As San Francisco grapples with the homeless issue in the Bay Area, another city is finding ways to confront the problem.
In Seattle, a homeless couple says they were given two plane tickets to leave town.
“People feel that I have some obligation to justify myself to them and I really don’t,” homeless woman Melissa Burns said.
Burns camped on Third Avenue, near the Space Needle for 81 days in the so-called Homeless Mansion, refusing city offers of shelter and services.
“We can provide something better for ourselves at this point than the city can provide for us,” Burns said.
But the city did provide something better–two plane tickets for her and her husband to relocate to Kansas at the city’s expense.
They left Wednesday.
“For some reason, it seemed like Melissa and Shamrock were an exception,” homeless man Catfish said.
Catfish has lived in the tent next door nearly the whole time.
Now, he’s thinking he’d like a ticket to the Midwest, where his brother is.
And there’s Rubin Smith.
“My credit card got stolen,” Smith said. “I got robbed when I got here.”
Smith says he came from Ft. Lauderdale, Florida a week ago and was ditched by a friend who he says left him.
“Here I am stranded in front of the compass center with no way to get home,” Smith said.
Smith says he would like a plane ticket back home.
Because of the Compass Housing Alliance, a contractor for the city that runs shelters provided the two tickets.
In 2016, Compass set aside $25,000.
In 2017, it was doubled to $50,000 for “flexible reunification or travel support ” for people who have a family or job that is “confirmed and documented” in another city.
Rubin is hoping compass will give him a ticket home.
Reports say several homeless people have been arrested at the so-called Homeless Mansion camp for attacking tourists.