By: Alvin Wilson
Staff Writer

A new program that was recently approved by the city of Portland is trying to help solve the city’s homeless crisis.

The program’s name is Homeward Bound, and its mission is to provide free bus tickets to homeless who meet the qualifications.

According to the Oregonian, it was approved by Portland in mid-March, and will receive at least $30,000 from the city. The program began, and the first bus tickets were issued, earlier this month. On its first day of operation, 40 people had signed up.

The city of Portland doesn’t want to simply move its homeless problem to another area. KGW reports that the bus tickets only go to individuals who will have somewhere to stay at their destination, and who are prepared to have follow-up meetings with their caseworkers three months after their placement.

Marc Jolin, the initiative director of A Home For Everyone, another organization trying to address homelessness, told KGW this about the program:

“We had homeless people in the community who had other permanent housing options, but didn’t know to ask for the support. They wound up being stuck here for long periods of time, weeks or months.”

According to the program’s advocates, it will only serve to help people who are stuck in an area with no family or support.

However, Portland’s homeless crisis may have in-part been caused by similar programs across the country.

An investigation by KGW in 2013 found that participants in similar programs claimed to have a place to stay in Portland, but they ended up back in the streets.

With Portland’s Homeward Bound program requiring follow-up meetings with caseworkers, the city hopes it won’t have the same results as other programs. If a participant is found homeless during their three-month check-up, the program will help the participant find similar organizations.

You can learn more about Portland’s Homeward Bound program by dialing 2-1-1.

Contact the author at awilson15@wou.edu or on Twitter @awilsonjournal.