This is the direction major cities on the mainland are headed with the skyrocketing rents. Time for more rent control laws.
15
Can we acknowledge a few realities please?
1. There are people, no matter what you offer them in terms of help, who are simply determined to be homeless for the rest of their lives. Let's just call them "vocational homeless". They crave independence from any of our services that require one iota of behavioral change on their part.
2. Many of these vocational homeless migrate to warmer climate states such as FL, CA, and HI.
3. "creating" affordable housing and employment means nothing to vocational homeless. It goes back to their craving to move about anywhere they please.
Let's continue to build shelters. try to stimulate affordable housing and protect our economy by supporting American industry but accept the fact that a large percentage of these folks will simply thumb their noses at us.
Let go of the guilt over these folks America. Don't give them a dime. Give them information on local shelters and walk away.
1. There are people, no matter what you offer them in terms of help, who are simply determined to be homeless for the rest of their lives. Let's just call them "vocational homeless". They crave independence from any of our services that require one iota of behavioral change on their part.
2. Many of these vocational homeless migrate to warmer climate states such as FL, CA, and HI.
3. "creating" affordable housing and employment means nothing to vocational homeless. It goes back to their craving to move about anywhere they please.
Let's continue to build shelters. try to stimulate affordable housing and protect our economy by supporting American industry but accept the fact that a large percentage of these folks will simply thumb their noses at us.
Let go of the guilt over these folks America. Don't give them a dime. Give them information on local shelters and walk away.
24
In Hawaii camels go through the eyes of needles and only the wealthy can enjoy heaven on earth.
9
The American Dream. Here in Europe we have a safety net. US capitalism takes no prisoners
23
I wished something was done about homelessness in San Francisco. Perhaps we could send all homeless people to live in Trump towers across the country. He can solve all the problems, right?
10
To each of you who look down on those poor homeless souls who never asked to be that way and have no compassion for those poor homeless souls should be condemned by God to follow in their footsteps. Maybe if all of you so-called high and mightiest lived the live of a homeless person for just a day,then maybe you would see what it feels like to be homeless. For the grace of God I am not homeless and neither are you, but we are not incapable of showing compassion to those poor homeless souls. May God have mercy on us all.
8
When we were in Hawaii last year, a bust driver pointed to rows of tiny houses Duse by side where, he said, multiple families lived in 800 sq ft. Where is the public housing? He also pointed out two high-rise condos about a mile from Waikiki built by Japanese investors years ago remain empty.
12
Like elsewhere our homeless need homes, treatment for substance abuse and mental illness, jobs or a universal basic income that pay enough to get an apartment... And Aloha.
11
We visited Honolulu 4 years ago. I was staggered to see that there were many *pages* of houses for sale due to foreclosure. Not columns, pages, in the local paper.
Maybe this has something to do with the rise in homelessness?
Maybe this has something to do with the rise in homelessness?
13
This article is just plain wrong that Honolulu's homeless population has diminished or moved away. Yes there are a few laws, not really new as implied, but the laws referred to are not enforced as the police don't want to enforce them and there is nowhere for people to go. There are huge numbers of homeless people all around my apartment in Kakaako and downtown. They are aggressive, disruptive and permanent.
16
My post is no joke, this IS happening to me and others. If something doesn't happen to make housing more balanced with wages, it's going to hit the mainland too I'm sure
9
Instead of taking care of the problem they are criminalizing the problem.
12
Homelessness in Honolulu is worse than ever. Along Nimitz Blvd, are tents that are inches from the street. People are living like animals. Hawaii is in the bad situation of being a mythical target for homeless who think they can live an idyllic life on the beach. Not so. Honolulu's aggressive actions are pushing homeless to other islands now, spreading the problem. Mahalo Honolulu.
7
Our culture is not community oriented. In Chicago, the homeless tend to camp out on Lower Wacker Drive. When I visited Denver homeless roamed everywhere, in Atlanta, cops on bicycles rousted the homeless who were in doorways and on Church steps, just before dawn.
So, clean them up before the ball game like the refuse they are? No, continue to step over them, see them everywhere until we all realize something is seriously wrong with a country that spends billions to go to war with an "evil dictator" of one sort or another while the real evil, the real issue, poverty and apathy is right there on our streets.
So, clean them up before the ball game like the refuse they are? No, continue to step over them, see them everywhere until we all realize something is seriously wrong with a country that spends billions to go to war with an "evil dictator" of one sort or another while the real evil, the real issue, poverty and apathy is right there on our streets.
18
Having lived in Hawi'i for two years, I saw a lot of this. Efforts to get the homeless to safe shelters and provide them with services were routinely rebuffed, and the stewards of the richest Hawai'ian fortunes, the descendants of the Ali'is or nobles soon gave up their efforts. Like in many cities, they go to where the money is, in this case tourist areas, and do in fact become a problem, not only for tourists and residents, but for them selves as well.
A lot of the people commenting say the city should do more, but with one of the highest income tax rates in the country, high land taxes, and a working class largely made up of lower income service workers, people don't realize many residents of the Hawai'ian Islands make near poverty wages and the government can't afford it.
Maybe all those who critique Hawai'i should sell all their possessions and go to Hawai'i, like Father Damien. Or do they just sit and criticize something they don't understand?
A lot of the people commenting say the city should do more, but with one of the highest income tax rates in the country, high land taxes, and a working class largely made up of lower income service workers, people don't realize many residents of the Hawai'ian Islands make near poverty wages and the government can't afford it.
Maybe all those who critique Hawai'i should sell all their possessions and go to Hawai'i, like Father Damien. Or do they just sit and criticize something they don't understand?
13
I know it's not considered hip or liberal to say this, but good for the Mayor for moving out the homeless. "Public space" means the ENTIRE public can use it reasonably, not be used as a toilet by a small minority. Yes, a small percentage of the homeless are otherwise productive citizens who have fallen on hard times, and they should get help. However, the vast majority (as pointed out) are mentally ill and/or substance abusers and/or looking for a handout. They should not be allowed to make the rest of us unable to use what our tax dollars pay for.
30
Speaking as a native Californian from the SF Bay Area that emigrated to Austria in 2014, there is no question that the American legal system is cruel and institutionalizes leaving the weakest of society behind. Fining and jailing the poor and homeless ensures they remain on the fringes of society forever and enshrines the the concept of selfish American individualism that is tearing the social fabric of society apart in the USA.
We don't have homelessness in Austria despite having absorbed 90,000 refugees from Syria and Iraq in the past year! When people in Austria ask me why I don't miss the USA, I hold up shameful examples like this about how harsh the American system is. Most Europeans are shocked that one of the richest nations in the world treats its poor, it's mentally ill, its weakest parts of society as if they were animals.
We don't have homelessness in Austria despite having absorbed 90,000 refugees from Syria and Iraq in the past year! When people in Austria ask me why I don't miss the USA, I hold up shameful examples like this about how harsh the American system is. Most Europeans are shocked that one of the richest nations in the world treats its poor, it's mentally ill, its weakest parts of society as if they were animals.
25
Affordable housing, affordable anything, is steadily harder to get in the USA and above all in California. Institutions that are designed to assist the unlucky, are rare and spectacularly underfunded. Homelessness is a societal product. It should be possible to find out what conditions create it on such a mass basis.In 10 years, what % of the US population will be homeless?
3
Surely Mr Trump could fix the problem of all homeless persons. After Mexicio builds his wall and he has expelled all the illegals he will Make America Clean Again. Mr T will save us by curing mental illness and addiction and providing employment for all so will all bask in the safety around us and enjoy our merits by watching Miss Universe on TV after we've been to church.
5
The laws are unconstitutional.
Without more spending this is what happens with your ideas of austerity. Austerity never ever has worked and we see it over and over again no matter what country you live in. Housing, higher wages, cutting CEO pay and raise taxes on those who can afford to pay more.
Why do we insist in using policies that always fail? Why?
Without more spending this is what happens with your ideas of austerity. Austerity never ever has worked and we see it over and over again no matter what country you live in. Housing, higher wages, cutting CEO pay and raise taxes on those who can afford to pay more.
Why do we insist in using policies that always fail? Why?
3
I wrote a true short story, A Quiet Decent Place, about my experience as an OEO community organizer in Honolulu in late 1970s, housing the Waikiki homeless. For whatever reason, these folks have fallen through the cracks of life, and indeed, they have no right to turn public space into private space. But we able-bodied and fortunate do have a moral obligation to "the least of these," and if ever there were a mission for the churches, this is it.
5
A majority of the schizo-drug addict homeless don't want the responsibility and structure of a physical shelter or home. They swarm to Hawaii because the weather is perfect year-round and well-off tourists give them money.
14
I worked for a while in the psychiatric unit of a large urban hospital; this unit was overpopulated with not only the mentally ill, but also drug and alcohol abusers (same thing?). This is how it worked for many, but not all, of the patients:
Come into the ER on Sunday night claiming suicidal thoughts, get committed for 5 days, with a judge's order, for observation and "medication adjustment". Many of them would become very anxious come Friday morning to hurry up and get their discharge so they could go "claim" their usual begging spot, usually a busy intersection. I was told that they could not only get "3 hots and a cot" free for most of the week, but then go out and make more money on the weekend than from working an actual job "like the rest of you suckers".
Not only were most of them "repeat" customers, but they often left their bags of "adjusted" psych medications behind. There was better stuff to be gotten on the streets.
This is when this liberal began to become one of those heartless "suckers".
Come into the ER on Sunday night claiming suicidal thoughts, get committed for 5 days, with a judge's order, for observation and "medication adjustment". Many of them would become very anxious come Friday morning to hurry up and get their discharge so they could go "claim" their usual begging spot, usually a busy intersection. I was told that they could not only get "3 hots and a cot" free for most of the week, but then go out and make more money on the weekend than from working an actual job "like the rest of you suckers".
Not only were most of them "repeat" customers, but they often left their bags of "adjusted" psych medications behind. There was better stuff to be gotten on the streets.
This is when this liberal began to become one of those heartless "suckers".
22
"Truth, justice and the American way", our nation's mantra has never rung so hollow or been in such peril. Homelessness is a glaring example of our country's "ugly underbelly" that we continue to address with mindless vagrancy laws hoping the problem will just "go away". Clearly the economic inequality in this country is reaching epidemic proportions, but lacking foresight and the courage to act humanly our political leadership panders to the "almighty dollar" while turning a blind eye to everything else. Pathetic!!!
4
The two locales that President Obama has called home, Chicago and Hawaii, have very dire social conditions. It would be good for him to draw national attention and resources to addressing these severe and growing problems that form a kind of terrorism - crime and violence in Chicago and homelessness in Hawaii. America's negligence about establishing safe, civilized cities and neighborhoods, and about serious, forced treatment of mental illness and/or addiction problems that lead to anti-social behaviors has brought society low. There is a romanticism of some notion of freedom to be mentally ill that does no one any good at all. It has been an insidious, damaging driver of social change that led to deinstitutionalization of mentally ill patients that, along with drug and alcohol use, breakdown of family structures and lack of effective, enforced treatment, ends up with these large populations of street-dwellers and uncivil anarchists. What once demonstrated society's civilized nature - public libraries, public parks, public bathrooms, etc. - now display the degradation of those symbols. Inmates truly are running the asylum and it's not a good place for anybody.
11
I'm homeless in Hawaii. I just climbed the corporate ladder in my main job. All 3 jobs combined I net &5,000 or more a month now. I don't ask for handouts. I pay taxes. I don't drink at all and don't do drugs. I make well above the poverty line and, all kidding aside, feel I'm mentally competent.
I work 6-7 days a week. 3 of those days are 15 hour double shifts. I got laid off 1.9 years ago and kicked out of my obnoxiously expensive unit after. I got my current job quickly and worked hard at it despite being hungry and tired. The USDA just turned me down for my first home yesterday because A) my new job isn't more than 2 years old and B) I'm homeless. Now my credit which was ok is bad. Making it more difficult to rent or buy anything.
The thing is that I'm not, but far the only one. I am middle class, hard working, mentally healthy, and responsible. And I am homeless too. Where's this "help"?!!
Now, if you want to broom me off the streets or ticket me, you'll have to do so between 7am and 1pm Thursday/Friday. However, next Friday will be difficult because I have a haircut appointment and need to stand in line at the DMV to pay my truck (house) registration.
I work 6-7 days a week. 3 of those days are 15 hour double shifts. I got laid off 1.9 years ago and kicked out of my obnoxiously expensive unit after. I got my current job quickly and worked hard at it despite being hungry and tired. The USDA just turned me down for my first home yesterday because A) my new job isn't more than 2 years old and B) I'm homeless. Now my credit which was ok is bad. Making it more difficult to rent or buy anything.
The thing is that I'm not, but far the only one. I am middle class, hard working, mentally healthy, and responsible. And I am homeless too. Where's this "help"?!!
Now, if you want to broom me off the streets or ticket me, you'll have to do so between 7am and 1pm Thursday/Friday. However, next Friday will be difficult because I have a haircut appointment and need to stand in line at the DMV to pay my truck (house) registration.
33
What does the Statue of Liberty say again??
"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
We need to return to our roots. We are either compassionate, or we will cease to be anything resembling a first world nation. I vote for compassion.
"Give me your tired, your poor, Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free, The wretched refuse of your teeming shore. Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed to me, I lift my lamp beside the golden door!"
We need to return to our roots. We are either compassionate, or we will cease to be anything resembling a first world nation. I vote for compassion.
6
Vote for it. And I'll vote too. I'll vote for my tax dollars to go to politicians who care more about the veterans and cleaning up the VA mess, to building infrastructure again, to not going to other countries to nation build and kill dictators (only to get ISIS), to stop allowing illegal immigrants to tap into any public services, to helping business understand it is a privilege to sell their products in this country, to help my fellow countrymen get and retain good jobs (no matter what multinationals want) and to using my taxes smart and sparingly, not throwing them away on people and projects that require endless amounts of money that we just don't have at the moment.
Compassion requires some common sense too. And I see plenty of other people and projects that should be prioritized over the homeless. But if I have to deal with the homeless, then they will have to work. And those that are mentally ill and/or violent will have to be institutionalized. Enough is enough.
Having compassion isn't just having compassion for the homeless (or whatever group is the victim group du jour). It's compassion for those who work, play by the rules, struggle to make ends meet and then are accosted by the homeless on their way home or to work or school or with their kids, etc., to NOT have to deal with that issue any longer.
Give me a break. And see the other side too.
Compassion requires some common sense too. And I see plenty of other people and projects that should be prioritized over the homeless. But if I have to deal with the homeless, then they will have to work. And those that are mentally ill and/or violent will have to be institutionalized. Enough is enough.
Having compassion isn't just having compassion for the homeless (or whatever group is the victim group du jour). It's compassion for those who work, play by the rules, struggle to make ends meet and then are accosted by the homeless on their way home or to work or school or with their kids, etc., to NOT have to deal with that issue any longer.
Give me a break. And see the other side too.
13
In light of this homelessness problem that I was unaware of until reading this article and the comments, I am rethinking about spending thousands of dollars to visit Hawaii next year. Hawaii is playing with fire if they don't spend whatever is necessary to construct appropriate housing and provide the necessary social services for all these people in need. Vacationers can see the homeless folks in their mainland city and don't have to spend big bucks on a vacation to what is advertised as paradise to see it. Folks are saying they won't return. Maybe even more will not make the first trip.
8
Many people in this comments section say many of us have a "lack of compassion", and I feel the need to defend myself. Yes, I am sympathetic to many of these people, but honestly, unless you've seen the sheer size of these camps, the hundreds and hundreds of homeless here, all over Honolulu...what can I do? What should I do? If we were talking a few dozen people, I would volunteer my time and help, but we're talking about an Army of drug addict, mentally ill and unstable, violent felons, and I'm sure quite a few sex offenders. The problem is so bad now, it should be filed under "disaster zone" and allow FEMA to come in and clean it all up. The quality of life for the rest of us is impacted; half the time I'm afraid to leave my apartment after 6pm. All the businesses did was get the cops to force them out of the tourist areas, and into the residential neighborhoods! I don't even take my children to the various public libraries anymore, as they have become daytime homeless shelters, with security guards posted. The bathrooms are unusable, and even in the juvenile section, you can find 2-3 grown men sleeping at the tables. It's just horrible.
23
Many years ago, when I lived in Honolulu, I noticed how each October the homeless population swelled, and how each April it fell. I asked an "in-the-know" Honolulu native for an explanation.
Turns out that each fall the city of San Francisco rounded up the homeless, chartered planes, and flew them to Honolulu, where they wintered in one of the largest city parks. Then, each spring, the city of Honolulu rounded up the homeless, chartered planes, and flew them back to San Francisco.
That, folks, sums up municipal government: "We're all about treating symptoms. Who cares about a cure?"
Turns out that each fall the city of San Francisco rounded up the homeless, chartered planes, and flew them to Honolulu, where they wintered in one of the largest city parks. Then, each spring, the city of Honolulu rounded up the homeless, chartered planes, and flew them back to San Francisco.
That, folks, sums up municipal government: "We're all about treating symptoms. Who cares about a cure?"
6
Care to provide a source for that anecdote, Tacitus Anonymous? Seriously. Stop spreading urban myths.
4
The notion that we are "criminalizing the homeless" prevents rational discussion. It is a dishonest rhetorical formulation employed by activists. No one has proposed, or desires, that the homeless wear a yellow star. To suggest otherwise is despicable.
What is criminalized is behavior and acts, not status. The condition of being homeless does not require public defecation or drug use. It does not require trashing public restrooms.
