What can we do to help the homeless?

[MadAzza]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

Rumor has it that HPD has cracked down on the volunteers who give out food at other locations and don't have Health Dept. permits (just like they "cracked down" on us) and so some meal sites have closed down because of this...thereby sending even more in our direction. Sad but true.

I'm confused. Is it a rumor ("Rumor has it ...") or is it true ("Sad but true")?

Thanks for your good work.

[1stwahine]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

Auntie Lynn...just to clarify this...the Kau Kau Wagon feeds the homeless at the corner of Bethel and Hotel Streets at Gateway Park (where I met you at Thanksgiving) but we normally don't get there until sometime between 1:30 and 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays. We always appreciate donations of clothing, shoes, toiletries, towels, etc. We are always in need of volunteers to help us give out the food as well.....sometimes there are just 3 or 4 of us ... and the numbers of homeless that we feed are increasing every week so the more volunteers the better. It seems that we have been feeding more children and elderly than ever before in the past couple of months. Rumor has it that HPD has cracked down on the volunteers who give out food at other locations and don't have Health Dept. permits (just like they "cracked down" on us) and so some meal sites have closed down because of this...thereby sending even more in our direction. Sad but true.
Anyway....
See you this weekend!

Wow! Mahalo AlohaCandy!!! I would be there a wee bit too early with my donations of items.heheheh Thanks for the clarification. I'll be there around 1:00 p.m.

Auntie Lynn

[alohacandy]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

I'm confused. Is it a rumor ("Rumor has it ...") or is it true ("Sad but true")?

Thanks for your good work.

LOL No need to be confused! The rumor part is the police crackdown of other feeding sites....the sad but true part is that we are getting a lot more people at our site now.

You're welcome!

[alohabear]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

The homeless problem will only get worse because most politicians will continue to bow down to the CAVE people. (Citizens Against Virtually Everything)

And because a lot of young people nowdays don't know what to do with thier lives...no goals. They think they can live with "Mommy and Daddy" all thier lives and the sad ,but true part is that mom and dad let them! Is it just my parents generation that was harsh and "made" me study hard in school and be something or is it a ethnic thing (I'm 100% Japanese) that made them so strict?
I past down doing well (in school) to my son...so hopefully he won't live with me forever. I hear daily how co-workers are so "stressed" with thier freeloading adult children (with minimal or no skills) that they finally kick them out( under-protest) of the house and the "kids" are now homeless.

BTW... when I did live at home as a adult my parents did charge me rent(about $425 a month) because I had a job. This gave me a "taste" of the REAL world.

[1stwahine]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

And because a lot of young people nowdays don't know what to do with thier lives...no goals. They think they can live with "Mommy and Daddy" all thier lives and the sad ,but true part is that mom and dad let them! Is it just my parents generation that was harsh and "made" me study hard in school and be something or is it a ethnic thing (I'm 100% Japanese) that made them so strict?
I past down doing well (in school) to my son...so hopefully he won't live with me forever.

BTW... when I did live at home as a adult my parents did charge me rent(about $425 a month) because I had a job. This gave me a "taste" of the REAL world.

Alohabear, Good Morning. Young people nowdays are "young people." We, ourselves were like them too. Fortunately, we were raised by parents who instilled in us values, morals, self worth, spritual beliefs, etc. in which made us productive citizens. We, instill it ~ into our children and them into theirs.

My own children started working from Inter. School to get what they needed for school and activities. They were no hand-outs, no complaints. On top of everything else, they had to take care of a disabled mother. They had everything going against them. From living in a middle class area to a Homeless Shelter (after my husband died) to Public Housing.

They could have taken the wrong path in Life. But they didn't. They chose not to. No matter how young - there is a choice to be made. Either to make it or not. No excuses.

Back on topic. How to help the Homeless? Back to square one. Do what we can without judging. Teach our youths the best we know how.

Aloha,

Auntie Lynn

[alohabear]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

Alohabear, Good Morning. Young people nowdays are "young people." We, ourselves were like them too. Fortunately, we were raised by parents who instilled in us values, morals, self worth, spritual beliefs, etc. in which made us productive citizens. We, instill it ~ into our children and them into theirs.

My own children started working from Inter. School to get what they needed for school and activities. They were no hand-outs, no complaints. On top of everything else, they had to take care of a disabled mother. They had everything going against them. From living in a middle class area to a Homeless Shelter (after my husband died) to Public Housing.

They could have taken the wrong path in Life. But they didn't. They chose not to. No matter how young - there is a choice to be made. Either to make it or not. No excuses.

Back on topic. How to help the Homeless? Back to square one. Do what we can without judging. Teach our youths the best we know how.

Aloha,

Auntie Lynn

Aunty-
You are an example of a good parent! You raised your kids well... gave them a strong foundation. They chose not to take the lazy and wrong path because thier parents are "old-school ..whack-whack...not going live with me forevah" types. The credit all goes to good kids and good parents.
Aloha andGod Bless you Aunty Lynn!

