Hawaii's Homeless Are Leavin' on a Jet Plane

Here's one sure-fire way to end homelessness in your community: fly 'em somewhere else.

Hawaii government officials have noticed a significant increase in homelessness across the state, a trend they chalk up to Hawaii's status as a tourist trap. One homeless advocate told the state legislature "people come to Hawaii because they think that the hula girl's going to bring them a maitai on the beach." But within several months, she explained, many find that the honeymoon is over: visitors want to return to the state they came from, but cannot afford the travel costs. At the same time, Hawaii's homeless service organizations are being stretched by the increased demand for services by the influx of non-natives.

To remedy the situation, Hawaii government officials are considering a "Return Home Program" that will transport homeless people back to the state they came from. They accomplish this by providing airline tickets back to their state of origin if they cannot afford the airfare. The assumption is that if you're homeless in the state you're from, you'lll have better access to services or perhaps get help from family or friends.

As if no one thought of doing that before going to Hawaii.

But I can't help but be skeptical about the intentions of the "Return Home Program." In May of last year, Joel John Roberts over at LA's Homeless Blog tackled this issue. He wrote about Hawaii government officials' claims that other states were "dumping" their homeless people in Hawaii:

A local Honolulu City Council member is adamant that this practice is going on. They have interviewed local homeless people in Honolulu, and found a handful of people who were paid to go to Hawaii. Others from the mainland came to Hawaii with their own resources.

So what's happening here? Is the "Return Home Program" really trying to send homeless people back to communities with which they're familiar? Or are Hawaii officials attempting to get rid of people and problems they'd rather not solve?