Public opinion would shift greatly to help those who did not behave this way. Americans would support tent camps, with regular food and counseling, and a strong sense of authority, not unlike the WPA or other New Deal programs. But the left would regard that, or any attempt to require order and structure in their lives, as a coercive attempt to deny people their right to live free on the streets.
This is a hopeless mess, and deliberately obscuring the discussion with reprehensible, disingenuous phrases makes it much more difficult to solve.
What is criminalized is behavior and acts, not status. The condition of being homeless does not require public defecation or drug use. It does not require trashing public restrooms.
Public opinion would shift greatly to help those who did not behave this way. Americans would support tent camps, with regular food and counseling, and a strong sense of authority, not unlike the WPA or other New Deal programs. But the left would regard that, or any attempt to require order and structure in their lives, as a coercive attempt to deny people their right to live free on the streets.
This is a hopeless mess, and deliberately obscuring the discussion with reprehensible, disingenuous phrases makes it much more difficult to solve.
27
Honolulu's homeless problem sounds horrifying, and I sympathize with everyone who is affected by it. But I think it's time someone challenged this "one-way ticket from the mainland" canard that local residents keep citing as the source of their homeless population. I'm a psychiatrist in a large city hospital who works with the homeless every single day, and if there are free tickets to Hawaii to be had, I'd certainly have heard about it by now.
11
Thank you, Nycdoctor. It's such an urban legend, and I can't believe one of the comments perpetuating the obvious myth was chosen as a "Pick" and is a popular comment here. "Tens of thousands of homeless" coming from the mainland to Hawaii with the intention of being homeless here? Right. The myth is not just being spread by local residents.
2
It's about apathy, apathy and apathy by government everywhere when it comes to people's matters whether it's taking care of homeless people, minimum wages, basic perks etc.
Federal Government simply doesn't mind spending trillions and trillions of dollars in wars right from Vietnam to Afghanistan, which are completely unnecessary.
Federal Government simply doesn't mind in spending billions and billions of dollars in so called research on Yoga, Meditation, benefits of Honey, Garlic, Ginger, Turmeric Powder, Spices ( already proved thousands of years ago in India ), Homework, Children playing in mud, Children playing with other children in Day Care, the benefits of which were already proved long long back.
To top it all there's senseless spending of billions of dollars every four years during Presidential elections. It's nothing but wholesale shaving of taxpayers' money.
If this is America, then God save it.
Federal Government simply doesn't mind spending trillions and trillions of dollars in wars right from Vietnam to Afghanistan, which are completely unnecessary.
Federal Government simply doesn't mind in spending billions and billions of dollars in so called research on Yoga, Meditation, benefits of Honey, Garlic, Ginger, Turmeric Powder, Spices ( already proved thousands of years ago in India ), Homework, Children playing in mud, Children playing with other children in Day Care, the benefits of which were already proved long long back.
To top it all there's senseless spending of billions of dollars every four years during Presidential elections. It's nothing but wholesale shaving of taxpayers' money.
If this is America, then God save it.
11
Thank God the Governor is taking action. How about we revert to calling these people what they are: Bums. I'm taking my family there in August and it appears the Bum on the cover is sleeping about a block from my hotel.
21
The homeless problem is very bad here in Austin too. The city doesn't seem to be doing anything about it. There's a huge congregation of homeless people drinking, urinating, passed out, using drugs on 7th street. One block from Austin's "famous" 6th street tourist and nightlife district.
And this in a city whose economy is supposedly booming.
And this in a city whose economy is supposedly booming.
20
People come to Austin from all over. In fact, Williamson County, the wealthy county to Austin's north regularly drives homeless people into Austin (Travis Co.) and drops them off.
The Williamson Co. Police dropped off the guy who raped and killed a girl on campus a month ago. Did they know he'd do that? No. But they are dumping people and cost on Travis County. Seems wrong to me. Doubt it's unique.
The Williamson Co. Police dropped off the guy who raped and killed a girl on campus a month ago. Did they know he'd do that? No. But they are dumping people and cost on Travis County. Seems wrong to me. Doubt it's unique.
6
Here in LA the bums have the run of the place. I live on the front line. Due to homeless activist lawsuits, the cops' hands are tied and parts of Hollywood resemble a zombie movie. Unfortunately I live in the infected zone. The weapons of this war are pee, diarrhea, one's presence, unidentified liquids, calling the cops, cutting tires, theft, left nails and razorblades, creative property damage, trash left as hobo signs, and the smell of filth and buzzing of flies. I am up the river, and I am not going anywhere. I don't know what the solution to homelessness is, and I don't care. This is war.
30
One common thread in the cities with unusually high numbers of homeless people is how many of them came from somewhere else. Every newspaper story dutifully mentions that people who had housing are being priced out of it as cities richify, as if that's what causes people living on the street. In reality, local people simply move further out from their jobs, to where housing is cheaper; they don't quickly decamp to the sidewalk. Follow the San Francisco Chronicle's reporting on people being (rapidly) priced out of housing there, and place names like Vallejo or towns in the Central Valley turn up often, or for those who are luckier, the much closer Oakland.
I work, and have a graduate degree, and my wife works too, and we know we can't afford to live in Hawaii. Nor San Francisco, for that matter; we live in a cheaper alternative to, yes, Oakland. Why would it occur to someone to move to one of the most expensive places to live in the country, be it San Francisco or Honolulu, without a very solid plan to make a living there?
I think most people seeing tourism appeals from Hawaii or San Francisco understand that the "welcome" is not "Sure, come pitch a tent on the sidewalk in a business area, shoot up drugs in there if you'd like, panhandle for cash, and refuse all offers of help that might involve developing normal adult responsibility." Politicians will ask pretty please, don't do that, but they have a real hard time simply saying no or telling anyone to do anything.
I work, and have a graduate degree, and my wife works too, and we know we can't afford to live in Hawaii. Nor San Francisco, for that matter; we live in a cheaper alternative to, yes, Oakland. Why would it occur to someone to move to one of the most expensive places to live in the country, be it San Francisco or Honolulu, without a very solid plan to make a living there?
I think most people seeing tourism appeals from Hawaii or San Francisco understand that the "welcome" is not "Sure, come pitch a tent on the sidewalk in a business area, shoot up drugs in there if you'd like, panhandle for cash, and refuse all offers of help that might involve developing normal adult responsibility." Politicians will ask pretty please, don't do that, but they have a real hard time simply saying no or telling anyone to do anything.
36
Being homeless should never be treated like it is a crime. There are many millions of poor souls out here who have always done the right thing and wound up being homeless by no fault of their own. To all of the businesses and politicians and individuals who don't show compassion should Thank God for giving them grace to not be homeless themselves. Compassion for your fellow human beings is what God has given us and those who do not follow God will all be condemned to face the harshest of judgments that they will face when it is time to be in front of God. May God have mercy on all of the homeless people and animals, and may God condemn all of those who don't show compassion for their fellow human beings.
5
It saddens me to no end how detached our country has become that we as a people tolerate homelessness without doing everything possible to help these lost souls. These people deserve to have homes that are not just shelters. We elect officials that vote on spending billions of dollars on the war machine, millions bailing out wall-street & yet scapegoat people who so need intervention. Homelessness is a complex problem but it does not excuse the cold and calloused approach that I read in this article. Criminalizing homelessness speaks to just how low we have reached on the moral compass.
10
I don't actually think that the rationale is "criminalizing homelessness" as much as it an attempt to forestall free-fall into total anarchy and the absence of any semblance of civilization. It is not "being homeless" that is a crime; it is the destructive, uncivilized behaviors committed by anyone, homeless or not, that are crimes. The romanticizing of uncivilized, disturbed, dysfunctional behavior as that of "lost souls" or "poor souls" does no one any good at all. Being homeless does not automatically equate to romantic, poetic notions of "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest", a wonderful novel but a very destructive guide for treating anti-social behavior and one that, along with books like Szat's The Myth of Mental Illness, have contributed to romantic, naïve, unrealistic and ineffective views of very serious problems.
10
People have a lack of compassion today, and think that everything revolves around them. If they had to live the life of a homeless person, then their attitude would change and maybe start showing some compassion to those who face a hard life.
6
So, let's just fix a large part of the problem for now. Bring back WPA and CCC to occupy the able homeless. Then we'll figure out how to alleviate the ones who are more problematic. Doing nothing will simply invite extreme reaction.
16
I attended college in San Francisco and though I moved away more than a decade ago (when the homeless problem was bad but nowhere near what it is today), my husband and I return relatively frequently for business.
I am quick to note that it is for business because last time we went for pleasure, we vowed not to do so again. Most of the downtown area smells fetid and aggressive homeless people are everywhere. It is still a beautiful city, but I’d prefer to spend my tourist dollars elsewhere. You can’t blame others for feeling the same way about Hawaii or anywhere else where the streets are both unclean and unsafe.
I am quick to note that it is for business because last time we went for pleasure, we vowed not to do so again. Most of the downtown area smells fetid and aggressive homeless people are everywhere. It is still a beautiful city, but I’d prefer to spend my tourist dollars elsewhere. You can’t blame others for feeling the same way about Hawaii or anywhere else where the streets are both unclean and unsafe.
25
Relocation is not the right solution for homelessness. And having a homeless shelter which is akin to a jail is not a good solution either.
Even in this era to see a human being shuffling with along with a supermarket cart and being issued a ticket is the least humane thing to do.
Even in this era to see a human being shuffling with along with a supermarket cart and being issued a ticket is the least humane thing to do.
5
Hawaii seems to have the correct approach. The solution to homelessness is to make being homeless very difficult. There is no right to camp on sidewalks or in parks. They may be public property but they are not 'common' property. Sidewalks, streets, parks belong to us collectively, and they have a purpose, which should be enforced. The White House is public property, but I cannot camp there.
I wish LA would look at what Hawaii is doing and change course. As long as you make homelessness easy, you will get more homeless. It is as simple as that.
I wish LA would look at what Hawaii is doing and change course. As long as you make homelessness easy, you will get more homeless. It is as simple as that.
26
Just truly sad that we have so many homeless Americans. I befriended a homeless man and I think everyone should do the same.
In this instance, there was dysfunction, alcoholism and bi-polar disorder. I got this gentleman off the street and got him medical care, rehab, Medicaid, disability, etc but he didn't really want to change (i.e. stay sober, stay on his meds, get a job).
But some homeless do make the transition if given an opportunity. It's always worth taking a chance on another human being.
In this instance, there was dysfunction, alcoholism and bi-polar disorder. I got this gentleman off the street and got him medical care, rehab, Medicaid, disability, etc but he didn't really want to change (i.e. stay sober, stay on his meds, get a job).
But some homeless do make the transition if given an opportunity. It's always worth taking a chance on another human being.
3
While your heart may be in the right place, I think your impulses are extremely naïve, arrogant even, to think that we can and should save another person who does not want, did not ask for you to save him. I think that part of the "homeless problem" is the industry of "do-gooders" that has grown up around it and, in point of fact, are not really doing any good - other than, perhaps, for their own sense of self-righteousness. In my view, it is similar to the romanticized trend towards adopting pit bulls from shelters, because, after all, all a vicious dog needs is some special love and a "forever home", right? No doubt that most of "the homeless" have serious, serious problems - mental illness, addictions, criminal predatory patterns - and no doubt there are some who are more of the "hit on hard times" category; all need intervention, but the interventions are different for the different problems. Some of the intervention of the former groups needs to be harsh, enforced, and imposed. Civilized society is in rapid decline; that trend will not be slowed by romanticizing those behaviors that are contributing to the decline. Agree with you about "taking a chance on another human being;" question is which human beings and to what end and how and what are your (or anybody's) motivations in doing so; is it to make yourself feel good or to really get somebody to a place of being a non-destructive member of society, not to mention a contributing member.
11
The majority of these people are not homeless. They have chosen to make the streets, the parks, and the beaches their home. They have no incentive to live in a "home" -as the general population defines it. Solutions such as temporary "housing," detox, and temporary employment to get these people on their "feet" is idiotic because a good portion of them don't want to live life like the general population. They don't want do deal with the pressures of working to pay for bills, food, and "housing." They want to live in a welfare state. There is no reason for them not to be homeless.
15
As a lifelong resident of Hawaii, I support Honolulu city's efforts in ridding the homeless from our streets and public places. My compassion has been tested for too long and I no longer want to tiptoe around drunkards fighting and swearing along Waikiki beach and in Chinatown. I don't like the smell of urine and feces in the trails along Diamond Head from the homeless living in the bushes and to imagine that this waste runs into our waters were we fish, swim and surf; it's quite revolting.
We must be more strict with homelessness. I know firsthand from personal and work experience that many people take advantage of the generous public benefits Hawaii offers. For example, many homeless transplants from the mainland know they can get food stamps and medical benefits right off the plane. They think they can survive on their Social Security checks and set up a tent on the beach.
The problem is that we are too lax with giving people choices. They don't have to work if they don't want to. They don't have to go to detox if they don't want to. They can drink all day and night, run amok in the streets and yet the city must still give 24 hours' notice before clearing public sidewalks and parks.
I agree with Singapore's model: Either choose to work and be a beneficial member of society or find your home in jail. Sounds like a tough choice but sometimes people need to be faced with hard decisions to change their lives.
We must be more strict with homelessness. I know firsthand from personal and work experience that many people take advantage of the generous public benefits Hawaii offers. For example, many homeless transplants from the mainland know they can get food stamps and medical benefits right off the plane. They think they can survive on their Social Security checks and set up a tent on the beach.
The problem is that we are too lax with giving people choices. They don't have to work if they don't want to. They don't have to go to detox if they don't want to. They can drink all day and night, run amok in the streets and yet the city must still give 24 hours' notice before clearing public sidewalks and parks.
I agree with Singapore's model: Either choose to work and be a beneficial member of society or find your home in jail. Sounds like a tough choice but sometimes people need to be faced with hard decisions to change their lives.
30
I've lived in Hawaii (9yrs.) and Key West (3yrs.), two favorite locals for the homeless because they are rarely cold and the city governments are permissive and, actually, tolerant and supportive by offering relatively large monthly support including, in Key West, indoor sleeping accommodations! Their policies have encouraged more and more homeless to move there. In Hawaii we used to laugh at the thought of mainland families buying their crazies one way tickets to paradise knowing they would never be but so cold, never very hungry because of the fruit. It was true. My brother, a drug and alcohol addict left Virginia and settled in San Francisco because, as he told me, it had the best homeless benefits in the country including back then, 28 years ago, soup kitchens, overnight accommodations, health care and actually paid each homeless person something like $440 per month in cash! He was murdered in a flop house there.
My point in telling you these things is that liberal minded city counsels and populous reap what they sow. I've got no sympathy for the homeless and no sympathy for cities that make being homeless easy. Good for Honolulu to finally change its attitude.
My point in telling you these things is that liberal minded city counsels and populous reap what they sow. I've got no sympathy for the homeless and no sympathy for cities that make being homeless easy. Good for Honolulu to finally change its attitude.
26
What a pathetic excuse for "the moral species" the human race is. A few -- Jesus, the Buddha -- have done their best to steer it, but its like spitting into the ocean.
1
Collectively, we have enough money in the U.S. to take care of the homeless and provide services for all of those with mental health issues, including substance abuse. But we choose to spend our national wealth in other ways, such as invading other countries and waging war. It's more comforting to condemn the homeless than to acknowledge how close some of us are to joining them on the streets.
25
It has to be a national solution, otherwise the homeless will migrate or be pushed by other cities and towns to the cities which are most generous and livable.
4
I live in Honolulu and have previously lived in Berkeley CA. Homelessness is a challenge and an ugly problem in both places, but I will say that the HNL homelessness has much less of the 'heroin-chic' vibe that I saw in Berkeley. Less tattooed runaways, junkies with guitars and dogs and the like. I have a 'good' job, but if I were laid off I would be about two paychecks away from losing my housing, with little to no family to take me in. The cost of living here is too high, and I plan to move sooner than later (not back to Berkeley -- same problem).
I've heard (probably a rumor) that mainland cities will buy the homeless a one way ticket to HNL because we are, relatively, pretty good to our homeless. This criminalization is very new. The article doesn't speak of the abject poverty outside of tourist zones, where whole families are living in tents and commuting to work/school, there is no wireless service or even running water -- these are the folks that should be prioritized, with the money from the tourist industry which requires a certain degree of homeless expulsion from commercial centers.
I've heard (probably a rumor) that mainland cities will buy the homeless a one way ticket to HNL because we are, relatively, pretty good to our homeless. This criminalization is very new. The article doesn't speak of the abject poverty outside of tourist zones, where whole families are living in tents and commuting to work/school, there is no wireless service or even running water -- these are the folks that should be prioritized, with the money from the tourist industry which requires a certain degree of homeless expulsion from commercial centers.
11
It's a rumor, one that you hear in every city with a large homeless population.
Look at the homeless in Honolulu. They are overwhelmingly of Asian and Pacific Island descent.
Look at the homeless in Honolulu. They are overwhelmingly of Asian and Pacific Island descent.
2
Homelessness in Hawaii, as is the case elsewhere, is directly linked to deinstitutionalization, although in Hawaii's case, the Territorial Hospital (opened 1930) was never sufficient as the territory's population grew.
In the case of a chronic alcoholic such as McCarroll who refuses medical help for alcoholism, a court guardianship should be created, mandating monthly injections of naltrexone. Putting bandages on wounds from is fall is merely enabling him to be a danger to himself. For medical professionals to patch him up and set him loose to drink again is the equivalent of doing harm.
