MARIETTA, Ga. – Marietta leaders were caught off guard when they discovered that have been accepting New York City homeless under a newly developed relocation program, according to AJC.

As of 2019, Coalition for the Homeless states that New York City has 62,391 homeless people, including 14,962 homeless families with 22,083 homeless children, sleeping each night in the New York City municipal shelter system.

The city thought that it would be a good idea to develop the Special One-Time Assistance (SOTA) Program which provides one year’s full rent for those families who are eligible. Under this program, those who are selected can be moved to any other state and their transportation is also covered.

According to the New York Post, about 56 percent of the families move out-of-state. Out-of-state relocation is the cheapest option costing the city an average of $15,600 in annual rent compared to the thirty-five percent who move within city limits costing an average of $20,500 and the 9 percent who move elsewhere in New York state, costing approximately $17,900. Not only is this option cheaper for the city but also the families as well. One of the SOTA requirements is that the clients’ rent must not be more than 50% of household income. For those families who choose to come to Georgia, they are looking at paying nearly half of what they would have paid in New York City.

However, a reoccurring issue is that the gaining cities have no knowledge of the program or that their city is involved in said program. Marietta City Councilwoman Michelle Cooper Kelly said, “We don’t want to be the place where people are sending their homeless population,” she said. “We want them to be addressing their own needs, as we are doing ours.”

Mayor Tony Vauss of Irvington told the New York Post, “SOTA recipients are the population of citizens who require ongoing social services and resources… Therefore, once SOTA ceases funding, program recipients end up using our state and local resources to maintain themselves.”

The Department of Homeless Service remains firm on its commitment to using every tool at the city’s disposal to help the families in need.