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Social media pans 'storage bins' for the homeless

A new program for Kansas City's unhoused population provides 30-gallon bins for people to safely lock away belongings, but is the city's attempt at a good deed dismissive of people experiencing homelessness?

A major question for unhoused residents in Kansas City is where to safely store their possessions while staying in shelters or looking for work. Most shelters allow clients to bring a single bag of possessions, and residents often say they would rather stay in a tent than risk losing their belongings. As KCUR's Carlos Moreno reports, the city has started providing 30-gallon bins for residents to lock away possessions and retrieve them as needed. While some advocates call it a step forward, others are panning the program and saying the bins—which look like rolling trash cans—are an insult to unhoused residents.

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Kansas City Today is hosted by Nomin Ujiyediin. It is produced by Byron Love with Trevor Grandin and edited by Gabe Rosenberg & Lisa Rodriguez.

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