In the case of a chronic alcoholic such as McCarroll who refuses medical help for alcoholism, a court guardianship should be created, mandating monthly injections of naltrexone. Putting bandages on wounds from is fall is merely enabling him to be a danger to himself. For medical professionals to patch him up and set him loose to drink again is the equivalent of doing harm.
23
You want the government to forcibly inject someone because they have a drinking problem? That's absolutely horrifying.
2
The man is responsibile for his own actions,all medical professionals can do is their job which is handle him medically.
I am a long time resident of Oahu and although the information in the article is legitimate, there is an excessive focus on the punitive measures taken. Yes, the homeless deserve more facilities and attention but I submit that the ordinary, tax-paying and law abiding citizens of the area should have some say and rights regarding violation of 1. visual aesthetics 2. grounds and public places trashed 3. access to sidewalks and pathways 4. business being affected by homeless on the sidewalks (e.g. Chinatown), 5. safety - threat of being accosted and even assaulted, 6. prevention in use of parks, 7. adverse effect on economy which is largely dependent on tourism, 8. domestic water wasted and public restrooms made dirty/trashed . Second, what are the responsibilities of the homeless to accept shelter if offered: word is out that the majority refuse to accept shelter and there is no way to force them (e.g. too far away, too crowded, too many rules, no pets, no sun, etc.). Our we as a society and represented by our local government obligated to provide a shelter complete with all tourism amenities? I suspect that the more that is offered, the more homeless will come from the mainland - where else can you have sun all year around and no threat of freezing to death.
17
"But these days, the homeless who had crowded large parts of this city are, to a considerable extent, gone."
I've lived on Oahu since 1997, this is utter nonsense. All it takes is a walk two or three blocks from the main areas to find clusters of destitute individuals and families piled up on medians and vacant dead end streets.
A lot of these people are not transplants, they are people who have family ties going back to the original settling of the islands. People are being choked out by a housing market that requires a minimal household income of over $100K/year to, in some cases, be able to afford a one bedroom apartment.
Also, unlike other parts of the country, you can't just load the family in the car when things get too expensive.
An epidemic of homelessness in Hawaii has only just begun and we haven't even touched on a humane and sustainable way to address it.
I've lived on Oahu since 1997, this is utter nonsense. All it takes is a walk two or three blocks from the main areas to find clusters of destitute individuals and families piled up on medians and vacant dead end streets.
A lot of these people are not transplants, they are people who have family ties going back to the original settling of the islands. People are being choked out by a housing market that requires a minimal household income of over $100K/year to, in some cases, be able to afford a one bedroom apartment.
Also, unlike other parts of the country, you can't just load the family in the car when things get too expensive.
An epidemic of homelessness in Hawaii has only just begun and we haven't even touched on a humane and sustainable way to address it.
16
I am a long-time resident of Hawaii and visit Waikiki daily. I have many friends among the homeless and sympathize with them greatly. The vast majority are either mentally ill, addicted to something, or both.
That said, I am also aware that, unlike other states, Hawaii's economy is almost totally dependent on tourism...that is, offering our visitors an experience that justifies the considerable expense of getting here. So, the sight of filthy, panhandling drunks is just not good for business. And it's not good for the many people here whose livelihood depends on our tourism industry.
If we don't take harsh measures to remove the homeless from Waikiki (and, yes, offer them assistance), the folks who work there may very soon find themselves out of a job, and our homeless situation will become even worse.
That said, I am also aware that, unlike other states, Hawaii's economy is almost totally dependent on tourism...that is, offering our visitors an experience that justifies the considerable expense of getting here. So, the sight of filthy, panhandling drunks is just not good for business. And it's not good for the many people here whose livelihood depends on our tourism industry.
If we don't take harsh measures to remove the homeless from Waikiki (and, yes, offer them assistance), the folks who work there may very soon find themselves out of a job, and our homeless situation will become even worse.
16
Did the reporter get this quote wrong? "'We had to go from the state side of the street to the city property,' said Brian Bowser, 36, who has been homeless since 1995." Actually, everyone I've spoken with here has said the opposite. The city is doing the sweeps and ticketing. The state is not. People who are homeless are well aware of this. Why would he say they had to go from the state property to the city property?
5
Many of the homeless seem to be from the mainland and are mentally ill our have alcohol and drug issues. I've seen many west of Honolulu who are from other Pacific islands living in tents and in the parks. They seem pretty carefree and surf and party everyday. They've taken over the parks. Tourism dollars will suffer if they don't get a fix on this problem.
11
It isn't difficult to feel compassion for the homeless who have mental issues or have had some bad luck.
As a resident of Los Angeles, though, it's very difficult to feel compassion for the group of able-bodied 30-something men who spend their days drinking under the bridge near my home, threatening pedestrians, and spewing garbage everywhere.
No, not all homeless are criminals - but not all of them are victims, either.
There needs to be more enforcement of public decency laws. I am a tax-paying citizen. I have the right not to be harassed and have my neighborhood trashed by people who do not care about anything other than getting high and robbing to support their drug and alcohol habit.
As a resident of Los Angeles, though, it's very difficult to feel compassion for the group of able-bodied 30-something men who spend their days drinking under the bridge near my home, threatening pedestrians, and spewing garbage everywhere.
No, not all homeless are criminals - but not all of them are victims, either.
There needs to be more enforcement of public decency laws. I am a tax-paying citizen. I have the right not to be harassed and have my neighborhood trashed by people who do not care about anything other than getting high and robbing to support their drug and alcohol habit.
31
The minimum wage needs to be raised here, as do teacher salaries. It's crazy what most people get paid here vs. what people have to pay in rent for a small, basic place. Greedy employers, greedy landlords. I briefly lived in an apartment building that is applauded here as an example of a great housing program for median income residents. It was ridiculous. I paid $1350 in rent for a small studio with thin walls plus $135 for parking, average $120 electric (without running the air-conditioning much), and $70 for internet (which I needed for online classes to maintain my teaching license). I had to pay $5 just to purchase a laundry card in the building. Seriously, $5 just for the plastic card with no value on it toward a laundry load. There was no air flow in the hallway or elevator. Yet this was a rent-controlled situation, and people still felt like they were getting a good deal compared to what is charged elsewhere. There was a very narrow income requirement to qualify for the apartments, and if residents’ income changed, sometimes just slightly, they were evicted. At the time, I was also paying 50% of an unusually expensive teacher health insurance plan, by far the most I've ever had to contribute to a teacher health plan. A teaching license here costs $480. There are many wonderful things about Hawaii, but some of the employer and landlord practices are incredibly frustrating and lead many to homelessness. I’ve feared ending up homeless here myself.
44
Greedy landlords, eh? Wait'll that boondoggle over budget and over deadline rail project continues and the city decides to raise property taxes.
Then you'll think "greedy landlords" when rents rise accordingly...
Then you'll think "greedy landlords" when rents rise accordingly...
2
So I guess I won't be visiting Hawaii any time soon.
11
A person who is homeless due to losing a job in a bad economy is different from one who is homeless due to drugs or alcohol. The first group deserves help and should be able to recover. The second group deserves less help and may never recover.
Two wonderful programs were created during the great depression—the WPA, or Works Progress Administration, which employed millions of people on worthy infrastructure projects like roads, and the CCC, or Civilian Conservation Corps, which employed young men to work on conservation project like parks. Those programs got millions of people back to work and helped head off the kind of drug and alcohol related homelessness that we see today.
Some of today’s homeless are too far gone to benefit from programs like WPA and CCC, but those programs could still reduce future homelessness. Also, those employed in such programs could build the kinds of shelters needed to house the chronically homeless. WPA’s and CCC’s pay was low but it was greater than zero. Many of those who could work in such programs would rather receive payments for doing nothing, many liberals would resist them as being “unfair,” and some businesses would resist them because they would compete with those businesses. However, we are on an unsustainable path to national ruin, and something like these old New Deal programs is badly needed.
Two wonderful programs were created during the great depression—the WPA, or Works Progress Administration, which employed millions of people on worthy infrastructure projects like roads, and the CCC, or Civilian Conservation Corps, which employed young men to work on conservation project like parks. Those programs got millions of people back to work and helped head off the kind of drug and alcohol related homelessness that we see today.
Some of today’s homeless are too far gone to benefit from programs like WPA and CCC, but those programs could still reduce future homelessness. Also, those employed in such programs could build the kinds of shelters needed to house the chronically homeless. WPA’s and CCC’s pay was low but it was greater than zero. Many of those who could work in such programs would rather receive payments for doing nothing, many liberals would resist them as being “unfair,” and some businesses would resist them because they would compete with those businesses. However, we are on an unsustainable path to national ruin, and something like these old New Deal programs is badly needed.
31
I'm stunned you would write that "the second group deserves less help." The percentage of people who are homeless because they lost decent jobs due to an economic downturn is small. The percentage of people who are homeless due to addiction or mental illness is huge. To suggest that such people are less deserving of help is awfully heartless. If you had a schizophrenic friend or family member who was roaming the streets you wouldn't consider them deserving of help? A lot of people with addictions and mental health issues get better and lead productive lives if they receive appropriate treatment.
6
Your excellent idea to categorize the homeless persons into groups that deserve help, such as those who are homeless due to a poor economy, and those who do not deserve help, such as those who are homeless due to drugs and alcohol merits further refinement. I suggest a 10 point federal rating scale, with homelessness due to the economy at 10, the maximum assistance. Persons homeless due to drugs or alcohol would receive a 3 level of assistance, but could bump themselves up to 4 if they go to a house of worship every week, and a 5 if it is a Christian church. Persons homeless because they turned to drugs and alcohol after becoming unemployed due to a poor economy will only get a 1 because they are throwing a wrench into the whole thing.
3
Personal responsibility should be considered. The person who is homeless due to his or her own actions is in my view less deserving than someone in that situation due to external forces. I don't think that's heartless.
7
My idea of a vacation in paradise does not involve avoiding falling into piles of human feces decorated with needles stinking up the sidewalk, while avoiding aggressive panhandlers.
Call me heartless.
Call me heartless.
41
I was just there in October, for the second time since 2011. I found the homeless problem to be even worse now than then. You just described my two weeks on Oahu. We stayed in Waikiki and also in Laie; we tried camping in Laie and the campground was overrun with mentally ill people, drug users openly using, human feces & tribe, and it was terrifying to even walk to the latrine alone, let alone the beach and leave anything out for five minutes. (I've lived in Manhattan and a not-then-very-safe area of Brooklyn and never felt as unsafe there waiting for the G train late at night as I have in some parts of Oahu.) Ended up in a Marriott there. Every public park & beach we went to - homeless people living under trash bags & tarps. In bushes. Everywhere around the entire island. Except the one across from the Laie Marriott and one in Kailua. I will never go back to Oahu unless it's for work.
11
And why should Hawaii and Honolulu accept the homeless? They don't pay any taxes, they are not people that are easily dealt with and yet the NYT wants us to feel bad for them.
As the NYT tells us endless "stories" of homeless, like those of illegal immigrants, it finds it necessary to cast the people who are tired of the endless taking advantage of this country's and state's and cities good nature and willingness to help those less privileged, it ignores the reality of the problem.
It takes money, lots of it to "solve" the problem like the NYT, ACLU, advocacy groups, etc. would like it to be solved. Where does that come from? From overtaxed and underrepresented working class and small business people. Who helps them? Who speaks for them? And for the return they get for their taxes paid?
Of course, like all the bleeding heart liberals, this doesn't matter, because it's OTHER PEOPLE"S MONEY and the people who advocate never have to live with the consequences of their policies as they live in better neighborhoods and don't interact with the illegals or the homeless.
In NYC we've had enough of the "progressive" policies of our useless Mayor DeBlasio. This is just yet another state, another place that the NYT can spread it's morally superior tone, yet never offer any real acknowledgement that their "solutions" really aren't, for the rest of us.
As the NYT tells us endless "stories" of homeless, like those of illegal immigrants, it finds it necessary to cast the people who are tired of the endless taking advantage of this country's and state's and cities good nature and willingness to help those less privileged, it ignores the reality of the problem.
It takes money, lots of it to "solve" the problem like the NYT, ACLU, advocacy groups, etc. would like it to be solved. Where does that come from? From overtaxed and underrepresented working class and small business people. Who helps them? Who speaks for them? And for the return they get for their taxes paid?
Of course, like all the bleeding heart liberals, this doesn't matter, because it's OTHER PEOPLE"S MONEY and the people who advocate never have to live with the consequences of their policies as they live in better neighborhoods and don't interact with the illegals or the homeless.
In NYC we've had enough of the "progressive" policies of our useless Mayor DeBlasio. This is just yet another state, another place that the NYT can spread it's morally superior tone, yet never offer any real acknowledgement that their "solutions" really aren't, for the rest of us.
42
The mayor had to move the homeless panhandlers out of Waikiki lest they kill the goose that laid the golden egg. However, the indigents merely moved a few miles to the state park in Kaka'ako, right next to the University of Hawaii Medical School and Cancer Center. I was there this morning, and there are hundreds of tents in the park, many enlarged with packing crate floors, and clothes lines festooned with laundry are strung between coconut trees. More tents are erected every day. The mayor may be cracking down on the city jurisdictions, but the governor is allowing this situation to fester and grow on the state lands.
35
This is a good approach. I just wish LA would get tougher. Get the mentally ill off the streets, put the rest to work (pushing brooms would be fine).
24
If I remember right, it was Ronald Regan in the 80's that closed many Gov mental health facilities. Essentially putting all of these people out on to the streets. Making it the State, and Local cities there problem. Now you want the Gov to open them back up, and put them back in? It's going to cost tax money. A whole lot!
2
"But these days, the homeless who had crowded large parts of this city are gone."
Oh really? I live in Honolulu, and we have entire tent settlements just 2 blocks away! I stopped going to the local coffee-shops, because they have turned into defacto homeless shelters, with shopping carts filled with junk "parked" in a row outside, almost every table inside taken up with homeless sleeping or charging their devices, all with no visible purchases. Even my local supermarket, which has a small dining section for customers to sit, usually has 2-3 homeless people sitting there, surrounded by bags and trash they litter. Repeated requests to security result in "My hands are tied. Corporate won't let us do anything."
Oh really? I live in Honolulu, and we have entire tent settlements just 2 blocks away! I stopped going to the local coffee-shops, because they have turned into defacto homeless shelters, with shopping carts filled with junk "parked" in a row outside, almost every table inside taken up with homeless sleeping or charging their devices, all with no visible purchases. Even my local supermarket, which has a small dining section for customers to sit, usually has 2-3 homeless people sitting there, surrounded by bags and trash they litter. Repeated requests to security result in "My hands are tied. Corporate won't let us do anything."
89
" And the tourist industry put up money to cover airfare for homeless people who had come from the mainland and who said they were ready to go home.”
Words do not fail me. They’re just not printable in the NYTimes.
Words do not fail me. They’re just not printable in the NYTimes.
10
Sounds eminently reasonable to me. These people came from the mainland and are ready to go back. It's very far from exporting your own problem; it's not patient dumping. So why the moralistic, barely suppressed outrage?
4
I've been in Honolulu twice in the past two years. The sheer number of homeless sleeping near the beach near the Ala Moana State Park was astonishing. It wasn't quite to the point of the famous shot in Gone With The Wind of the huge number of wounded, but it was getting there.
But it's hard to think of a solution that does not involve breaking up the almost encampments of homeless
But it's hard to think of a solution that does not involve breaking up the almost encampments of homeless
49
House them.
6
Most housing has curfews and rules like no drinking or drug use. Housing would work for people who are homeless because they have fallen on hard times. Housing is not a simple solution for the mentally ill and the addicted. It's just not that easy.
26
Not all homeless in Honolulu are alcoholics, drug dependent or jobless persons. Some have jobs and could pay rent if rental properties were available. The reason rental properties are not available to these homeless is they have poor credit. It is just about impossible to rent an apartment in Honolulu if you can't pass a credit check. How about the city backing these homeless people with real estate property managers if the homeless can show continuous pay stubs for six months indicating they can afford to rent an apartment. Might not solve the homeless problem there, but it would reduce it somewhat.
14
Reading these comments is absolutely horrifying!!
Living in Honolulu for 60 years, over the last 10 EVERY news story about the homeless produced the same inane comments.
"Put ‘em in jail. Make ‘em get a job! Liberals let them do this! Why should WE have to put up with these dirty people!! They leave a mess, defecate and urinate on the streets. THEY’RE ANIMALS!”
What is WRONG with you all? I know what it is...it’s that “lucky sperm” that Warren Buffett refers to. YOU had parents and grew up in a home where you weren’t beaten by an alcoholic abusive parent...or raised in a foster home. You had food in the house...you went to school. You had a high enough IQ to graduate, perhaps go to college, didn’t get pregnant at 14.
You never had a mental illness. You have no clue what schizophrenia is...what it’s like to have auditory and visual hallucinations that no medication can help. Your brain worked correctly enough to hold down a job...you weren’t being chased by monsters or just couldn’t think straight for even a minute.
You end up in fights, end up so confused you can’t find your way home...then you are alone..on the streets...family has abandoned you as they can’t have you hurting another family member---but you didn’t mean to!!
9 percent of these homeless are our vets! While YOU stayed home, they fought these wars...now they have PTSD, TBI, schizoid and on the streets. Thank you for your service!
GO! Go work in a shelter--get to know ONE homeless person!
