Anchorage wants to send its homeless to warmer climates. What could possibly go wrong? (Metlakatla: crimes, home)

[Metlakatla]

https://www.hawaiinewsnow.com/2023/0...27s%20my%20job.

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) - The mayor of Alaska’s largest city says he’s planning to send some of the state’s homeless to warmer cities, citing a lack of shelter space as winter approaches.

The program is already getting pushback, including from Honolulu’s mayor.

Anchorage Mayor Dave Bronson recently said he’s considering flying some homeless people out of the state. While he didn’t name any spots, there’s concern Hawaii could be on the list.

https://abc7news.com/anchorage-alask...eles/13577879/

Bronson also said it's cheaper to send people to warmer climates than pay for housing.

I'm not going to pretend to know what the answer is, but I'm pretty sure this isn't it.

[Frostnip]

If he means buying a plane ticket for failed "end of the roaders" to go back home where they're more likely to have friends and relatives, it makes sense.

Aren't most of Alaska's homeless homegrown, though? Homeless people need MORE connections and familiar support networks, not fewer.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Frostnip

If he means buying a plane ticket for failed "end of the roaders" to go back home where they're more likely to have friends and relatives, it makes sense.

Aren't most of Alaska's homeless homegrown, though? Homeless people need MORE connections and familiar support networks, not fewer.

Back in The Stone Age, there was actually a program for the first scenario — it was called "Traveler's Aid" or some such. It was for people who came up and got stuck without money to get home; I think it primarily served pipeline dreamers. Not sure when it ceased to exist, but it's been a long time. I remember my mom referring people to it when they'd show up looking for enough work to buy a ticket out back in the 80s.

It's my understanding that the majority of Anchorage's homeless are from the interior villages and that those referenced in the article as having frozen to death were nearly all Alaska Natives.

[Frostnip]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

It's my understanding that the majority of Anchorage's homeless are from the interior villages and that those referenced in the article as having frozen to death were nearly all Alaska Natives.

If so, it seems to me it'd make more sense to help those who are welcome back in their villages get cleaned up and go home. I know sometimes people get "exiled" formally or informally for things they've done to others in the community, and are not wanted at home, but I think there are also a lot of people go to the city in search of work or novelty and fall into troublesome situations. I certainly know local kids that's happened to from my own rural town here. Many of them would be welcomed home, especially if they did a stint of rehab and/or psych help first.

I remember reading an article a while back about someone who was running a Facebook group to help people in villages track down family members who were homeless in Anchorage and reconnect them. If a rando Facebook guy can do that kind of work, you'd think a trained social worker with access to government records could do it even more quickly. Of course, you'd have to actually hire enough social workers, and pay them for the hours it takes to do the job...

[Metlakatla]

According to this, Natives are a plurality rather than a majority of Anchorage's homeless (although there's a study from 10 years ago that says 70%), but they're likely undercounted.

https://apnews.com/article/alaska-na...be1e256aaf71b4

I know there have been some efforts to reunite homeless Natives with family in the villages, but in many cases, living on the Anchorage streets is preferable to the conditions they left.

Shuffling the homeless around is nothing new, but at least other cities seem to make a pretense of determining that the recipient of the ticket has a connection in the community they're going to.

I'm all for giving someone a ticket if they've got a place to go, family or a job, but just sending people off to be homeless in another city because it's cold in Anchorage since they closed the Sullivan Arena to the homeless is a dick move.

[oregonwoodsmoke]

Other than the fact that the "warmer climates" will object strenuously, there isn't too much downside. The homeless are still homeless and still drug or alcohol addicted, they are just doing it somewhere else. Not much change for the homeless except the chances of surviving freezing turns more to their favor.

This is something that happens with regularity elsewhere. The city of Las Vegas got caught in the act of bussing homeless to Portland Oregon. The governor of Florida sent planeloads of homeless to Martha's Vineyard, taking them up on their lip service that the homeless were welcome in their all inclusive neighborhood.

It might be difficult to convince the airlines to take plane loads of homeless and fly them anywhere.

And always the risk that governors elsewhere will retaliate by flying their own homeless to Alaska.

[Arktikos]

One way ticket only, right? That’s just passing on a problem elsewhere.
I suppose in some cases it could be justified, if the person in question had friends/family out of state to help them out. Determining this would involve a bit of work, and I doubt that’s part of Bronson’s plan.
His impulses always seem to be callous.

[Northrick]

Originally Posted by Metlakatla

Back in The Stone Age, there was actually a program for the first scenario — it was called "Traveler's Aid" or some such. It was for people who came up and got stuck without money to get home; I think it primarily served pipeline dreamers. Not sure when it ceased to exist, but it's been a long time. I remember my mom referring people to it when they'd show up looking for enough work to buy a ticket out back in the 80s.

It's my understanding that the majority of Anchorage's homeless are from the interior villages and that those referenced in the article as having frozen to death were nearly all Alaska Natives.

"Blue ticking" is what it used to be called. It started before air travel and people that were deemed a problem up here were given a steamship ticket (usually blue in color) south.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Northrick

"Blue ticking" is what it used to be called. It started before air travel and people that were deemed a problem up here were given a steamship ticket (usually blue in color) south.

I think the territorial practice of "blueticketing" (which was pretty much involuntary) was dead by the time the state implemented the travelers' aid program I mentioned. This seemed more geared toward those who came up hoping to get a pipeline job and got stuck rather than those committing crimes. We also saw a lot of those hoping to get a fishing job and just didn't who were without the funds to get back home. Although if Bronson's thing came to pass, I wouldn't be surprised if LE departments didn't use this as leverage to convince the homeless to go somewhere else.

[Metlakatla]

Originally Posted by Arktikos

One way ticket only, right? That’s just passing on a problem elsewhere.
I suppose in some cases it could be justified, if the person in question had friends/family out of state to help them out. Determining this would involve a bit of work, and I doubt that’s part of Bronson’s plan.
His impulses always seem to be callous.

He doesn't seem to have any sort of concrete plan except to furnish one-way tickets to the homeless. So some 18-year-old Native kid fresh from a village decides he wants to go to LA on a whim, and that's all for them.