- it is a cheap solution.

 

[NewsVine_Mariyam]

There are several private organizations providing services for the homeless population:

Temple de Hirsh Sinai

The Homeless Women’s Shelter, located in the Youth Lounge at Temple De Hirsch Sinai’s Seattle campus, has welcomed almost 50,000 women since it was established in 1992. Open September through June, the volunteer run and managed shelter offers a warm, safe night to ten women every Monday through Friday. Over the course of a year, this provides almost 2,000 spaces for homeless women. I​

Mary's Place | Emergency Shelter for Homeless Families - Seattle
And this is why I wouldn't have blamed Amazon one bit if they had decided to pull out of Seattle once that head tax was levied against them base on their 7,000 employees. They were already being exceedingly generous in my opinion but the city of Seattle decided it need to pay more along with Starbucks, etc.

Amazon to build homeless shelter in new Seattle HQ

Amazon is trying to do its part to help with Seattle's homelessness crisis.
On Wednesday, the tech giant said it would donate more than 47,000 square feet of space within its newest Seattle headquarters building as a permanent location to house homeless people.

Amazon (AMZN) is partnering with local nonprofit Mary's Place to create 65 rooms, which will house more than 200 homeless people every night.

Related: CNNMoney readers save man from homelessness. And he now has a job

"Mary's Place does incredible, life-saving work every day for women, children, and families experiencing homelessness in the Seattle community," Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos said in a statement. "We are lucky to count them as neighbors and thrilled to offer them a permanent home within our downtown Seattle headquarters."​