Living in Honolulu for 60 years, over the last 10 EVERY news story about the homeless produced the same inane comments.
"Put ‘em in jail. Make ‘em get a job! Liberals let them do this! Why should WE have to put up with these dirty people!! They leave a mess, defecate and urinate on the streets. THEY’RE ANIMALS!”
What is WRONG with you all? I know what it is...it’s that “lucky sperm” that Warren Buffett refers to. YOU had parents and grew up in a home where you weren’t beaten by an alcoholic abusive parent...or raised in a foster home. You had food in the house...you went to school. You had a high enough IQ to graduate, perhaps go to college, didn’t get pregnant at 14.
You never had a mental illness. You have no clue what schizophrenia is...what it’s like to have auditory and visual hallucinations that no medication can help. Your brain worked correctly enough to hold down a job...you weren’t being chased by monsters or just couldn’t think straight for even a minute.
You end up in fights, end up so confused you can’t find your way home...then you are alone..on the streets...family has abandoned you as they can’t have you hurting another family member---but you didn’t mean to!!
9 percent of these homeless are our vets! While YOU stayed home, they fought these wars...now they have PTSD, TBI, schizoid and on the streets. Thank you for your service!
GO! Go work in a shelter--get to know ONE homeless person!
48
There are people preventing the creation of mental institutions, and people who are opposed to forcing the mentally ill to go there. They would rather hold the mentally ill hostage on the street until...something happens. I have no idea what that something is. What is that something? If the something is housing, I fully support it. But I won't contribute a dime unless it is in low cost of living areas of the US.
Can we come to an agreement on what to do? Or will you continue to hold the mentally ill homeless hostage for....something?
Can we come to an agreement on what to do? Or will you continue to hold the mentally ill homeless hostage for....something?
3
How is that a concern of anyone outside a very small circle of friends and family? The total absolution of personal responsibility has become epidemic.
4
I go to Hawaii every year, almost stopped. These are public places and should not be for the exclusive use of the substance impaired. It is not a right to be an addict, refusing treatment should be more uncomfortable to do. Hence the new rules.
18
yeah, sanitize the city so we don't have the see the effects of the last 30 years of economic manipulation and lack of services for people in need. If pay 60% or more of my income to taxes if I knew homelessness could be solved with services and welfare. I would, and many of my fellow millenial socialists would as well.
13
How do you live most of your 55 YEARS on the streets? You want to.
22
Thieves like us.
"Homelessness is a national problem, and needs a national solution. This is because homeless people are quite mobile, and will relocate to where they receive the most benefits, overloading local communities."
You think it's bad now...wait until those $15 local minimum wage laws go into effect.
You think it's bad now...wait until those $15 local minimum wage laws go into effect.
8
The one thing missing from the so-called services offered homeless populations is actual homes. There are sustainable, well-designed, cost-effective ways to build housing, yet we criminalize people and shove them into shelters or jails, which by the way, are very expensive. Sure, there are those who are intractably homeless, but studies have shown that many chronically homeless people, including addicts, will stay in homes, if they are provided, even without other services.
13
You are right. It is probably much cheaper to build and maintain housing and needed mental health service for the homeless than it is for us to pay to keep them in prison.
1
Just speaking from what I saw living in the SF Bay Area (& knowing a few people who ended up homeless), even if housing is provided, if it is not near large numbers of employed people who can be spare changed, or garbage cans with discarded lunches that can be scrounged, then homeless people aren't going to want to live there. There's a reason you seldom see homeless people in remote areas, the pickings are too slim.
I understand Hawaii's efforts. Their biggest economic product is tourism. Hawaii have a vested interest in cracking down on homelessness in a way that major cities like New York, LA and Chicago don't because the state relies much more heavily on providing a paradisiacal experience for outsiders. Without tourism, the state potentially loses revenue that benefits tax-paying citizens of the state.
7
Safe, affordable housing is a benchmark of democracy and creates stability in families and communities. Home ownership creates community and personal pride. Homelessness is a by product of the 40+ year agenda to ignore the sickest and poorest in society. Ronald Reagan closed mental institutions and his supposed substitution ideas did not materialize so prisons took over. WE must change America's agenda to one with a social conscience on November 8 and every election before and after.
20
The mental institutions were closed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, not under Reagan. Sorry. Try again?
8
To: Here
Reagan signed legislation as governor of California closing the state's public mental health institutions, the lanterman-Petris-short Act in 1967
So there...
Reagan signed legislation as governor of California closing the state's public mental health institutions, the lanterman-Petris-short Act in 1967
So there...
10
Hey, Here--Don't be so quick to absolve Reagan. The article linked below explains Reagan's role in the explosion of homelessness. Basically, the de-institutionalization of the mentally ill was predicated on the flawed idea that with the promising, newly available drugs, chronic mental illness could be managed on the community level. But Mr. Reagan gutted the very funding that had been set aside to help communities manage the problem in conjunction with local medical facilities. And that began in California in the 1960s, under Reagan's governorship.
http://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/30/science/how-release-of-mental-patients...
http://www.nytimes.com/1984/10/30/science/how-release-of-mental-patients...
1
Maybe the mayor of Honolulu should have entered into an agreement to move all of the homeless people to one of the islands where they can sleep on the beach or on sidewalks without worry of harassment by authorities. A real win-win. The state could keep the tourist areas clean, and the homeless can have their own areas to sleep and work and do whatever else they want to do without being harassed by authorities.
5
Lanai would probably qualify but I'm not sure what the homeless would do there.
4
Totally agree. To be part of a society there are rules. The infrastructure is also paid for and maintained by our tax dollars. If you don't like the rules you are free to leave. Don't stay here in plain view, obstructing our walkways, useing our public areas as restroom. Examples from past incidents,entrance to our children's center or sidewalks, front of businesses, bus stops. It is filthy and we are tired of this abuse. There are many services we pay for with our tax dollars to help but most of the homeless you see turn it down. They need to be tracked and sent away at the same time helping those which accept the help. My brother worked for the city searching and reaching out to the homeless and he says most turn down the services. As for tourism, they pay more taxes then we do and should be welcomed by us since they are a very important part of our economy wether ppl like it or not. Right on to the Mayor and those working to fix this problem. Checkout Sandiego. BTW , the majority of self claimed
Homeless here are not from here! Stop lying
Homeless here are not from here! Stop lying
29
I have lived in Waikik for 14 years and have watched the homeless problem get worse and worse.I am 80 years old. Because I have no car, I walk , ride my bike or take the bus everywhere. The homeless occupy bus stops, parks and side walks where I go daily. The Ala Wai Promenade ,a lovely wide shady walkway with benches just below the Convention Center is occupied most of the time by young and middle aged homeless men with their tents, tarps, and shopping carts . They urinate in the bushes and wash their clothes in the fountain.Their tarp covered possessions are left there overnight. What this all means to those of us live here is that beautiful quiet public spaces are no longer really public.
I am surprised at some of the places the homeless are allowed to camp. For the last two weeks there has been a urine reeking encampment on the traffic island on the busiest intersection in town -- Ala Moana Blvd. and Atkinson.
I am surprised at some of the places the homeless are allowed to camp. For the last two weeks there has been a urine reeking encampment on the traffic island on the busiest intersection in town -- Ala Moana Blvd. and Atkinson.
62
Happy things worked out for you.
H
1
Homelessness is the end result of several intersecting problems, a main one being the number of people who are seriously mentally ill. This problem needs to be addressed legally and humanely with a considerable outlay of money. Problem number two is the drug addiction problem. Not everyone wants to be responsible and sober. Third, there are people who just want to panhandle and that's their life. Some are very aggressive about it as well. Better facilities would help, but not solve these disturbing problems which call into question people's rights to walk down a city street without encountering disgusting and inappropriate behaviors.
14
in Maui, a fair number of the homeless got there by getting money from their mainland County welfare departments. I have not seen this brought up in the article.
27
As I travel around the country, there has always been someone to tell me that the local homeless were all sent there by the welfare departments of other cities. I have heard this in Portland, Seattle, San Francisco, Denver, and countless other cities, not to mention both Honolulu and Maui.
The fact is that warmer cities have larger homeless populations, because sleeping outside in Minneapolis in January is life-threatening. Volunteering in Portland, I encountered homeless people who hitched or hopped a freight train from the Midwest in the fall.
As far as Maui is concerned, do you not know about the decline of the agriculture industry, which threw so many unskilled workers out of a job? And having seen the homeless population of Waikiki in 2013, I can say that they did not look like Mainlanders. The vast majority of homeless people on the Mainland are white, black, or Native American. Almost all the homeless on Waikiki appeared to be East Asian or Polynesian.
I have heard from a friend who works with the homeless in Honolulu that a lot of the Caucasians on the streets are young people who had a romantic notion of running away to a tropical paradise and found a place with few living-wage jobs.
The fact is that warmer cities have larger homeless populations, because sleeping outside in Minneapolis in January is life-threatening. Volunteering in Portland, I encountered homeless people who hitched or hopped a freight train from the Midwest in the fall.
As far as Maui is concerned, do you not know about the decline of the agriculture industry, which threw so many unskilled workers out of a job? And having seen the homeless population of Waikiki in 2013, I can say that they did not look like Mainlanders. The vast majority of homeless people on the Mainland are white, black, or Native American. Almost all the homeless on Waikiki appeared to be East Asian or Polynesian.
I have heard from a friend who works with the homeless in Honolulu that a lot of the Caucasians on the streets are young people who had a romantic notion of running away to a tropical paradise and found a place with few living-wage jobs.
5
It would have been helpful to see an interview of someone in transition away from the streets. Someone who decided to get rehab, live in those shelters others turned away from or seek out a sober living facility (aka halfway house).
If they are doing in Hawai'i why can't others? It seems that could be a real bridge from a homeless life to a productive one.
Ask them what it took to make that happen?
If they are doing in Hawai'i why can't others? It seems that could be a real bridge from a homeless life to a productive one.
Ask them what it took to make that happen?
3
I was born and raised in Honolulu. Moved abroad for more opportunities, but return to Oahu 2-3 times every year to visit family. What I've noticed over the last two years is that there are MORE homeless in Honolulu and they are NOT from Hawaii (or the Marshall Islands). Many of them are from the U.S. Mainland and lug around duffle bags or travel carry-on bags, sometimes even suitcases! They wander around Ala Moana Center, Waikiki and downtown Honolulu trying to look like tourists except they look dirty, smell awful and glare at you if you ignore their pleas for money. Their belongings and trash create public nuisance and danger. Just this week a jogger tripped on homeless belongings lying on a popular running path. The jogger became entangled in fishing line with a hook embedded in his shin! Hawaii residents are primarily kind and generous (to a fault sometimes), but there is a price to living in paradise and many work long hours (and even 2 jobs) to afford it. The chronic homeless need to get their okole (rear end) off the ground and either work hard to get off public benefits (paid in part by my Hawaii taxpayer dollars) or move off the island. Mentally ill homeless should be institutionalized (on the federal government's expense) if they refuse the generous services offered by IHS and other local non-profits. The federal HHS should provide the State of Hawaii MORE money for the homeless problem, not less.
35
The homeless often get lumped onto a single category, when there are very different reasons for their status. There are people who are severely mentally ill such that it is unlikely they can ever be pressured to try to change their status and they have a very distinct set of issues and possible solutions. There are people who have had some collapse of a safety net such as a job, support or housing source and simply are trapped who perhaps are the best target group for aid, training and sympathy. Then there are the "elective" homeless who have made decisions, often involving drugs or alcohol, and frequently some mental health challenges, but not as severe as the first group. It sounds like many described in this article are in this third group. I believe this last group is the least deserving of aid and sympathy. Changing the "attractiveness" of the homeless lifestyle may in fact be the right solution for this group.
16
What an outrage. This carrot and stick approach reminds me of a passage from "Rappin Ron Reagan"...
"... got a big civil service that will hire your best, and a volunteer army that will take the rest..."
Subsitute treatment centers and prison.
Criminalization of being down and out. Thats rich. If this is the new coded disenfranchisement of "other" Im not having it. Hawaii can get their tourism dollars from someone else. Despicable.
"... got a big civil service that will hire your best, and a volunteer army that will take the rest..."
Subsitute treatment centers and prison.
Criminalization of being down and out. Thats rich. If this is the new coded disenfranchisement of "other" Im not having it. Hawaii can get their tourism dollars from someone else. Despicable.
3
I applaud Honolulu for coming up with a solution that benefits both the city and the homeless. I only wish we could have the same type of program created in SF instead of letting the homeless and drug addicted control the city with the police telling tax paying citizens that there is nothing that they can do. As a former New Yorker, I have seen good and bad homeless programs in NYC but SF is going down hill very quickly.
83
So you’re a taxpayer. Well, harummpph and all that. You paid your club dues and now you have the right to dump on anyone who can’t come up with the cash needed for entry to your club.
Only one catch - the USA is not a club.
Get over yourself.
Please.
Only one catch - the USA is not a club.
Get over yourself.
Please.
6
Ian, unless you have spent a significant amount of time in SF recently, you probably cannot imagine the extent of the homelessness and the city's inaction in dealing with it. I am not afraid of homeless people. I say hello to them. I give them money and food. But what I really don't like is being urinated and spat on, chased, yelled at, threatened, public defecation, having to watch out for feces on the sidewalk, and being surrounded by two or more people who aggressively solicit money making me feel like I have no choice but to give it to them or there will be consequences. It sucks. West Palm Beach is nothing like what I have described.
21
SF is going downhill! Good one. I'm afraid it's true, and very sad. We don't seem to care what our tourists' experience is, not to mention the locals'. One fetid person can stink up a whole MUNI bus. Try calling the police about that. The best the bus operator can do is take the vehicle out of service, compelling everyone who is not causing a problem to to seek alternate transportation. Two churches in my neighborhood are a magnet for homeless people, but their restrooms aren't open 24/7, so the streets are pooled with sewage. The problem is seriously entrenched here, and nothing anyone has done has had a measurable effect for long, because, as another commenter pointed out, this is a problem affecting the whole country, and the more temperate the weather/tolerant (to a fault) the city, the worse it is.
7
Ladies and gents of the mainland:
I present to you our Mayor, kick-em-when-their-down Caldwell, a dude who's firmly in the pocket of local and national land developers. The steep increase in homelessness in HI is just the logical consequence of him financing his $10 Billion elevated rail project via a FLAT excise tax on a city of less than 1 mil. that already has the highest per capita cost of living nationally and one of the most unequal income distribution curves (median income is much lower than mean income).
The sit-lie laws are his way of herding the homeless away from choice areas along the rail route that his paymasters are developing. For example, local businessman Colbert Matsumoto purchased several key properties along the route days before Caldwell appointed him to the very board overseeing rail development!
Ticketing the homeless is not some tough-love policy. It's part of a larger initiative designed to replenish city coffers by increasing ticketing overall that’s also included such gems as ticketing j-walkers who enter crosswalks during the flashing red hand and posting deliberately contradictory sets of parking signs near popular beaches.
Finally mainlanders, look at yourselves in the mirror. Most homeless in Hawaii are relocated mainlanders who've been furnished with one-way tickets by mainland municipalities. I assume the logic is with our good weather and Aloha, they'll be treated better. Judging by some of the other comments here, that's probably true.
I present to you our Mayor, kick-em-when-their-down Caldwell, a dude who's firmly in the pocket of local and national land developers. The steep increase in homelessness in HI is just the logical consequence of him financing his $10 Billion elevated rail project via a FLAT excise tax on a city of less than 1 mil. that already has the highest per capita cost of living nationally and one of the most unequal income distribution curves (median income is much lower than mean income).
The sit-lie laws are his way of herding the homeless away from choice areas along the rail route that his paymasters are developing. For example, local businessman Colbert Matsumoto purchased several key properties along the route days before Caldwell appointed him to the very board overseeing rail development!
Ticketing the homeless is not some tough-love policy. It's part of a larger initiative designed to replenish city coffers by increasing ticketing overall that’s also included such gems as ticketing j-walkers who enter crosswalks during the flashing red hand and posting deliberately contradictory sets of parking signs near popular beaches.
Finally mainlanders, look at yourselves in the mirror. Most homeless in Hawaii are relocated mainlanders who've been furnished with one-way tickets by mainland municipalities. I assume the logic is with our good weather and Aloha, they'll be treated better. Judging by some of the other comments here, that's probably true.
13
Honolulu's mayor coined the phrase "Compassionate disruption"— scary, to say the least. But if your economy is grounded in tourism you don't want to gum-up the foreground with reminders that not all sunning bodies on the beach have hotel rooms.
4
Forty years ago there was an elaborate network of social programs designed to the destitute. There were vouchers for landlords to house people, and psychiatric institutions for those in needed of counseling or medication. President Reagan gutted most of these in his New Federalism. He stated that it engendered fraud and diverted money from "the truly needy." By 1981, the homeless population in the USA exploded, whom the Reagan Administration devoutly ignored. Those without homes, or hospitals to aid them were dumped into cash-strapped cities and suburban communities ill-prepared to handle them.
If America truly wants to help the homeless, they need only look to the past and resurrect the domestic programs which were cut in the name of a balanced budget (which never appeared).
If America truly wants to help the homeless, they need only look to the past and resurrect the domestic programs which were cut in the name of a balanced budget (which never appeared).
28
typo-I meant NATIVE born.
I am angry that our govt. is more concerned about refugees from Syria and the people who crawled over the border than they are about U.S. citizens who are homeless. These new refugees will get all of the amenities, like placement, food, education, clothing and housing, LONG before our naive born down on their luck homeless will.
