Hawaii Sets Aside $100,000 to Offer its 17,000 Homeless People One-Way Airfare Back to Their Home States (+video)

Photo Credit: hawaii news now“This is not a silver bullet, this does not solve everything” Representative John Mizuno is quick to point out the limitations of the “Return to Home” program, and he’s one of its staunchest supporters.

Mizuno helped get the program passed as part of Senate Bill 515.

“It’s fractional, it’s not for 5,000 homeless people. It’s going to be a handful of homeless people that we send home, again–home to their support unit” added Mizuno.

The program, which is set to launch this fiscal year, is a three-year pilot program in which $100,000 is appropriated each year to send homeless people in Hawaii back to their families on the mainland.

Representative Rida Cabanilla was also instrumental in getting it passed. She points to a dual purpose in the program: social empathy, combined with fiscal conservatism.

Hawaii News Now – KGMB and KHNL

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