Another Oklahoma lawmaker has a bad idea to address homelessness!
According to various media reports, State Rep. Dell Kerbs – the coney shop owner who was named “Lawmaker of the Year” by the Oklahoma Pork Council for apparently being their best customer – has authored a bill that would allow municipalities “to use general revenue funds to purchase one-way bus tickets out of the state for homeless individuals.”
I’m not sure if the bill has a title, but we should probably call it the “Makin’ It Some Other State’s Problem” Homeless Relocation Act.
Here’s the simple text of the bill:
Yep, that’s right, homeless folks! Pack up the tent and lock up the shopping cart! If Dell Kerbs gets his porky way, Oklahoma will send you anywhere in the country… for free! The only catch is that you’ll have to hitch a ride back home. Eh Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-Th-That’s all, folks!
Obviously, there are a lot of issues with Kerbs’s idea.
The first and most obvious is that it's unfair!
Seriously, why do only homeless people get to cash in on this free travel benefit? I’ve lived in Oklahoma my whole life. Where’s my free escape plan?
Sure, it may involve getting on a Greyhound, but I bet there are tens of thousands of Oklahomans living in houses, apartments, and detention centers who would love a free one-way ticket to greener pastures.
In addition to that, Kerbs’s idea is redundant.
According to KFOR, various non-profits already provide and offer this free travel service:
City Rescue Mission already provides bus tickets for those in desperate need.
“It’s women fleeing domestic violence or some sort of situation in Oklahoma that’s causing them to flee,” said Goodin.
The Homeless Alliance says around 85% of those who experience homelessness in Oklahoma City were already living here.
“While opportunities to connect people experiencing homelessness to out-of-state friends and family may be helpful to some, the vast majority of people experiencing homelessness in our communities are Oklahomans,” said Meghan Mueller, CEO & president, Homeless Alliance.
City Rescue Mission says most of those who are homeless want to stay in Oklahoma.
Yep, most homeless folks want to stay in Oklahoma, which begs the question – what type of food are they serving at the City Rescue Mission?! Do the people staying there get feather beds and Egyptian cotton sheets? Everyone I know who has a home in Oklahoma fantasizes about leaving, but the people without one want to stay. Go figure!
The third issue with Kerbs’s plan is that – like most conservative “solutions” for homelessness – it doesn’t address the root causes of homelessness:
“I don’t know that it’s a solution. Bussing our people experiencing homelessness out of the state is really just making it someone else’s problem, and these are people,” said Erin Goodin, CEO & president, City Rescue Mission.
City Rescue Mission serves up to 450 homeless individuals every night. Goodin believes as a state we should be focusing on other things.
“We could be focusing on creating more affordable housing, eviction prevention, all of the things, increasing wages for living families, decreasing daycare expenses for families,” said Goodin.
I’d like to thank Erin Goodin for offering a list of more practical solutions to address homelessness, but since they actually help address the issue, and are not mean, vindictive, and designed to appease authoritarian mouth-breathers, I can’t see any conservative Oklahoma lawmaker taking them seriously.
Anyway, I guess we’ll continue to follow this bill to see if Kerbs makes any changes, like requiring all homeless shelters to set up kiosks containing out-of-state travel brochures.
Stay with The Lost Ogle. We’ll keep you advised.