14
Honolulu was my home for 60 years until I moved here to the Mainland in 2010.
The homeless population really became a confusing mess. We had the chronically homeless--the mentally ill born in the islands, abandoned or who left their families as their schizophrenia caused a violent upheaval in the Ohana (family). Shelters were dangerous places and there was nowhere safe to keep your belongings--so you got shopping carts. I talked daily with one woman who had 5 shopping carts and moved from place to place.
I spent a lot of time in our city parks talking to the homeless, seeing who needed medical care or new dressings for their leg and foot wounds. There never was much of a problem--the homeless slept in the parks at night, then gathered up their stuff and stashed it away.
But it was the 2007-2009 recession when the explosion of the homeless became a serious problem. For the price of a one way plane ticket folks from the other 49 states could come to paradise. ALL the beaches are public--you can own a $20 million McMansion on the beach..but that strip of sand to the ocean belonged to everyone.
Housing is incredibly expensive as there is only so much land. You can’t build in watershed areas leaving little space. Homes of 500 sq feet started at $800,000. Most people rented...and the landlords? Auwe! (Oh-Vay!) One home swept away in a flash flood had 85 people in it! Subdivided with plywood into tiny spaces rented out at $1,000/mo.
I left my home. I see no solution.
The homeless population really became a confusing mess. We had the chronically homeless--the mentally ill born in the islands, abandoned or who left their families as their schizophrenia caused a violent upheaval in the Ohana (family). Shelters were dangerous places and there was nowhere safe to keep your belongings--so you got shopping carts. I talked daily with one woman who had 5 shopping carts and moved from place to place.
I spent a lot of time in our city parks talking to the homeless, seeing who needed medical care or new dressings for their leg and foot wounds. There never was much of a problem--the homeless slept in the parks at night, then gathered up their stuff and stashed it away.
But it was the 2007-2009 recession when the explosion of the homeless became a serious problem. For the price of a one way plane ticket folks from the other 49 states could come to paradise. ALL the beaches are public--you can own a $20 million McMansion on the beach..but that strip of sand to the ocean belonged to everyone.
Housing is incredibly expensive as there is only so much land. You can’t build in watershed areas leaving little space. Homes of 500 sq feet started at $800,000. Most people rented...and the landlords? Auwe! (Oh-Vay!) One home swept away in a flash flood had 85 people in it! Subdivided with plywood into tiny spaces rented out at $1,000/mo.
I left my home. I see no solution.
21
The right of an individual to live in public spaces has to be balanced with the right of the larger community to use the public spaces. The concentration of too many people living in a public space with all their belongings and without proper sanitation and facilities makes the space unusable by others. Homelessness shouldn't be criminalized, but something must be done because masses of people living in concentrated squalor is a public health nightmare and makes those areas unusable by anyone else.
52
Bums or homeless? Downtrodden or addicts?
If I were to pick anywhere on earth that I could live without working, it'd be Hawaii. Maybe not Honolulu, but definitely HI. Where the weather is kind and nature provides an abundance of free food. Mangoes, fish, coconuts...ahhh
Since Honolulu is packed with tourists the hand outs are everywhere... Its the perfect place to live if you want to be a bum. And there in lies the issue. How many of the homeless (they are now called transients in Santa Barbara) chose to be bums? In Santa Barbara we have hundreds of bums and a dozens of homeless. Most of the problems, most of the costs, are directed at the bums. Not the downtrodden or helpless. Unfortunately, those folks tend to be more shy and proud and neither ask nor seek help.
Remove the bums and you have people who actually want and need services and help that is available. Further pare off the mentally ill and you will be left with nothing but bums. The bums are not worthy of our regard or our hand, they are bums and they clog up the shelters, they clog up the services and they take the hand-ups away from the very people who need them.
Let's call most of these people what they are: Bums. Lazy, do-nothing bums bums. They are there by choice.
If I were to pick anywhere on earth that I could live without working, it'd be Hawaii. Maybe not Honolulu, but definitely HI. Where the weather is kind and nature provides an abundance of free food. Mangoes, fish, coconuts...ahhh
Since Honolulu is packed with tourists the hand outs are everywhere... Its the perfect place to live if you want to be a bum. And there in lies the issue. How many of the homeless (they are now called transients in Santa Barbara) chose to be bums? In Santa Barbara we have hundreds of bums and a dozens of homeless. Most of the problems, most of the costs, are directed at the bums. Not the downtrodden or helpless. Unfortunately, those folks tend to be more shy and proud and neither ask nor seek help.
Remove the bums and you have people who actually want and need services and help that is available. Further pare off the mentally ill and you will be left with nothing but bums. The bums are not worthy of our regard or our hand, they are bums and they clog up the shelters, they clog up the services and they take the hand-ups away from the very people who need them.
Let's call most of these people what they are: Bums. Lazy, do-nothing bums bums. They are there by choice.
35
Titles like this are so polemical and simple-minded. The absence of homeless has had a large part in making this what the Times calls a "paradise". When public spaces become filled with homeless--the pit bulls, the defecation, the arguments, the syringes, the aggressive panhandling-- the islands' attractiveness will fall and tourists will either stop coming or go only to gated resorts. And then the financial ability to help the homeless declines.
This is not a simple morality play, involving those with "compassion" and those who are Republicans.
This is not a simple morality play, involving those with "compassion" and those who are Republicans.
19
It appears that the ultra liberal, live and let live state of Hawaii has realized which side its bread is buttered on. The homeless are persona non grata when tourism dollars are threatened. Capitalism trumps feel good socialism. New York City needs to take a lesson from Honolulu.
18
Excellent policies, and clearly effective. I hope these are widely emulated.
The point is, they work. And yet, amazingly, the homeless seem to be as alive and healthy as they ever were.....
The point is, they work. And yet, amazingly, the homeless seem to be as alive and healthy as they ever were.....
4
Private property and all the laws that protect ownership prevent people from living without owning or renting property. That tiny bit of land owned by the government and reserved for "public use" has many restrictions on who can use it when or for what purpose. This continent was once open to all, both native Americans and immigrants and there was no such thing as "homelessness." We can't go back but maybe it's time to set aside public land outside cities where any and all can live at the survival level. Call it "Survivors' Park." Let them pitch their tents or build lean-tos. Provide well water and septic systems, the means to grow or obtain their own food from the land, and leave them to their own devices. Charities can bring in prepared food and medicine and meet any other physical needs. Those who choose to remain in cities will be subject to vagrancy laws and required to live in urban shelters or jail or mandatory commitment for mental or addiction treatment. In essence, they are already living at the survival level but being harrassed. In Survivors' Parks they wouldn't be harrassed.
8
Our population is too big. Who is going to provide all of this?
8
In other words, if you're homeless, aloha and aloha.
3
"Gee, we're sorry you scrimped and saved all year so you could take your two-week vacation with the kids in Honolulu, and now have to share the beach with legions of crashing ice-heads and ex-cons, their garbage bags full of possessions and pit-bulls. If only you were an entitled tech executive from Seattle or an investor from NYC, you'd be able to spend your vacay in Patagonia, on St. Kitts or at some Adriatic resort in Croatia where those things aren't an issue. After which you could post self-righteous "compassionate" comments to the Times and feel very good about yourself".
27
The population has to go somewhere. We can’t push them into the ocean.”
But this nation sure will try that eventually.
But this nation sure will try that eventually.
7
There are many more homeless people on the streets of Boston, where I live, than I have seen in past years. Many of the faces have become familiar to me as I walk the same route to and from work each day. The majority of the people I encounter who are experiencing homelessness are addicted to drugs and/or alcohol. There are so many issues involved here not the least of which is the past history of trauma many of these addicted and homeless people have experienced which contribute to the problem. There are usually long-term, significant mental health issues involved.
On the flip side, there are many areas of the city that the rest of us can no longer enjoy because they have been taken over by groups of homeless people "camping" out. These folks are rarely just sitting on the sidewalk minding their own business. Last week, I walked by an intoxicated person who was defecating on the sidewalk in open view of passersby. I regularly see a group of intoxicated homeless men arguing, fighting, falling over, lying in human waste, etc. Last summer I saw two homeless men fighting on the sidewalk and then tumbling into the street causing a very dangerous situation.
The twin issues of homelessness and addiction are monumental. But to simplify things by reducing the issue to whether or not cities allow the homeless to "sit on the sidewalk" is to miss the point for both sides in this equation.
On the flip side, there are many areas of the city that the rest of us can no longer enjoy because they have been taken over by groups of homeless people "camping" out. These folks are rarely just sitting on the sidewalk minding their own business. Last week, I walked by an intoxicated person who was defecating on the sidewalk in open view of passersby. I regularly see a group of intoxicated homeless men arguing, fighting, falling over, lying in human waste, etc. Last summer I saw two homeless men fighting on the sidewalk and then tumbling into the street causing a very dangerous situation.
The twin issues of homelessness and addiction are monumental. But to simplify things by reducing the issue to whether or not cities allow the homeless to "sit on the sidewalk" is to miss the point for both sides in this equation.
28
Ha, as though homeless people are on the streets and sidewalks because they want to be. This is akin to making your very existence illegal.
7
Please. That trope is very tired. Many do desire to remain on the street, if the alternative is a highly structured environment with rules that are enforced.
8
This is such a sad situation. Many of these people most likely have mental health issues and would benefit from treatment. We should care more for people than we do for tourism, but I guess money takes priority over everything for some. This could very well be our life or the life of someone we love and care about. Everyone should be treated with dignity and respect. By the grace of God go I. Hopefully these individuals can be helped or have family willing to assist them. I have never been homeless thank God, and I hate the thought of anyone not having a place to call home. It is just so disheartening to me. My prayers go out to these people that they will someday get the help they need.
3
I am disgusted by those commentators who categorically blame the homeless themselves for their situations. Does anyone really think the majority of the homeless WANT to be homeless? Those who live in the streets often suffer from mental health issues that lead them to reject the programs that could potentially help them. And someone who has lived most of her 55 years on the streets - what else does she know?
4
Ask those clogging the sidewalks with their tarps and their carts if they want to go to a shelter. I've asked them. The answer is no. If they wanted shelter, they would be at the shelter. The shelter is not good enough. It's crowded. They have no privacy. They feel threatened. No thanks to the good people keeping shelters open so they can be fed and housed like perpetual children, just complaints that "they" won't let them sleep during the day or "they" feed them crappy food. The majority of homeless on my streets do WANT to be there, for whatever bizarre reason. They habitually "reject the programs that could potentially help them" because such programs require they take some responsibility for themselves, and that's the last thing they want to do.
As hard as it is to believe, yes many do choose this "lifestyle."
As hard as it is to believe, yes many do choose this "lifestyle."
33
Before heavy urbanization and industrialization, most US folks lived in rural areas. Those on the 'wrong' end of life's bell-shaped curve were nonetheless provided a place 'to be' in their local communities, even if low end by today's standards. And everybody didn't watch the Tube and expect the life style of the rich and famous. There may have been 'cottages' in Newport, but nobody ever saw them.....
Today, we have no place for such less blessed folks..... whether they are in Hawaii or Mid Town Manhattan. Shame on us in many ways.....
Today, we have no place for such less blessed folks..... whether they are in Hawaii or Mid Town Manhattan. Shame on us in many ways.....
5
Living in Hawaii is expensive for everyone, not just the homeless. The article does not mention the effect on small businesses that have to put up with homeless hanging around their storefront. It is disruptive to commerce and especially affects those that are just trying to make a living; big corporations have security to deal with such a situation but not the average small business owner. The article also does no differentiate between the truly mentally ill (there are many such homeless and they are scary) homeless and those who are hanging out in public places and being a nuisance. It is annoying to hear the latter talk about "freedom" and "constitutional rights" when they are simply perceived to be loafers taking advantage of the system. Hawaii is a great place, people are generally friendly and donate generously to various drives to feed the hungry and needy, the nonprofits knock themselves out trying to help - but at the end of the day (unless you are mentally ill and require serious intervention), the homeless need to be part of their solution. Life is not Burger King - you don't always get to write your own rules and have it your way.
20
Homeless people have no business laying around on the streets and certainly not panhandling. Yes not all will be a nuisance, but that city has a right to do what it thinks is right. They do lower the living standard and increase crime. Liberals need to shut up or they can donate money to help these people.
12
I think you've confused increased criminalization with increased crime.
1
No I haven't confused anything. They are committing crimes. And yes they also increase the degree of 'criminalization' as well.
8
Most people would flock to Waikiki, which is understandable considering the bars were right on the beach, but in all honesty Chinatown is better for a number of reasons one being First Friday, aka Ong King. Chinatown on the other hand, depending on the time you’re there, does have a lot of homelessness. By day the area is flooded with people shopping for food and doing touristy things (cruise ships docked near Chinatown). During the daytime most of the homeless in that area would sleep nearby in Aala park and then during the nighttime, when all the shops are closed up, would sleep on cardboard within doorframes and under awnings to avoid any rain and drunkards. I remember seeing tents with children along this canal around N. King Street and at the waterfront park near Ala Moana beach. These were families sleeping outside. I remember while at Eat The Street there were a row of tents nearby and one tent had a cardboard sign telling everyone else to leave them alone. Talk about an island within an island. These people are limited to where they can go and it doesn’t help that Hawaii is one of the most expensive places on Earth.
This kind of reminds me of the short story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin, that someone, somewhere is suffering for the sake of “paradise” and it doesn't need to be this way. It shouldn't be this way.
This kind of reminds me of the short story “The Ones Who Walk Away from Omelas” by Ursula K. Le Guin, that someone, somewhere is suffering for the sake of “paradise” and it doesn't need to be this way. It shouldn't be this way.
4
Keeping up Appearances? Populations that look more like the middle age europe with a thriving few, many struggling and plenty living in abject poverty and 'untouchable caste' categories. Once a virtual primitive land, every 'wilderness' is succumbing to they relentless devastation of human over breeding, authoritarian disciplining and imaginary concepts of 'paradise'. This is nothing new to many regions of the world, also swarming with densities far exceeding this one island. The reefs are dying, the seas are being poisoned, the air is degrading and the 'jobmasters' worry about how to make it all seem so pleasant. Perhaps a cataclysmic event (out of human origin or control) could quash all this, bring the educated beings back to some level of humility and regeneration.
6
Given the expense of getting to Hawaii from the mainland, I should think that some vagabonds could be deterred by state legislation requiring proof of lodging or a residence to stay at for the duration of the visit and also by limiting the sale of one way tickets.
2
American citizens have the right to travel throughout the USA without restrictions. From your suggestion there is a categorical imperative that every state follow your same guidelines. Can you imagine each state having a border patrol?
4
Nice thought, but a U.S. citizen is a U.S. citizen and no state legislation can overcome their right to travel freely throughout the country. Furthermore, a lot of these one way tickets are being bought by municipalities in other states (usually California) looking to clear the homeless off their streets.
6
Read George Orwell's memoir, "Down and Out in Paris and London". Homeless men in 1930's England were "tramps" required to be on the move daily, between towns and horrible shelters (TB, hunger, vermin) which were govt subsidized and very profitable for owners. Terrible suffering was less publicly visible, since you weren't permitted to stay more than briefly in one place. Absurd, punitive strategies persist.
5
I have been a resident of Honolulu for about 50 years.
The number of people living on the streets here has risen dramatically with an influx of people, both young and old, from the Pacific Islands (the Marshalls and others) and from the continental US who have learned to take advantage of legal loopholes. It is a huge problem for our society.
There is plenty of room at shelters, but most of the street people do not want to use such services. Many of the younger ones view living in a tent as a cheap source of housing similar to camping. They have no motivation to find permanent housing. A lot of the older ones have mental problems and do not acknowledge that they need assistance.
There is no simple easy solution to this problem. It requires creating a strong incentive for street people to want to get off the street and into more suitable housing. Most people in Honolulu are very frustrated with the lack of progress in this regard.
The street people problem is a big drag on the tourist industry here, which is the most important source of jobs in the state.
The number of people living on the streets here has risen dramatically with an influx of people, both young and old, from the Pacific Islands (the Marshalls and others) and from the continental US who have learned to take advantage of legal loopholes. It is a huge problem for our society.
There is plenty of room at shelters, but most of the street people do not want to use such services. Many of the younger ones view living in a tent as a cheap source of housing similar to camping. They have no motivation to find permanent housing. A lot of the older ones have mental problems and do not acknowledge that they need assistance.
There is no simple easy solution to this problem. It requires creating a strong incentive for street people to want to get off the street and into more suitable housing. Most people in Honolulu are very frustrated with the lack of progress in this regard.
The street people problem is a big drag on the tourist industry here, which is the most important source of jobs in the state.
30
Laws will create fines that cannot be paid and fill jails, at taxpayer expense. As effective as burrowing one's head in the sand.
Homeless situations in large part trickle down from local economic conditions, mental heath care (or lack thereof) and various social factors.
It would be useful to know where the homeless are allowed to be (as opposed to where they aren't )? What is the capacity of shelters? What are the government and private organizations' outreach efforts ? What is the percentage of families, single adults, elderly among the homeless ? And how are local social services funded ?
Homeless situations in large part trickle down from local economic conditions, mental heath care (or lack thereof) and various social factors.
It would be useful to know where the homeless are allowed to be (as opposed to where they aren't )? What is the capacity of shelters? What are the government and private organizations' outreach efforts ? What is the percentage of families, single adults, elderly among the homeless ? And how are local social services funded ?
5
Ship them all to a "sanctuary" city like San Francisco, they'll take anyone.
