The mayor of Anchorage is ready to buy flights to other states for the homeless so that they do not freeze in Alaska

An offer by the mayor of Anchorage, Alaska, to pay for plane tickets to warmer states for homeless people who would otherwise be forced to spend the winter outside in bitter cold has caused a stir in the city, reports New York Post.

Photo: IStock

Last year, eight people — a record for the city — died from exposure to freezing temperatures in Anchorage. And the closure earlier this year of the large Sullivan Arena, which served as a makeshift city retreat, is sure to exacerbate the crisis in a place where winter temperatures regularly drop below freezing.

“If people come to us wanting to go somewhere warm, or they want to fly to some city where they have family or friends who can take care of them, we will support that,” he told the press. -conference July 25 Mayor Dave Bronson.

On the subject: The dollar is losing its status as a world currency: some countries are looking for an alternative to store their reserves

Due to the pandemic, officials have converted the roughly 6000-seat Sullivan Arena into a mass care facility.

It served more than 500 homeless people during the winter until city officials decided to return the area to its original purpose of hosting concerts and hockey games.

Although several small shelters have opened, there is no major care facility in the city and services for the homeless are limited. Nine other smaller shelters provide 614 beds for the homeless.

Bronson's outburst came at a time of political tension over the homelessness crisis between the Republican mayor and the liberal Anchorage Assembly.

Like the article? Support ForumDaily!?

In 2021, Bronson proposed building a shelter and navigation center on the city's east side, but the Anchorage Assembly reduced capacity to 150 beds. Construction was then put on hold when the Bronson administration awarded the contract without the approval of the Assembly, which is due to decide next month whether construction will continue.

Due to a housing shortage, around 750 residents could be left homeless this winter.

“I have a moral obligation to save lives,” Bronson said. “And if that means giving them a few hundred dollars for a plane ticket to wherever they want to go, I’m going to do it.”

There have been no formal negotiations with the Bronson administration to fund the resettlement program, Anchorage Assembly Chairman Christopher Constant said.

“Most of our homeless people are the first inhabitants of Alaska. This is their place,” he said.

Bronson said a source of funding has not been identified and he has tasked Alexis Johnson, the city's director of homelessness, with developing a plan for the program. Bronson said the program would be easy to manage.

“Somebody saying, 'I want to go to Los Angeles or San Diego or Seattle or Kansas,' that's none of our business,” he said of the homeless' intended destination. “My job is to make sure they don’t die on the streets of Anchorage.”

A one-way ticket to Los Angeles on July 25 was $289, which Bronson said was a lot cheaper than the $100 or so it takes to accommodate someone every day.

When asked if he was shifting Anchorage's problems onto someone else, Bronson said Alaska's largest city has 40% of the state's population but 65% of the homeless.

You may be interested in: top New York news, stories of our immigrants, and helpful tips about life in the Big Apple - read all this on ForumDaily New York.

“The taxpayers that I report to cannot foot the entire bill,” he said. “We need a national solution to a national problem.”

The Alaska Legislature did not fund Anchorage's $25 million request to purchase and operate the orphanage.

A number of cities in the US, including San Francisco, Seattle and Portland, Oregon, have also offered bus or plane tickets to homeless residents.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Americans will soon have to pay to enter the European Union

Getting out of immigration prison on bail: amounts and statistics

Scientists from Harvard have created a 'cocktail' to rejuvenate the body: the effect is obvious in just 4 days

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.