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Seattle Councilman Has A Plan For Homelessness Epidemic: Give Them Free One-Way Bus Tickets To OTHER Towns!


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San Francisco might be the poster child for what happens when you let Democrats take over a city.

They’ve turned the once-beautiful Californian epicentre into a literal dystopian shithole, overrun by homeless drug addicts pooping on the streets and littering needles everywhere.

But, Seattle isn’t far behind Frisco!

Things have gotten so bad in the liberal-run Washington city regarding their homelessness epidemic that local "tolerant" Democrats want them out!

See, instead of dealing with the problems they've caused, these Democrats in Seattle's government want to bus out the homeless and pass on the problem to other cities.

Seattle councilman Reagan Dunn is heading the proposal that is not only short-sighted but costly to put aside $1M in the county's budget for homeless people to get free bus tickets out of dodge.

See for yourself:

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A similar program called "Homeward Bound" in San Francisco to get the homeless on buses out of the city is already in effect and inspired Councilman Dunn to implement a similar program in Seattle.

Local news source KOMO News has more details:

$1 million should be set aside for a pilot program for one-way bus tickets out of Seattle for the homeless who want one, according to King County Council Vice-Chairman Reagan Dunn.

“Seattle has become a dead-end street for the nation's homeless, we see that, 45% are here for four years or less,” says Dunn, citing this year’s One Night Count of the county’s homeless.

Stephen Sherrill is one of those ready to accept one of the tickets. He arrived in Seattle in March on a Greyhound Bus from Houston hoping to start a better life for himself.

“It was a three-day trip from down south to the north -- it was brutal,” says Sherrill. But things haven’t worked out for Sherrill, who admits to being an intravenous drug user and is living in a homeless camp known as the ‘treeline’ along Interstate 5 just below Harborview Medical Center.

“Yeah, I would take a bus ticket back to Houston,” says Sherrill, adding he can't afford a return ticket himself.

“It's a family reunification option, free of charge for folks who are chronically homeless on our streets who think they can get better care or more help by going anywhere else across the country,” says Dunn.

Homeward Bound, a program developed by the City of San Francisco 14 years ago, would serve as a model. The program has been averaging 800 one-way tickets a year at an average cost $270 each. A $10 per diem meal voucher is also included.

Despite the average total ticket costs approaching $250,000, the city has budgeted $1.2 million to keep the program going.

Fox News has more to say on the proposal:

A Seattle-area council member is pushing a $1 million proposal that would bus homeless people out of the state as part of a "family reunification" plan.

The plan, proposed by King County Councilman Reagan Dunn, would be a one- or two-year pilot program aimed at helping people who have someone in another state willing to take them in but can't afford the cost of getting there.

Busing programs have been around for decades and have had varying degrees of success. While they can be a cheap and convenient way to connect people, critics warn it could lead to dangerous situations and say there's no guarantee of permanent housing.

The city of Seattle and community organizers already offer free bus tickets as part of their broader approach to homelessness but Dunn's proposal, unveiled Tuesday,  focuses on 1,000 homeless people who said they wanted to reconnect with family during a homeless count in King County back in January.

In that survey, 9 percent of respondents said "family reunification" was one piece of support they needed to get off the streets and obtain permanent housing. However, other things like rental assistance, clearing up credit history and obtaining IDs ranked much higher.

Dunn unveiled his proposal at a time when city and county officials are considering merging services to better combat rising homelessness in a region that has been dominated by tech companies like Amazon and where income inequality and skyrocketing housing prices are pushing more and more people onto the streets.

Seattle officials say its homelessness diversion program allows people to determine how the city can best help them, whether that's deposit money for rental housing, car repairs or finding a way to return home for long-term support if it's "a safe and realistic solution."

"Seattle's diversion program is not focused on one solution -- such as transportation home when it is outside of Seattle. Our program is person-centered, client-driven and provides a diverse array of support," said Kamaria Hightower, a spokeswoman for Seattle Mayor Jenny Durkan.



 

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