7
If you don't like the solution, sponsor a homeless person in your home and be the change you want to be.
16
It's a numbers game. This is what late-stage capitalism looks like.
5
I suppose there will be no homeless in progressive Utopia.
7
The movie "Midnight Cowboy" with Dustin Hoffman and Jon Voight was my first lesson about homelessness. One was man, who was mentally disturbed, taught another, who was a compassionate young man looking to be an actor in Hollywood. The mentally disturbed man showed the young "cowboy" how to survive in the homeless world and part of it was traveling to warmer areas in the winter. The homeless problem today is much different than it was in the early 80s. Today families and elderly are on the street because they lost their job and/or homes because of the greed of the wealthiest. Average people are losing their place to live because of skyrocketing rents and home prices - again because of the greed of the wealthiest. WE must DEMAND that GREED BE REGULATED and put OUR national, state and local taxes into helping average people survive and thrive in America. It starts with decent, affordable housing.
11
It is there own greed to try take more than they can handle that got them into the mess they are in. How can a single public school teacher afford a million dollar home without doing something illegal?
answer: Greed and laws that insure that banks make money on giving loans to specific demographic and financial groups.
answer: Greed and laws that insure that banks make money on giving loans to specific demographic and financial groups.
6
Between the many gay guys and homeless ex-convicts all hiding out at Diamond Head that place has lost its glamour.
10
It is shocking to me that there is not one single mention in this piece that a huge portion of the homeless in Hawaii are from Micronesia.....and that most American's have absolutely no knowledge of America's horrifying history with Micronesia. We used them as a nuclear testing site before Hiroshima, nearly wiping these people off the face of the earth. We owe these people a lot more than washing them off the streets to make things look pretty for tourists.
22
Nonsense. If there's anyone out there who was affected by the bomb blasts, then our federal government owes them compensation. Howver, I doubt that any of Honolulu's homeless had any contact with nuclear testing.
Saying that a local municipal government "owes" them non-enforcement of criminal and community health laws is a huge non-sequitur. But when the purpose is to make people feel guilty, who needs logic?
Saying that a local municipal government "owes" them non-enforcement of criminal and community health laws is a huge non-sequitur. But when the purpose is to make people feel guilty, who needs logic?
7
“Sit-lie is about commerce. It’s about keeping sidewalks open for people to do business.”
Yep-gotta keep the commerce going at any cost. Wouldn't want to negatively affect "business".
Yep-gotta keep the commerce going at any cost. Wouldn't want to negatively affect "business".
2
If you don't have commerce, you don't have peopke who can pay the bills.
How are all those innovative, compassionate support programs working out in Detroit and Buffalo?
How are all those innovative, compassionate support programs working out in Detroit and Buffalo?
13
There's nothing wrong with leaving them to do what they're doing. I find it difficult to hear that people have such an objection or a problem with people sleeping or sitting on the street (panhandling is a different issue). They're not bothering you, unless you are bothered by the idea that people may not want or have the opportunity to have the life you have.
7
Well said.
We have tent encampments near the main downtown library. Young mothers with kids have simply stopped going to the library there. Yes-- they are a serious "bother".
It's illegal to camp on a parking strip. Period. The only possible temporary excuse-- necessity. And yet a large number of these folks refuse shelters. So, in fact their encampments aren't necessary.
It's illegal to camp on a parking strip. Period. The only possible temporary excuse-- necessity. And yet a large number of these folks refuse shelters. So, in fact their encampments aren't necessary.
22
I don't understand why some of us think homeless people have a right to be a nuisance on the streets. I agree with allowing homeless on the streets only if the local government does not allow for enough services. But most places have the services, and courts should enforce the use of these services. Why would we protect a right to live homeless on the street if the homeless refuse public housing, substance abuse or treatment for mental problems? We may not have these solutions completely worked out, but to say they have a right to be on the street? This is saying we are OK with letting people continue to waste their lives and health. It's a perverse view of freedom, one that has zero compassion. We certainly have that worked out when it comes to saving/protecting lives, but when it comes to quality of life, the freedom argument forces us to abandon the homeless.
118
Every shelter here in Dallas has been maxed out on occupancy for years and the same goes for the "soup kitchens." And we certainly don't have free treatment centers either. 25% of our population in Texas does not have health insurance and our sitting governor and Rick Perry before him did not vote to expand Medicaid in this state.
3
We can deny the homeless a small, safe place to sleep, keep a few possessions, and take a shower, but when we say there ain't no free lunch, we're talking not only about "those people," but about us, too. We take the consequences in the breakdown of societal order and quality of life for all of us; do we want to look like Calcutta? Either we as a society take care of those who are not capable of caring for themselves, or we let them live in our streets and parks, under bridges or in culverts, on the beach or under our porch, like stray dogs. Of course, they won't be sleeping on the Boardwalk, on Uncle Pennybags' manicured lawn; they'll be on Mediterranean and Baltic Avenues--*our* streets. The uber-wealthy don't want to see it and won't have to; the police will sweep the Park Places and the Boardwalks.
When so many are in this state, it's more than a question of mental illness, addiction, or personal responsibility. The hypocrites who constantly invoke the name of the Lord and claim that this is a Christian country would do well to heed the words of The Man Himself in Matthew 25:40-45.
When so many are in this state, it's more than a question of mental illness, addiction, or personal responsibility. The hypocrites who constantly invoke the name of the Lord and claim that this is a Christian country would do well to heed the words of The Man Himself in Matthew 25:40-45.
12
I think we should make a distinction between the homeless: the ones who are down on their luck economically and the ones who are addicts or have mental issues. For the first group, developing cheaper housing would solve the problem, but the second group...well as the article shows in the instance of wheelchair-bound homeless man, they're resistent to get their act together. Detox programs should be mandatory and not voluntary for them. Clearly an addict is not in the right frame of mind to judge what's best for them, so why do we wait for them to come to the relaization that maybe they should stop doing drugs? Their "freedom" to destroy their lives has a detrimental effect to the rest of society, in this case, I don't believe they should have a right to that freedom.
18
While researching family genealogy I came across a kind of New Hampshire police record from the early 1800s. It indicated that some of my ancestors were forcibly marched out of town for the fact of being penniless.
That was one way of dealing with the homeless, two hundred years ago. I wonder if, a century hence, people will look on our strategies as equally benighted.
That was one way of dealing with the homeless, two hundred years ago. I wonder if, a century hence, people will look on our strategies as equally benighted.
4
It worked. Also, was it for being broke or was it for not paying.
3
We just visited Sweden and Denmark. I was amazed that in large cities there were far fewer beggers and homeless than in the US. And most of those were Roma, which is a different situation all together. I saw no one who appeared to be mentally unstable. So some countries have figured this out. Just not ours.
24
The real homeless leave permanently in the winter.
3
When I attended the English Church in Stockholm in 2011, people there told me that so few people in Sweden fall through the social safety net that the church does its charitable work in the former Soviet Union, where even the skimpy safety net provided by the Communists is gone.
If only this country could become tiny again, racially and culturally homogeneous, and institute confiscatory tax rates, all would be well.
1
The overwhelming number of homeless in Hawaii were not born there. Furthermore, it's never been cheap to get there. Hawaii has had a homeless problem for decades because Hawaii has been famous (infamous?) as having some of the most generous welfare benefits in the nation. So much so, that for decades poor people on the West Coast would scrape together enough for one-way airfare just to get there.
16
Homelessness in Hawaii is not a new advent, it's just out of control and can't be hidden or ignored any longer. Hawaii always hides their crime and problems. Ever read or hear about it? Exactly, never. It is very carefully orchestrated and censured for tourism period. But THIS particular problem can not be swept under the sand any longer.
The number one reason for homelessness in Hawaii is the cost of rents/housing shortages. Combined with low-paying service related hospitality jobs, it is extremely difficult to get by. Drug use is rampant. None of these factors are new, it's been like this for well over 30 years.
I lived in Hawaii for over 25 years and saw the gradual deterioration of Honolulu and many of the outlaying islands. It's beyond belief in some areas, simply astounding. Hawaii, I recognized long ago, was a third world country.
Paradise but....
I don't know if there is a cure or hope for this situation as it reverberates around the entire US other than more mental hospitals and facilities to treat the sick and destitute. The people of Hawaii are a seriously compassionate population and know exactly why this is happening. But unfortunately it has gotten so rampant.
When I left there 13 years ago I recognized this deep social problem and predicted this would happen. And I am afraid it will continue and get worse not only here but everywhere in this country. For here we are again, the wealthiest third world country in the world. Ka po'e apau I lokahi. We are all one.
The number one reason for homelessness in Hawaii is the cost of rents/housing shortages. Combined with low-paying service related hospitality jobs, it is extremely difficult to get by. Drug use is rampant. None of these factors are new, it's been like this for well over 30 years.
I lived in Hawaii for over 25 years and saw the gradual deterioration of Honolulu and many of the outlaying islands. It's beyond belief in some areas, simply astounding. Hawaii, I recognized long ago, was a third world country.
Paradise but....
I don't know if there is a cure or hope for this situation as it reverberates around the entire US other than more mental hospitals and facilities to treat the sick and destitute. The people of Hawaii are a seriously compassionate population and know exactly why this is happening. But unfortunately it has gotten so rampant.
When I left there 13 years ago I recognized this deep social problem and predicted this would happen. And I am afraid it will continue and get worse not only here but everywhere in this country. For here we are again, the wealthiest third world country in the world. Ka po'e apau I lokahi. We are all one.
16
This is a relatively new phenomenon in the US, and very unusual in civilized countries. We seem to have accepted it, along with our horrible rate of infant mortality, tens of thousands of gun deaths and injuries, millions of children living in poverty, no paid maternity leave or support for all new parents, etc. Our "every person for himself" philosophy is in stark contrast to those societies that recognize they ARE societies, and that government has a responsibility to maintain a humane safety net, and everyone does better when people look out for each other just a little bit. Our way allows us to view people who are struggling as less than human, in part so we can assure ourselves that this difference will protect "us" from becoming "them". Meanwhile, we all suffer, with children and sick people suffering the most. That is the measure of a frail society. It is completely unnecessary and cruel. Don't you feel it, when you walk past a destitute person? We could do so much better. Why are we failing?
29
No, many American's *don't* feel it when they walk past a destitute person. That's a small part of why we're failing.
2
Very well stated. Thank you.
1
I can't blame Honolulu for doing this. Otherwise, they'll be inundated with homeless people.
25
I living in a cold winter city where homelessness has a different face. In warm-weather cities such as Honolulu, LA, SF and Vancouver, homelessness is much more complicated, with criminal drug addicts hiding among those truly in need. Tolerant city governments make it even harder to address the issue. I think the Honolulu solution isn't perfect, but it's working a lot better than some of the other West Coast cities.
17
Having lived in Hawaii for 14 years I have witnessed the tragedy of seeing the homeless population grow. They are homeless for many different reasons. Some have simply lost everything they had such as job, home and money. Others are need serious medical care, some are from out of state vagabonds and some are free loafers. Hence there is no magic one size fits all solution to the problem.
If the state is not allowed to force the mentally ill into medical treatment, not allowed to forcefully make them move into shelters, not allowed to force them go back to the mainland they are only allowed to force them of the sidewalks and kick the proverbial can down the road.
Hawaii is a very expensive place to live and the big tourists industry is the main reason that there are not more homeless people.
It is not cynical that the tourism board donates money to build shelters or that the airlines are offering free tickets back to the mainland, it is a compassionate disruption that benefits all - the tourists the tourist industry Hawaii's citizens, and most important the homeless people.
If the state is not allowed to force the mentally ill into medical treatment, not allowed to forcefully make them move into shelters, not allowed to force them go back to the mainland they are only allowed to force them of the sidewalks and kick the proverbial can down the road.
Hawaii is a very expensive place to live and the big tourists industry is the main reason that there are not more homeless people.
It is not cynical that the tourism board donates money to build shelters or that the airlines are offering free tickets back to the mainland, it is a compassionate disruption that benefits all - the tourists the tourist industry Hawaii's citizens, and most important the homeless people.
28
Ahhh liberalism and socialism. Get used to it. It only gets worse until it boils over like Venezuela just did. First they lose their jobs. Then they protest. Then they turn violent. Look at the videos of liberals in San Jose beating anyone with a Trump shirt. I fear for our country.
12
The "homeless" have certainly ruined Florida. The wonderful public libraries became the living room/bathroom for all the bums who somehow can find enough money for alcohol, drugs, and cigarettes. It is not unusual to find them openly having sex in public parks or on beaches and that is the least of it. Any undeveloped wooded lot contains a homeless camp and its denizens burglarize neighboring houses while the residents work. I moved to coastal NC several years ago and have only seen one or two homeless people here. Sarasota FL spends millions yearly in "studying" the homeless problem. They could save money by following Hawaii's strategy.
18
During a recent trip to New Orleans, they also have lots of homeless people on the streets. The businesses around Jackson Square have their own police force just for these people. Talked to a local work works in the square area and he told me they divide themselves into different classes. Some play an instrument and want tips while some are the in your face asking for money. One of the men I was traveling with gave a homeless person $5 and later we saw her talking on her iPhone - $100/month for that?
Used to live in Minneapolis and the winters there are extremely cold. Finding homeless outside frozen used to happen many times each winter. There was a local program affiliated with the Catholic Church that had a feeding center not far from where I lived. Used to bake a huge turkey with dressing every Thanksgiving and Xmas. Interesting enough most of the people serving the food were from a half way house for recently released convicts. You can always tell who those men are - they push iron to build up their strength to protect themselves.
Have traveled a lot in third world countries and you simply do not see the forward/aggressive people demanding money.
Used to live in Minneapolis and the winters there are extremely cold. Finding homeless outside frozen used to happen many times each winter. There was a local program affiliated with the Catholic Church that had a feeding center not far from where I lived. Used to bake a huge turkey with dressing every Thanksgiving and Xmas. Interesting enough most of the people serving the food were from a half way house for recently released convicts. You can always tell who those men are - they push iron to build up their strength to protect themselves.
Have traveled a lot in third world countries and you simply do not see the forward/aggressive people demanding money.
4
The over arching problem here is this; what are we to do with people who are totally broken down, either by their own devices or external reasons?
Some "big picture" answer has to be formulated. It has to be really global answer because the problem is bigger than anyone knows, and if it works, homeless people will gravitate toward it like migrants in Europe, and it will have to have huge capacity. Unfortunately, homeless people are not a homogeneous group. They need to be sub divided somehow, because some of them are troubled, but very able. Many are intelligent and well educated, but are also addicted or have behavioral or mental health problems. Others are simply mentally incapable, belligerent, criminal and won't accept any control or limitation on their movement.
If the ACLU has their way we will have anarchy and chaos. They cannot be allowed to decide how this goes. This has to be a national effort, cities won't be able to handle this on their own.
Some "big picture" answer has to be formulated. It has to be really global answer because the problem is bigger than anyone knows, and if it works, homeless people will gravitate toward it like migrants in Europe, and it will have to have huge capacity. Unfortunately, homeless people are not a homogeneous group. They need to be sub divided somehow, because some of them are troubled, but very able. Many are intelligent and well educated, but are also addicted or have behavioral or mental health problems. Others are simply mentally incapable, belligerent, criminal and won't accept any control or limitation on their movement.
If the ACLU has their way we will have anarchy and chaos. They cannot be allowed to decide how this goes. This has to be a national effort, cities won't be able to handle this on their own.
8
Yes. There are the exploiters who beg for money. Yes there are capitalists who screw people out of money. Yes there are people authentically in need. A society that considers the "homeless" fall under one umbrella is not considering the underlying issues of housing costs, low wages, and an economy that truly does not know how to deal with poverty while exalting the 1% that "have it all". A complex problem and no simple answers.
7
we need a better vocabulary for "homelessness" to address the various root causes.
if we acknowledged that they are not all the same, that there are differences between the homeless mentally ill and the homeless substance abuser or chronic alcoholic, between the recently evicted who lacks a personal safety net and vagabonds or new age gypsies or the working mobile homeless, if we addressed the LGBT teen runaways or castaways differently then those that yell on our stoops at 2 AM, then we might be able to target the issues better.
i think if we did this we'd all acknowledge that sometimes you need to criminalize behavior as the stick which would go with a carrot of open, effective treatment programs (and any criminalization campaign without the latter is heartless). we might even realize that we've gone too far with regard to civil liberties for some mentally ill or even some substance abusers. we'd likely also build more housing and improve transportation and address the infrastructure we've let crumble.
if we acknowledged that they are not all the same, that there are differences between the homeless mentally ill and the homeless substance abuser or chronic alcoholic, between the recently evicted who lacks a personal safety net and vagabonds or new age gypsies or the working mobile homeless, if we addressed the LGBT teen runaways or castaways differently then those that yell on our stoops at 2 AM, then we might be able to target the issues better.
i think if we did this we'd all acknowledge that sometimes you need to criminalize behavior as the stick which would go with a carrot of open, effective treatment programs (and any criminalization campaign without the latter is heartless). we might even realize that we've gone too far with regard to civil liberties for some mentally ill or even some substance abusers. we'd likely also build more housing and improve transportation and address the infrastructure we've let crumble.
12
Seems right.
People often write comments comparing the number of homeless in US cities to places like Scandinavia, or Canada. And while I don't doubt that they have stronger safety nets and more services, I expect those countries are also slightly less sympathetic to the arguments that addicts or the mentally ill have the 'right' to refuse treatment, or the 'right' to live on the streets. We need more carrots and more sticks.