BTW... if you really do run for Office, I will wave signs with you .

[craigwatanabe]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

tHE STATE could make a camp like in the Grapes of Wrath , with rules and regs...break da rules ...get kicked out.
The only problem is most will say, yeah good idea... BUT NOT IN MY BACKYARD! Sadly it will always be in "someone's BACKYARD".

Did you know that before the homeless ruined it ,KING's LANDING was a beautiful fishing area?.... a lost place of my youth. That's why I get mad.

I think the difference here would be for those who have jobs but can't get a rental or afford to buy a home to live in. These are hard working people who just don't have the financial resources to rent or own.

I'm not talking opening up these tent camps to vagrants or deadbeat homeless, just the ones that are in need of temporary housing and can make do with their own vehicles or tents.

We simply cannot ignore this growing problem of Hawaii's homeless, yes quite a few of them have expressed indifference to the rest of the working society and I've been spit on serving those bastards in the soup lines but for every bastard homeless out there there are many more who really need some sort of solution for their needs.

Many of us are typically one maybe two paychecks away from being homeless. For some time caught up with them and now they find themselves out on the streets while being gainfully employed with children in our public schools. Where do these people go with shelters having waiting lists.

Our laws prohibit even sleeping in our own cars on public streets. For these families all they need is a place to park their car and a place to bathe. They work, they're taxpayers, they could be your friend, former neighbor, relative, the guy who fixed the pothole in front of your house, even your kid's teacher!

It could be anyone and more frightingly, it could be you one day. Failure to address this problem could one day have a direct impact on the more fortunate who have been able to dodge economic bullets, but eventually even your company may decide to downsize and suddenly your paycheck isn't there anymore. How many of us actually have the financial reserve to weather three months of unemployment? Two months? One month? Can you live without one paycheck?

If you cannot deal with three months of no income, it could be you on the street in 90-days. Hopefully there could be laws in place by then to accomodate your needs when that time arises.

Legalized squatting in certain areas is a possible solution. But until I see anyone else come up with better ideas, all this complaining about NIMBY or descretion of once pristine lands doesn't do a damned good for anyone who needs a place to live or at least regroup financially.

We can spend enormous amounts of energy complaining about our homeless. Or we can use that energy to come up with solutions to these social problems that affect all of us in one form or fashion. We can turn a blind eye and say, "not my problem" or we can lend a hand and say, "come let me help" because one day it could be you on that receiving end and wouldn't it be nice that somebody had the compassion to help you out despite your selfish NIMBY attitude you once held when times were better?

What goes around comes around as the saying goes...no one is certain of their future however if your life is surrounded with compassion, then one day compassion will embrace you in your time of need.

What can we do to help the homeless? First thing to do is to stop the complaining and utilize our collective energies to find a solution. Anything less and we're just part of the problem with every complaint a roadblock to answers.

If you suddenly found yourself homeless, what would you ask for? Then use that thought to derive a solution, don't wait until you actually have to ask that question as a form of survival. Your answer could benefit hundreds that are NOW out there while you anticipate your financial demise.

[1stwahine]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

Aunty-
You are an example of a good parent! You raised your kids well... gave them a strong foundation. They chose not to take the lazy and wrong path because thier parents are "old-school ..whack-whack...not going live with me forevah" types. The credit all goes to good kids and good parents.
Aloha andGod Bless you Aunty Lynn!

BTW... if you really do run for Office, I will wave signs with you .

Mahalo for the kind words Alohabear. However, theres more to the story of me being a good parent. I was not always one. I, too went off the path of right after my stroke. Ahh.. that's another story. Whatever the case maybe...I am who I am today because of the foundation of what was instilled in me came shining through. My kids played a heavy factor in me coming back to reality. Most importantly, my Love for the God I believe in.

That is why I believe in so many things because I have experience many of it first hand. My passion is to bring focus to it like never before. Maybe it's wishful thinking ~ maybe it's not. I can only hope for the best. I am not an expert...I am just me.

MAMA is doing well. At this time I will continue to only take care of her. If I do run for any Political Office, I will definitely let everyone know of my plans. You can be certain that I intend not to be silent but to be a voice in the various subjects in which I am passionate about.

Aloha,

Auntie Lynn

[tutusue]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

isn't waianae tent city an example of that?

If you're referring to the one on Farrington Hwy., adjacent to HCAP, it's gone. It was more of a car city than a tent city, tho'.

[damontucker]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

I hope posting this isn't going to contribute to more...

But lately, I've been seeing more and more people underneath the Nimitz....
Each Day I drive by there in the morning and often times I see nice/and or decent cars (Think about 6:00 am driving Ewa direction where the nimitz splits off to go either over or under...)... and I often wonder??? Are those stolen cars? are they guests of the people living under the bridges? are they homeless people that have nice cars?

