ISLAND VOICES
Potential high for unused facilities

By John Wesley Nakao

During the recent AARP Triathlon at Kalaeloa, we noticed a number of barracks, offices and other buildings suffering neglect and, in some cases, vandalism since the military returned vast areas of the Navy base to state control.

A drive to the public beach areas will reveal piles of garbage bags and certain areas where trash litters the ground. Apparently this is done by people who use this area for camping, surfing and fishing and feel no responsibility and aloha to clean up after themselves.

It is a waste of our resources that habitable buildings are neglected and fall into disrepair. It is also a waste of potential that these facilities are not used for resolving some of the homeless, family and drug-abuse problems that beset O'ahu.

Unused barracks and other domestic facilities could be used to house the homeless who inhabit our parks, beaches, freeway underpasses and cars. These residents would work under supervision restoring neglected facilities, providing for the homeless community and beautifying the trash-strewn areas of Kalaeloa.

In other buildings, life and job skills classes and GED courses could be conducted.

Faith-based residential drug rehabilitation facilities can be established as Kalaeloa is relatively isolated.

Safe houses for abused family members and for treatment of the mentally ill who are homeless, churches, a child daycare center, a shuttle or city bus service to schools or town are other ideas to help people gain independence.

Along with the millions of dollars now used for homeless, drug- and family-abuse programs, how would we further finance these programs? By starting at home: It is a misuse of public money to have million-dollar neighborhood entrance signs, $250,000 public bathrooms and $700,000 canoe storage facilities while the more obvious needs of affordable and homeless housing, job and job-skills creation, and basic educational needs for our children go begging.

Government, community and business leaders need to take proactive, collaborative and creative approaches to the problems of homelessness and drug abuse which, like Kalaeloa, will only get worse with neglect.

John Wesley Nakao is a long-term-care insurance representative with John Hancock Life Insurance Co. and is a volunteer chaplain at Pali Momi Medical Center.