People often write comments comparing the number of homeless in US cities to places like Scandinavia, or Canada. And while I don't doubt that they have stronger safety nets and more services, I expect those countries are also slightly less sympathetic to the arguments that addicts or the mentally ill have the 'right' to refuse treatment, or the 'right' to live on the streets. We need more carrots and more sticks.
4
I was stationed for three years on Oahu back in the 80's while serving in the Navy. When visiting beaches in the less populated east, north and western areas of the island, I saw families camping in many places and thought "wow, the local Hawaiian's really are into camping." Wrong; entire families were living in tents because they had nowhere else to turn.
Those less fortunate among us have every bit as much right to exist and have a place to live. I'm not a strident Christian, but I embrace fully the ethos "..whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
The 1% are doing wonderfully; it is long past time we focus on the less fortunate so they can live lives with dignity.
Those less fortunate among us have every bit as much right to exist and have a place to live. I'm not a strident Christian, but I embrace fully the ethos "..whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers and sisters of mine, you did for me."
The 1% are doing wonderfully; it is long past time we focus on the less fortunate so they can live lives with dignity.
25
It's not much dignity if you're living off the state. Where has personal responsibility gone?
16
There is a middle ground between living off of the state and destitution: temporary assistance. But we have to do the hard work of addressing the root causes, which we seem to be unwilling to do.
4
Is it personal responsibility that causes housing prices to outpace wages? 30% of NYC's homeless population are employed.
1
I feel about the homeless, the same way I feel about welfare families. There are homeless individuals who have experienced a horrific downturn in their lives and need a helping hand to stand again. Just as their are families that need temporary welfare assistance to find their footing, so that they can prosper and live good lives. I am all for helping those who want to help themselves.
But with that said, there is the flip side. You have homeless people who have chosen to be homeless, who do not want to contribute to society. Just as there are generational welfare families who expect to be supported by the government. I do not feel it is taxpayers responsibility to pay for individuals who have decided to opt out or scam taxpayers.
We do need safe shelters for women and children who are homeless, along with programs to help them get back on their feet. I'm all for providing free education and job training, so that a person has a solid foundation from which to build from. Instead of sending money to foreign countries for their betterment, I'd like to keep the money at home to help Americans. That to me, would be money well spent.
For those individuals who want to be homeless, who do not want to change their lives and participate in society, then fine. Maybe there is an island somewhere out in the Pacific Ocean they can live. Send them with a handful of seeds, miking cow and a few chickens. They can create their existence or parish. It's their choice.
But with that said, there is the flip side. You have homeless people who have chosen to be homeless, who do not want to contribute to society. Just as there are generational welfare families who expect to be supported by the government. I do not feel it is taxpayers responsibility to pay for individuals who have decided to opt out or scam taxpayers.
We do need safe shelters for women and children who are homeless, along with programs to help them get back on their feet. I'm all for providing free education and job training, so that a person has a solid foundation from which to build from. Instead of sending money to foreign countries for their betterment, I'd like to keep the money at home to help Americans. That to me, would be money well spent.
For those individuals who want to be homeless, who do not want to change their lives and participate in society, then fine. Maybe there is an island somewhere out in the Pacific Ocean they can live. Send them with a handful of seeds, miking cow and a few chickens. They can create their existence or parish. It's their choice.
76
The French did this with Devil's Island...is that what you want for a
solution? Why not just gas them? Or hunt them? Good going
Val you have reached a new low in civilized behavior. Shame on you.
solution? Why not just gas them? Or hunt them? Good going
Val you have reached a new low in civilized behavior. Shame on you.
3
As a vegan, I object to giving them a cow and chickens. Some seeds should suffice.
4
There is no island to which to send these people. This problem can be solved if society truly wanted a resolution. The problem is that a solution will be expensive and will challenge those opposed to assisting homeless who refuse to help themselves.
1
I lived and worked in Honolulu for many, many years. It's a beautiful place that is unfortunately far from being "paradise." Many people whom I knew, and are not homeless yet, are literally one paycheck away from the streets. Young people, disgusted with lack or opportunity, routinely leave the islands and never come back. The cost of living is out of sight - rents being amongst the highest in the United States. Frequently, Hawaii is not included in news articles mentioning housing costs as it is not part of the mainstream 48. Jobs that are non-government for the most part are low-paying service industry that are no more than 19 hours per week (to avoid the state's mandate of health coverage) and is not unusual to work two, three, or yes, even four part-time jobs just to make ends meet. The joke was that the people without the "tans" are Hawaii residents and those with the "tans" are the tourists. If there's one place that shows the massive divide between the poor and rich, it's Hawaii. The state reminds me of a cheap piece of furniture with a beautiful veneer and particle board underneath. But on the positive side, even with the extreme underbelly of poverty, I found some of the most wonderful and kind human beings and made life-long friendships there. How long these friends will survive living on the edge I don't know. At some point, it's going to take a miracle.
133
We have the same problem with homelessness in Vancouver. Vancouver is consistently ranked as being one of the top 5 cities in the world for quality of life. Something's off. Years ago you never saw homeless people because the federal government invested heavily in subsidized housing and a house was seen as a place to live and raise a family in, not an investment or a way to make a quick buck through flipping. I think we've forgotten what the true purpose of government should be.
8
Many Americans believe it is fine to choose to live on the streets like animals. If these people were dogs, they would be picked up by animal control and put in a facility for adoption. Under our current laws, there is no practical way to get mentally ill or drug-addicted people off the streets.
12
Liberal about struggling people half a world a way, but conservative about those in our midst. It's the American way.
7
If every homeless person in the country was given an apartment, in 6 months you'd have just as many homeless as you have now. As Mayor Koch once said, "If you build them they will come."
18
Just in case human beings didn't already feel like walking garbage, on top of being homeless, you become a criminal who has to pay fines on top of everything else that sucks in your life.
5
Places like LA and Hawaii are the canaries in the coal mine. As jobs are lost to robots, and the gap between rich and poor continues to grow, what is a largely aesthetic problem right now (for local governments) will soon be something that touches the lives of most people in some form.
In the short term, states and cities will try to deal with homelessness through ever-tougher enforcement of ever-more illiberal laws, but this is no more than moving the "problem" down the road.
In the short term, states and cities will try to deal with homelessness through ever-tougher enforcement of ever-more illiberal laws, but this is no more than moving the "problem" down the road.
4
I wish to speak to the quality of the photography that illustrates this article. Well done. Made for a more understandable story.
9
Agree with the policies of the cities to move homeless people off the streets. The homeless can be dangerous and cause a lot of the crimes. The sad truth is a lot of them like their situation and enjoy a life of drugs and alcohol with no responsibilities.
14
And we try to tell other nations how their people should live and be treated.
We really need to look at ourselves first.
We really need to look at ourselves first.
13
So many comments are indignant that the homeless are unwashed and defecate on the streets. But if a person is homeless, they have no shower or toilet! And many homeless are veterans, ruined by war. American cities do not provide public toilets, much less showers. We prefer a hostile inhumane environment where even middle class men occasionally are forced to urinate on the streets and women suffer. We could alleviate some of the homeless humiliation and suffering by installing public toilets. And make the streets cleaner too.
This story parallels the plight of the unwanted refugees. Refugees are homeless and adrift too. Just taking into account that our human population is expanding exponentially tells us that homeless populations are also expanding unless we institute viable programs. But also we need to be ready for all the homeless and refugees, their lives disrupted by war as well as climate change. Climate change has recently boiled half of the Great Barrier Reef to death. We better be prepared for what it will do to civilization.
This story parallels the plight of the unwanted refugees. Refugees are homeless and adrift too. Just taking into account that our human population is expanding exponentially tells us that homeless populations are also expanding unless we institute viable programs. But also we need to be ready for all the homeless and refugees, their lives disrupted by war as well as climate change. Climate change has recently boiled half of the Great Barrier Reef to death. We better be prepared for what it will do to civilization.
9
Public toilets are quickly trashed and turned into places to inject drugs. Google the Decaux experience in San Francisco in the 1990s.
2
Good on the Hawaiians for doing something.
I can't afford beachfront property in Hawaii. I can't even afford to live in Waikiki.
So, why should the homeless get that?
Why not find some area on the islands (maybe disused military land on the other side of Pearl Harbor, and allow them to build a tent city.
If I have to live far from SF or NYC and commute to a job, it shouldn't inconvenience them to live there, since they don't have to go to a job. Food, basic medical care and other programs could be provided on site.
But they should not be allowed to camp on the sidewalk or in parks where there are no restrooms.
I can't afford beachfront property in Hawaii. I can't even afford to live in Waikiki.
So, why should the homeless get that?
Why not find some area on the islands (maybe disused military land on the other side of Pearl Harbor, and allow them to build a tent city.
If I have to live far from SF or NYC and commute to a job, it shouldn't inconvenience them to live there, since they don't have to go to a job. Food, basic medical care and other programs could be provided on site.
But they should not be allowed to camp on the sidewalk or in parks where there are no restrooms.
16
Homelessness exists because we continue to enable it.
16
There is one tried and true method of eliminating homelessness: Build affordable homes!
In this wealthy country, billionaires/millionaires can easily donate money or property to provide acreage and infrastructure to build simple 150 sq ft cottages for every homeless person in America. Why hasn't this been done yet?
We are in crisis, in every city in the USA. There is no excuse for homelessness; we simply have not developed the altruistic will to care for our own people.
Is this how we support equality, justice, and the pursuit of happiness?
Who will step up to the plate? Housing can, and should be provided free to many segments of our population---initial costs run about $45K for adequate homes; elec and water can be paid with individuals' SSI, SSD, or a benefactor.
Any takers? I can name a dozen people in this country who have immense wealth; time to pony up, build for the homeless, and commit to maintaining the properties for whoever has need of a helping hand.
In this wealthy country, billionaires/millionaires can easily donate money or property to provide acreage and infrastructure to build simple 150 sq ft cottages for every homeless person in America. Why hasn't this been done yet?
We are in crisis, in every city in the USA. There is no excuse for homelessness; we simply have not developed the altruistic will to care for our own people.
Is this how we support equality, justice, and the pursuit of happiness?
Who will step up to the plate? Housing can, and should be provided free to many segments of our population---initial costs run about $45K for adequate homes; elec and water can be paid with individuals' SSI, SSD, or a benefactor.
Any takers? I can name a dozen people in this country who have immense wealth; time to pony up, build for the homeless, and commit to maintaining the properties for whoever has need of a helping hand.
6
It's a safe bet to say, that those who are functional, can work and maintain a place to live are an extreme minority of the homeless.
Not having a roof, isn't the only problem, hence not the only solution.
Those who are mentally ill, addicts, or intractably feral and become criminals, are the vast majority of homeless.
These are people whose ability to get along with others, who can endanger themselves or others, is non existent.
These are people who need institutionalization. Either to be safely housed, and their illness cared for.
Or where they can effectively kick their addictions and mainstream back into society.
CA, HI, FL states that have more temperate climes, have been magnets for the destitute for decades.
If they homeless from other states don't get there on their own, they were shipped here.
CA, is also a magnet for millions of poverty stricken illegal immigrants. Making Los Angeles alone, one of the biggest counties with a large population living in poverty.
Without effective institutions for those who can't function normally, the population will only grow, and resources diminish for everyone.
Not having a roof, isn't the only problem, hence not the only solution.
Those who are mentally ill, addicts, or intractably feral and become criminals, are the vast majority of homeless.
These are people whose ability to get along with others, who can endanger themselves or others, is non existent.
These are people who need institutionalization. Either to be safely housed, and their illness cared for.
Or where they can effectively kick their addictions and mainstream back into society.
CA, HI, FL states that have more temperate climes, have been magnets for the destitute for decades.
If they homeless from other states don't get there on their own, they were shipped here.
CA, is also a magnet for millions of poverty stricken illegal immigrants. Making Los Angeles alone, one of the biggest counties with a large population living in poverty.
Without effective institutions for those who can't function normally, the population will only grow, and resources diminish for everyone.
8
People from the US and other rich countries will travel to third world countries to do volunteer work, help the poor, etc. Why don't we want to see any glimpse of poverty when traveling in our own country? It would be nice if it became a thing to do volunteer work for Honolulu's homeless population while visiting Hawaii.
8
“If I wanted detox, I would have been there already, Justin,” Mr. McCarroll replied.
And that's why some of us have no sympathy for some of these homeless people, their problem is now my problem and I rather give my help to those that really need it. Living in America they are already better off than the poors in most of this world.
And that's why some of us have no sympathy for some of these homeless people, their problem is now my problem and I rather give my help to those that really need it. Living in America they are already better off than the poors in most of this world.
25
So where are they supposed to go on such a small island? You can't just pass laws to make the issue go away. You think the homeless care about laws? arrest them and they get two hots & a cot.
To say homelessness is about lack of affordable housing is to fundamentally misunderstand what homelessness is.
19
And to say a lack of affordable housing has nothing to do with homelessness in Hawaii is to fundamentally misunderstand the economic situation in the islands.
5
I live in Kaka'ako and see this daily. But I don't agree that everyone on the island of Oahu has been affected. Kahala, Kailua, Aina Haina, Hawaii Kai, Diamond Head and other such communities of affluence have not been inundated with homeless like Kak'ako and formerly Chinatown and Waikiki. I believe that this is due to policing and enforcement. I see police many times a day drive by without stopping while homeless violate city ordinances by camping in Kaka'ako city parks. This would not be allowed in other locations on the island as was the impetus behind the prohibition and enforcement in Waikiki and Chinatown.
4
I live in Kaneohe, on the windward side of O'ahu. We are seeing more and more houseless people here, in places you never saw them. The issue is dire, our elected officials have compassion only for the business leaders behind the sit-lie measures, and the economy--as others have indicated--means that many folks are one paycheck away. Thank you, Adam N., for a well researched piece. I wish our local newspaper did as well.
4
I'll bet 95% of the homeless came from the mainland because of the climate. They never had any intention of working there.
16
Jailing all these people makes a great deal of money for the jail industry... as far as I can figure it cost about 70K a year per prisoner .... roughly equivalent to a year at Yale ...
2
Unfortunately, that's a creative accounting trick by "advocates" worthy of Wall Street.
4
so what are you saying?
San Francisco has a lot of urban campers because it has a lot of generous policies that attract them. Yes, there are plenty of people who will sleep rough in order to maximize their funds available to purchase items and services of higher priority to them.
Another aspect of this is that many cosmopolitan centers on the Left Coast throw up every kind of punishing policy they can think of to discourage private property owners and landlords from offering affordable house. The urban geniuses tilt the table so decisively towards tenants and those who just don't like paying their rent or house payment that only high end housing is worth the trouble for the market system to supply.
The idealists counter with the idea that taxpayers should supply lots more comfortable public housing designed to high standards on terms that require very little responsibility of any kind by tenants. The problem arises that such public housing is always in short supply, because it is insanely expensive for government to build and operate.
Another aspect of this is that many cosmopolitan centers on the Left Coast throw up every kind of punishing policy they can think of to discourage private property owners and landlords from offering affordable house. The urban geniuses tilt the table so decisively towards tenants and those who just don't like paying their rent or house payment that only high end housing is worth the trouble for the market system to supply.
The idealists counter with the idea that taxpayers should supply lots more comfortable public housing designed to high standards on terms that require very little responsibility of any kind by tenants. The problem arises that such public housing is always in short supply, because it is insanely expensive for government to build and operate.
11
Homelessness is failure of our policies, dumb politicians and and even dumber public that votes for them. Instead of facing we are trying to sweep them under proverbial bus.
8
We live in a highly populated capitalist society, and you are not entitled to sleep anywhere, befouling America's most beautiful public spaces, offending and scaring strangers.
OK, fund better mental health care. We can all agree there are many modern problems because of this deficiency, and a portion of the homeless need real help.
Call me heartless, but the rest of the homeless should be given a choice - sent off to camps in undesirable locations, or back to wherever they came from.
In Austin, I've seen panhandlers on cellphones, smoking e-cigarettes, with their pet dog. Working the same corner for over 5 years. You go up and talk to them, they're not mentally or physically disabled, just living a sweet, responsibility-free life by harassing everyone else for handouts.
There's no excuse for these people. Get them out of here. I break my back my entire adult life, to live in proximity to urban amenities, and these people are human refuse, and need to be taken out with the morning waste to wherever that is handled.
OK, fund better mental health care. We can all agree there are many modern problems because of this deficiency, and a portion of the homeless need real help.
Call me heartless, but the rest of the homeless should be given a choice - sent off to camps in undesirable locations, or back to wherever they came from.
In Austin, I've seen panhandlers on cellphones, smoking e-cigarettes, with their pet dog. Working the same corner for over 5 years. You go up and talk to them, they're not mentally or physically disabled, just living a sweet, responsibility-free life by harassing everyone else for handouts.
There's no excuse for these people. Get them out of here. I break my back my entire adult life, to live in proximity to urban amenities, and these people are human refuse, and need to be taken out with the morning waste to wherever that is handled.
139
And that summarizes the kick them all out contingent. Nothing about the gamblers in banking who helped bring this doom down on us? Don't disturb their vacations!
6
I got a solution to your stupid problem, why not pay them to sweep the streets and collect the beer bottles college boys throw for kicks? I suggest the drunk youth down on Sixth deserve as much a disgust as the homeless.
8
What about refugees?