And then as you drive throughout all of Mapunapuna... you see cars/vans/old tourist vans...etc... parked all over the place and they have been there for weeks/and or months... Turns out... Plenty of these vehicles are actually the homes for many of Oahu's residents.... I drove through at night and saw at least 3 different cars that had basically were functioning as a household living room... two of the cars were even running TV's... If anyone wants to take a drive through the area at night...it is quite an eye opening experience.

You get the picture... As rents get higher... people will do whatever they have to do to get by.

[1stwahine]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

And in Downtown Honolulu
...as the sun goes down, the homeless finds whatever space is available to sleep. In front of closed shops. If not, they go to Aala Park or one of the smaller ones near the area ~ rain or shine.

It is heartbreaking.

Come see for yourself the reality of it all.

Today.

Kaukau Wagon will be feeding the Homeless as they usually do every Saturday in the afternoon 1:30 p.m. - food is gone!

Auntie Lynn

[Miulang]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

On Maui, the County just evicted a handful of homeless people from a beach across the street from the old Kahului Shopping Center. The paddling club that leases space behind the beach was getting concerned about the safety of their keiki and the theft of equipment from their clubhouse.

These homeless people will probably just move down to the breakwater encampment which has anywhere between 100-200 people living in cars and tents. As the Mayor says, no sense moving the people in that camp because there's nowhere else for them to go. Many of those people who live there have jobs, but don't make enough to pay for housing.

Miulang

[tutusue]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

[...]These homeless people will probably just move down to the breakwater encampment which has anywhere between 100-200 people living in cars and tents. As the Mayor says, no sense moving the people in that camp because there's nowhere else for them to go. Many of those people who live there have jobs, but don't make enough to pay for housing.

Miulang

A big high 5 to your mayor. Makua beach near the north end of the Waianae coast has long been a haven for the homeless. Then a sweep is ordered and these people move to another beach. Driving home yesterday and noticing even more tents than a few days earlier, I wondered what so many homeless people would do if ordered to vacate the beaches in Waianae. Where would they go? It's not as if it's just a few tents and they could scatter to various other beaches. I hope Mayor Mufi is as compassionate as Maui's mayor and allows these people to stay which then allows the kids to stay in schools that, for now, are the only thing consistent in their lives.

It's interesting to see how various people and families have arranged their tents. The majority of tents are withing a reasonable distance of a public restroom facility. Single, isolated tents tend to be close to the highway with the 'entrance' to the tent facing the highway. I assume that's a safety precaution. Families tend to be closer to the ocean with several tents in a semi-circle and a large tarp on sticks used as cooking/dining/family space. I saw a large bbq (propane kind) that, while it wasn't placed in a particular family's area it does appear to be a community cooking facility for anyone who needs it. Made me wonder if someone donated it for that purpose.

Regardless of how creative these people get with their tent 'cities' it's still unacceptable that they should have to live this way. The reason for it stinks.

Craig and Bob...thanks for the time you put into your very enlightening messages. You both are so much more eloquant than I could ever hope to be. Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[timkona]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

As long home prices are being driven by people moving in from outside your area,

A brief review of the FACTS would indicate that the birth rate in Hawaii far exceeds the immigration rate.

The most fair way to judge this is to review the birth rates in the 70's (the primary local home buyers age now) and the current immigration rate of permanent residents. You might be surprised where the demand pressure is coming from. Census Bureau stats verify this one.

Another way to verify this is to compare the real estate market for the lowest priced dwellings with the market for somewhat higher priced dwellings. Very few "immigrants" are purchasing at the lowest price range. In the low price ranges, the competition for housing is the result of "local" demand pressures. These "local" demand pressures can be traced to the maternity wards of the 60's & 70's. MLS stats verify this one.

Facts are a dogmatists worst enemy.

[rbinck]

Re: What can we do to help the homeless?

The church we attended would feed the "street people" in Kona every Saturday night in a small city park there in Kailua-Kona. Different churches would do it on other nights. They called them "street people" as opposed to homeless because they decided to just live on the street rather than pay rent. You would see them in the beach parks using the outside showers and for the most part were just semi-ordinary folk. I say semi-ordinary as it is not ordinary for most people to live on the street.

Many of then would work and there were some married couples that would just camp out moving from park to park. One fellow would show up on a scooter with gardening materials/tools and would completely clean and spruce up the park before he would eat.

The only string that was attached was they had to participate in the prayer. Otherwise there was not any evangalizing, other than an offer for them to attend the services.

The church had lost its lease on the building it used for the services and we held services at some of the beach parks. Our best Hawaii friend, that lived in the same condo, did not have a car, so we would take her with us. Having services at the beach is da bomb! When they had baptism in the Pacific, it was special.