Kenneth Capron from Portland proposed an answer for city’s dilemma in providing a place for the homeless. He said they should turn a used cruise ship into a housing facility.
Capron, a contractor, is the founder of the nonprofit organization called MemoryWorks. When he thought of the idea of refurbishing an old cruise ship and turning it into a floating shelter for the homeless, he immediately got to work.
He invited potential investors to help make his vision come true. Of course, he also had to convince the Portland City Hall.
Apart from being a homeless shelter, Capron also said the ship could be an affordable housing for locals and immigrants.
Source: YouTube/ WBIR
Follow us on Twitter at AmoMama USA for more details and updates.In September 2018, he shared plans of conducting a feasibility study that was supposedly funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Source: YouTube/ WBIR
At the time, Capron shared that the foundation was open to offering their help in checking if the cruise ship could be reused to finally be an answer to the city’s housing problems.Source: YouTube/ WBIR
He added that the ship would most likely be permanently docked on Portland’s waterfront.Asking the Mayor Ethan Strimling’s sentiments, he said, “I have no idea if it’s the craziest idea I’ve ever heard or the most brilliant idea I’ve ever heard.” So far, the city hall seems to be open with the idea.
Source: YouTube/ WBIR
If Capron’s vision becomes a reality, the shelter will become the world’s first floating housing and community.Repurposing a used cruise ship with a capacity for around 1000 people has an estimated cost of $5 million to $10 million.
Source: YouTube/ WBIR
In a similar story, Dublin, Ireland has been planning to do the same thing as Portland. The Dublin City Council proposed to hire a private cruise ship to cater around 100 to 150 homeless people.According to the report, the idea was first dropped, but because of their dilemma in housing, the city council decided to discuss it once again.
