Portland's city council just pulled $30,000 from their budget to buy homeless people a one-way ticket out of town. This plan is part of a Reunification/Transportation Services Program that will attempt to conquer the city's homelessness issues.
Most of the larger $30 million program's policies are positive, aiming to improve living conditions for homeless people and conquer the issues that lead to homelessness in the first place. But the busing situation, while well-intentioned, lacks a concrete plan.
Individuals will only be bused if they volunteer for the program and can prove they have a job to go to on the other end, or family to return to. But when other states ran the busing program, some people arrived at their destinations to find that a job was no longer waiting for them, and no one checked to see whether people were simply ending up in shelters at the other end. This situation simply shifts homelessness from one city to another. Homeless people can also fall victim to police coercion and harassment if the program is run by police instead of homeless outreach professionals.
Please sign the petition to urge Portland's City Council to develop a concrete plan for helping homeless reunite with their families or find jobs without simply busing them out of town with no follow up.
I am concerned with your plans to bus homeless people out of the city of Portland.
Most of the larger $30 million Reunification/Transportation Services Program's policies are positive, aiming to improve living conditions for homeless people and conquer the issues that lead to homelessness in the first place. But the busing situation, while well-intentioned, lacks a concrete plan.
I understand that individuals will only be bused if they volunteer for the program and can prove they have a job to go to on the other end, or family to return to. But when other states ran the busing program, some people arrived at their destinations to find that a job was no longer waiting for them, and no one checked to see whether people were simply ending up in shelters at the other end. This situation simply shifts homelessness from one city to another. Homeless people can also fall victim to police coercion and harassment if the program is run by police instead of homeless outreach professionals.
I respectfully urge you to develop a concrete plan for helping homeless reunite with their families or find jobs without simply busing them out of town with no follow up on their progress after they reach their destination. Thank you for taking the time to read and consider this petition.
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