Charities fight plan to move homeless

By James Gonser
Advertiser Urban Honolulu Writer

The city of Honolulu is moving homeless people out of public parks and off downtown streets, saying they are bad for business. But groups that support the rights of the disenfranchised say pushing people out without a plan to provide for them is heartless.

Pedestrians navigate safety cones where benches were removed and the sidewalk repaired at Fort Street Mall. The city has launched an effort to clear public areas of homeless people and drug users. Deborah Booker • The Honolulu Advertiser

The city has begun enforcing closure of the mall from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m. in an effort to prevent the homeless from sleeping there. And it is requiring community groups and organizations that feed people in parks to apply for city permits, although it has refused to issue permits in some areas.

"I have a lot of compassion for (the homeless), but we just need to meet with all the nonprofit organizations and caregivers of the homeless and see if we can come up with a comprehensive solution," said city managing director Ben Lee yesterday.

"I know there are a lot of organizations that would like to feed the homeless at parks, but that is not a good solution. They're well-meaning, but it creates other issues. If they stay at the park and sleep, then we can't use it for families and kids and feel safe."

The city discourages the operation of food programs for the homeless in public areas and wants to encourage the use of existing shelters, Lee said.

But kicking people out and discussing what to do with them afterward is putting the cart before the horse, said Sharon Black, outreach coordinator for the Honolulu Police Department. Outside her role as a police liaison, Black has been providing free meals for hungry people in the downtown area for years.

"You don't have to like the idea that there are homeless out there; you don't even have to be comfortable with it; in fact, you shouldn't be comfortable with it," she said. "But to sit there and figure some way to push them out of town to be someone else's problem is a bad reflection on our community."

Numbers rising

The number of homeless in Hawai'i has fluctuated, growing marginally from 12,346 in 1994 to 12,923 in fiscal year 2000-2001, according to state figures.

On O'ahu, 6,369 were counted in 1994, compared with 7,135 in fiscal 2000-2001. Of those, 3,279 did not seek help from shelters.

With Hawai'i's economy sputtering since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and unemployment here at its highest in more than two years, the number of homeless is expected to increase.

"Whether you like it or not, these people are human and are part of the community. So instead of trying to get rid of them, why don't we start looking at finding solutions?" said Black. "A solution is not moving them from one spot to another. They are still homeless and still have problems. Instead of fixing the problems, it's hide the problem. That is why the problem continues to exist."

During the last quarter of 2001, Hawaiian Airlines, Aloha Airlines, Atlantis Adventures and other businesses laid off or furloughed hundreds of workers. When American Classic Voyages, operator of two cruise ships in the Islands, went bankrupt, 1,100 lost their jobs. Many who lived on board the ships became instantly homeless.

Homeless shelters already are full, and pushing people out of downtown creates more problems, said Lynn Maunakea, executive director of the nonprofit Institute of Human Services, or IHS.

"If there were enough opportunities for people to be safely sheltered, that would be a different story," Maunakea said. "But right now when I look at the numbers of people who have mental health problems that need help, and we don't provide housing for them, it would be cheaper to provide supported housing — housing with services — than to provide the emergency, police and cleanup services we do now. That would get more off the street."

Undesirable environment

The city's cleanup of Fort Street Mall will cost about $100,000, Lee said, and includes replacing the benches and waste receptacles, increasing the brightness of lights and power-washing. The benches won't be replaced for months.

Lee said the homeless have created an undesirable environment for businesses, students, workers and residents.

"We cannot have the homeless or a small group of people monopolize our public spaces, whether it's parks, streets, the mall or playgrounds," Lee said. "There are 50,000 workers downtown. We want to make sure we have a vibrant downtown."

Myung Lee, owner of Zeus Juice at Fort Street Mall, agrees. He said he has had to clean the front of his store every morning after homeless people use it as a toilet. Lee said removing the benches and cleaning the mall has helped business.

"The benches were a problem. The street people and drug people dominated them," Lee said. "The benches were not for customers. My customers complained, saying it's a homeless place."

'Find a place'

Ben Lee insists he is not pushing the homeless out of downtown.

"I'm saying they need to find a place, whether it is IHS or some other service provider, where they can sit and enjoy the day — but it needs to be an environment for that purpose," Lee said. "It's unfair that because the city wants to clean up its public spaces and parks and make them useful for the general public and then we get criticized for not taking care of the homeless. That is not the point."

Black continues to give away free sandwiches at Gateway Park every Saturday to anyone hungry, and has no intention of moving. She was approached by a city parks official last Saturday asking if she had a permit.

"I said I don't need a permit. I don't ask for money or donations, nothing, nor do I accept any," Black said. "It is no different than having a big picnic in the park."

The Ohana Family of the Living God Church in Hau'ula has been providing lunch for the hungry three days a week at 'A'ala Park for two years. The church has been asked to move the the operation to the nearby Beretania Community Center, about a block away at 'A'ala and North Kukui streets.

Church member George Chee said the group has been denied a permit to use 'A'ala Park and offered use of a parking area behind the Beretania Community Center near the trash cans. They continue to use 'A'ala Park.

Reach James Gonser at jgonser@honoluluadvertiser.com or 535-2431.