Worst case of NIMBY I've ever read about

In reading this article, which speaks to the homelessness issue that all states face, I wonder if Massachusetts has a budget for flying homeless people, one-way of course, to a place where the person has relatives?

I do recall that any city that has been host to the Olympics, winter or summer, has dealt with homeless people in a very unflattering ways: 

• 1988 Winter Games in Seoul, South Korea saw laws passed for the purpose of "beautification" that knocked down homes and displaced people who couldn't afford to live in the highrise apartment buildings.  

• 1996 Olympics in Atlanta, GA saw new laws passed to criminalize homelessness and many of those arrested, predominately African-American men, were held for trial until after the games were over.  Programs such as Traveler's Aid, a non-profit that focused on helping travelers and even relocating people, distributed one-way bus tickets to the homeless to get them out of the city and, in some cases, even the state.

Homelessness in the WORC

Homelessness: Outside looking in

Homelessness: A reality

The reality of homelessness is hard to comprehend for many folks and most are quick to say that a person is homeless because either, "they want to be homeless" or "they're probably strung out and drugs and alcohol.". Yes, it's true that some folks do "check out" and don't want anything to do with society, but there are just as many folks who lost everything and have no one to turn to.

Listen to this audio clip of a young lady that will soon be homeless and the dilemma she is facing:






On a different note, read the New York Times article about John C. Foley who grew up in Worcester, moved to New York, was homeless and recently moved into a shared apartment.