The "for shame" comments appear to think that if enough money were thrown at the problem, it would go away. It never works that way; it is intractable for a reason. Any jurisdiction that provided people with a secure roof over their heads, food and medical care and no questions asked, would take care of those people temporarily, but soon find itself overrun with others seeking exactly those things. Especially if it has a temperate climate. San Francisco is becoming that way.
78
According to the SF Chronicle, SF spent $230 million last year for 6,000 homeless. That's $38,000 per person and the problem is getting worse.
12
Actually, it's cheaper to provide homeless people with a place to live then it is than the cost to the taxpayer as they cycle between jails and hospital emergency rooms.
And if you ever saw a single efficiency room of the type provided, I doubt that you would say that people would be flocking to live there. In terms of the homeless overrunning temperate climate cities, who wants to freeze to death.
And if you ever saw a single efficiency room of the type provided, I doubt that you would say that people would be flocking to live there. In terms of the homeless overrunning temperate climate cities, who wants to freeze to death.
2
That $38,000 could have been spent on a basic cottage and utilities for each homeless person.....and none would be homeless, today.
1
Wonderful priorities--the emergency is that they are on the street, not that there are so many human beings whose lives are so bad that they are homeless. Reminds me of the Guiliani days.
24
Have you been to Penn station recently? It is disgusting in there. That place is the commuting hub of the most economically important city in the world, not a home
8
I used to live in Pacific Beach in San Diego in 1990s and the place was overrun with homeless folks; usually young men, but also women and the elderly, some drunks, some mentally ill, some just unlucky. The politicians did nothing, because it would cost money, and the tourists thought destitute surfer types were entertaining. Really, de-institutionalization by Reagan to save money hurt the soul of our nation. Calvinist-Protestants blamed the victims and ignored them, and the Catholic social services were merely overwhelmed. Trying to raise a family was impossible, and we moved out when we were having our second child; the place was filled with drugs, booze, noise, and violence. Many of the local businesses, who were owned by folks who lived outside the community, made money off the buzz and booze, so nothing ever improved. Also, buying a house was impossible for a young family, and the Republican govenrment of San Diego did nothing for affordable housing in our area. Finally, I felt bad for all the homeless: there were no showers, bathroom or places to sleep. The nation had given up on them. It seemed like many had hitchhiked from Arizona, hit the water, and then just gave up, just like the nation had on them.
31
PB is still the same, young people, college dropouts are drawn by the explosive nightlife, beaches and parties. And where there are transient young people there are drugs. And where there are drugs there is crime.
But in SD, at least, PB is the center of this blight and our many other neighborhoods - with the exception of downtown - are not overrun by drifters. This is bad for property values in PB, but by this time I think most of the houses there are rentals and anyone who has been in SD longer than a month knows PB's reputation. Because they are Christians, our Republican leaders are punitive and hateful and we will never get back what Reagan destroyed, so maybe centralized blight is the way to go? Could Pacific Beach be the model to follow?
But in SD, at least, PB is the center of this blight and our many other neighborhoods - with the exception of downtown - are not overrun by drifters. This is bad for property values in PB, but by this time I think most of the houses there are rentals and anyone who has been in SD longer than a month knows PB's reputation. Because they are Christians, our Republican leaders are punitive and hateful and we will never get back what Reagan destroyed, so maybe centralized blight is the way to go? Could Pacific Beach be the model to follow?
1
Deinstitutionalization was in many places pushed by liberals. Check out NYC in the 1990s.
6
So it's the Republican's fault, right? Democrats had nothing, absolutely nothing, to do with it, right? Thus, other than the mentally ill folks who deserve to be helped, the parents of these homeless, not finishing public school, taking drugs and alcohol, and generally making poor life decisions had nothing to do with it? Ok, I get it - NOT!
6
I lived in Honolulu for 1.5 years and recently moved for work. Mayor Kirk Caldwell's so called "compassionate disruption" is all about being bought and paid for by the tourism board and the hospitality sector in Waikiki. The homeless are raided and removed. They're expected to flee to any other part of Oahu where there aren't any tourists. Worst, little is known in the mainland about the demographics of the homeless in Honolulu. About 50% are people from the Compact of Free Association (COFA) comprising Micronesia, Palau, and the Marshall Islands. After WWII, from 1946 to 1958, 67 separate nuclear weapons were exploded by the US in the Marshall Islands. COFA is a deal made to enable migrants from these islands to reside in the US. Most of the migrants, now older are in Hawaii and in poor health (most likely due to radiation exposure) and unable to work. They are denied Medicaid. They're homeless. They're vilified by clueless tourists in aloha shirts and leis who just want the tiki bar experience. The homeless situation in Honolulu is heartbreakingly awful.
248
Thank you for this.
4
Radiation? At this point age should be the biggest factor to their health. Radiation? Get serious.
7
You demonize tourists for not wanting to vacation among these unfortunates?
9
It's part of a solution -- probably a necessary part. But when the authorities can do nothing for an elderly and perhaps mentally ill or addicted person other than relocate him from a sidewalk to a bus stop, or write ticket after ticket to a street-corner alcoholic whose response to an offer of help is "If I wanted detox, I would have been there already," plainly some other pieces of the societal puzzle are still missing.
15
Criminalizing the homeless, the aged, and the poor is what Great Britain did for almost a century. They sent the Irish, poor Scots and English to America and when that fell through (many so called criminals were shipped to Georgia), the Brits shipped them to Australia and Tasmania. Our country is repeating what the English did to so many American's many years ago and its ugly and horrible. Meanwhile, the rich keep getting richer.
16
Sounds like the British plan worked to me. The US and Australia have done pretty good over the years.
4
We all have our notions of the homeless, and the portrayals in the various media usually focus on unemployment, mental illness and substance abuse. Yet my 10 years of living on Maui opened my eyes to a greater reality: School teachers, unable to find affordable housing, camping in the dusty formerly-cultivated cane fields, eating from the land and sea (mango, fish), and showering at the local public swimming pool. In fact, teachers I knew in Hawai'i worked two and three jobs just to survive. Is this how we wish to care for those who care for our children? Clearly, the homeless situation is complex, yet are we really unable to figure it out? Or, do we not care?
46
I agree with you. One of the problems with this article is it does not distinguish between the short-term/ long-term homeless and the reasons why people are homeless. Instead it seems to suggest that all homeless are substance-abusing or unproductive members of society.
I live in the Bay area. One of the more poignant articles I read in our local papers was that of a full-time employee at the San Francisco airport who did not make enough to afford housing and instead ended up sleeping in various offices or areas of the airport. Except for a few close friends, no one knew he was homeless because he used the 24-hr. facilities of the airport to keep clean/ reported to work regularly and they only found out after his dead body was found. Similar article in the NYT a few years ago about someone who worked 2 fast food service jobs and still could not afford a place to live.
I live in the Bay area. One of the more poignant articles I read in our local papers was that of a full-time employee at the San Francisco airport who did not make enough to afford housing and instead ended up sleeping in various offices or areas of the airport. Except for a few close friends, no one knew he was homeless because he used the 24-hr. facilities of the airport to keep clean/ reported to work regularly and they only found out after his dead body was found. Similar article in the NYT a few years ago about someone who worked 2 fast food service jobs and still could not afford a place to live.
1
Both of the public-school teachers that I got to know when I lived on Maui were able to rent modest, comfortable apartments in different areas of the island, Lahaina excluded.
One of them, a close friend to this day, was a newcomer to the island (and the school system); a more-or-less broke middle school teacher in her mid-20s. She did need to utilize the state health care assistance provided in the islands (pre-Obamacare), but was otherwise able to pay for her $600 apartment, her car insurance, gas, sunscreen, groceries, etc...
I (and she) definitely did not hear any anecdotes of teacher(s) camping in the cane fields and foraging for food...
One of them, a close friend to this day, was a newcomer to the island (and the school system); a more-or-less broke middle school teacher in her mid-20s. She did need to utilize the state health care assistance provided in the islands (pre-Obamacare), but was otherwise able to pay for her $600 apartment, her car insurance, gas, sunscreen, groceries, etc...
I (and she) definitely did not hear any anecdotes of teacher(s) camping in the cane fields and foraging for food...
1
The first thought that enters our mind here is that something is wrong. The quick fix is to put the wrong out of sight. The question to ask oneself is whether the wrong just got better or worse.
4
"'If I wanted detox, I would have been there already, Justin,' Mr. McCarroll replied."
I think this quote is one of the most important in the article. It sounds very simplistic to say things like, "Just give homeless people housing, or help them get into shelters." The problem with this line of thinking is that many homeless people throughout the US suffer from addiction and mental health issues.
For those of us who have homes and are mentally healthy, it is often difficult to understand that some homeless people aren't just waiting around for a place to go or a bed in a shelter. All the shelters in the world will only help so much, because some homeless people are too ill to make the rational decision to accept an offer of a bed in a shelter or a drug/alcohol rehabilitation facility.
Forcibly institutionalizing homeless people with mental illness is an option, but certainly not a good one. Short of that, though, we need to develop new mental health approaches to homelessness, and not spout the same old rhetoric about "just create more shelter space."
I think this quote is one of the most important in the article. It sounds very simplistic to say things like, "Just give homeless people housing, or help them get into shelters." The problem with this line of thinking is that many homeless people throughout the US suffer from addiction and mental health issues.
For those of us who have homes and are mentally healthy, it is often difficult to understand that some homeless people aren't just waiting around for a place to go or a bed in a shelter. All the shelters in the world will only help so much, because some homeless people are too ill to make the rational decision to accept an offer of a bed in a shelter or a drug/alcohol rehabilitation facility.
Forcibly institutionalizing homeless people with mental illness is an option, but certainly not a good one. Short of that, though, we need to develop new mental health approaches to homelessness, and not spout the same old rhetoric about "just create more shelter space."
17
Unfortunately for Hawaii, a significant percentage of the homeless came from the mainland, without a job, without a place to live, some just on vacation, and some came to Hawaii, by their own admission, to be "homeless." The State of Hawaii should be allowed by law to send those people back to the mainland, to their home states, and bar them from returning without proof of employment and residence in Hawaii.
32
NYC has the same problem. A significant percentage of the homeless there come from the mainland. They come because NYC is relatively lenient with the street homeless, it has plenty of people to beg or steal from, many nooks and crannies to hide out in, and social services when you need a break from the street for a while. Like Hawaii, NYC is also a series of islands. If the State of Hawaii is allowed to send homeless back to their home states, so should New York.
3
You might want to get a better understanding of the law. Hawaii is a state so the idea of deporting people back to the mainland isn't something that can happen. Americans have the right to visit and live in any state they want. Even people without a good moral conscience should be able to understand that it would be a bad idea to treat homeless people any differently than they would want to be treated themselves.
"The sweeps have gone on: Eight-person crews go out five days a week."
"Teams of city sanitation workers showed up, carrying brooms and shovels. As the police and the homeless looked on, the workers cleared the sidewalks and streets, throwing tents, blankets, clothing and refuse that had been left behind into the trucks."
"The city sent teams of social workers out"
"The tourist industry put up money to cover airfare for homeless people"
It seems like a lot of this money to cover these things could have been used to cover the costs of a homeless shelter and help for these individuals, rather than ticketing them and passing them off as criminals just for having no place to sit or lie down...
"Police officers monitoring a bank of surveillance cameras"
"Teams of city sanitation workers showed up, carrying brooms and shovels. As the police and the homeless looked on, the workers cleared the sidewalks and streets, throwing tents, blankets, clothing and refuse that had been left behind into the trucks."
"The city sent teams of social workers out"
"The tourist industry put up money to cover airfare for homeless people"
It seems like a lot of this money to cover these things could have been used to cover the costs of a homeless shelter and help for these individuals, rather than ticketing them and passing them off as criminals just for having no place to sit or lie down...
"Police officers monitoring a bank of surveillance cameras"
13
Many refuse to live in shelters. Doesnt anyone understand that? It would be great if they would but they never will
In the 1930s they all would be on chaingangs for vagrancy.
In the 1930s they all would be on chaingangs for vagrancy.
8
Our government caused this problem, by failing to provide an education for our nation's inner city youth, causing most of the homelessness. Secondly, over the past 4 decades, millions of good paying jobs have been exported in the name of corporate profit margins, period. Now, local governments want to sweep this mess under the rug. Like any half awake parent must sometimes remind their children: "If you make a mess, YOU have to clean it up."
12
No, most of the homeless are not from the inner city, products of poor school systems. They are the hard core addicts and mentally ill, a few are just bad luck cases with no family support. The mentally ill used to be housed in state institutions where they had a roof over their heads, food and a safe environment. But during the Reagan years of governorship help from the ACLU, many of these individuals were "freed" and released to the streets.
Most California cities offer temporary or permanent shelter for the homeless, but many/most decline: they don't want to comply with regulations or else the shelters are too dangerous.
Most California cities offer temporary or permanent shelter for the homeless, but many/most decline: they don't want to comply with regulations or else the shelters are too dangerous.
15
Really? You live in a state that does not provide public education if you live in an inner city? Poor education alone causes "most of the homelessness"? The root causes of homelessness are no doubt complex and vary quite a bit from one person to the next, but such a blanket assertion does not seem to jibe with the facts.
6
The homeless here in San Francisco have taken over some public areas of side walk and made it impassable for everyone else. I recognize people's plight, but at a certain point setting up a tent on the sidewalk is stealing an important right of way from the public. Our public spaces are for the use of everyone, not for someone to just pop up a tent and declare it to be theirs.
105
Seattle is having a huge problem with the homeless, too, despite spending $49 million per year on alleviating the situation. Drugs, mental illness prevail. Meanwhile the City Council, homeless advocates , Mayor , expensive " consultants" from out of town continue to disagree about how to go forward and solve the problem. Typical Seattle. I think Seattle could learn from Hawaii.
12
Good for them trying to find the right combination of law enforcement and social work outreach. Its easy to be a critic from thousands of miles away but it sounds like they're doing the best they can to address a very difficult problem.
11
Compassion, affordable housing, the struggle to be a productive human are all factors in the homelessness tragedy. However, in the article a man is offered help and refuses it. A social worker should team up with the advocate, determine the person is unable to make cogent decisions and take him off the street to a detox facility. Homelessness is not an example of human ingenuity. It is a sign of hunan deterioration.
13
Most of those angry at "heartless" here should be aware that the homelessness largely happens by choice, for one reason or another (mental illness, drug addiction, or simply wanting more "freedom" without having to work). They should be removed from public places not slower, but faster.
35
Since when is mental illness a choice?
5
@B - When they refuse to be helped for free, then it's a choice.
5
A picture is worth than a thousand words!
1
“By criminalizing people’s lives as they experience homelessness, it makes it harder to get them out of homelessness.”
Anyone living in a tourist area will tell you this is 100% bunk. The homeless prey off tourists to perpetuate their angry, unhealthy existence while denigrating the very people they rely on for hand-outs.
As stated in the piece the homeless are not stupid or helpless. Remove the steady stream of tourist income and the homeless will find other means - maybe even a shelter, a family and possibly back to work.
btw - Regarding the picture of Ralph McCarroll's injuries from "a fall." The ground sure did punch him about the face mercilessly. Unfortunately Ralph's pugilistic style is an all too typical look (behavior) for the inebriated homeless.
Anyone living in a tourist area will tell you this is 100% bunk. The homeless prey off tourists to perpetuate their angry, unhealthy existence while denigrating the very people they rely on for hand-outs.
As stated in the piece the homeless are not stupid or helpless. Remove the steady stream of tourist income and the homeless will find other means - maybe even a shelter, a family and possibly back to work.
btw - Regarding the picture of Ralph McCarroll's injuries from "a fall." The ground sure did punch him about the face mercilessly. Unfortunately Ralph's pugilistic style is an all too typical look (behavior) for the inebriated homeless.
26
Why should the homeless have the right to live wherever they want? Why do their rights supersede the rights of business owners whose business will suffer if there are homeless people on the streets their stores are on? The homeless aren't paying taxes. They don't contribute to society in any way. And they can live in other places of Hawaii besides the tourist areas.
37
"He said that what Honolulu needed was affordable housing, a goal that has stubbornly eluded this island."
This conundrum along with the practical costs of service infrastructure and the NIMBY valuation factor that is founded on the reality - property proximate to homeless concentrations will ultimately suffer in value - goes a long way to the feeling of helplessness that accompanies the public's response to homelessness. The fact that lifestyle issues and biological ramifications from drug and alcohol use generally go hand-in-hand with a significant portion of 'R.C.P.'s' is part of the recipe for crisis that an overpopulated world with global warming seems headed toward.
There are other realities that accompany R.C.P. in aggregate - they are a constant reminder to all adjacent of the fragility of our precarious balance of civilization v. itinerant tribal existence in nomadic flux. As political instability combines with transportation and economic permeability, waves of displaced join the ranks of R.C.P.
Clearly coping with the social and physical manifestations of R.C.P. through permanent managed residences, using social workers, providing health care, and establishing alternative low impact sustainable housing becomes a valuable and worthy set of related goals to meet this challenge that New York or Hawaii can profit from spiritually as well as physically. Something's got to give. Better to give than collapse.
This conundrum along with the practical costs of service infrastructure and the NIMBY valuation factor that is founded on the reality - property proximate to homeless concentrations will ultimately suffer in value - goes a long way to the feeling of helplessness that accompanies the public's response to homelessness. The fact that lifestyle issues and biological ramifications from drug and alcohol use generally go hand-in-hand with a significant portion of 'R.C.P.'s' is part of the recipe for crisis that an overpopulated world with global warming seems headed toward.
There are other realities that accompany R.C.P. in aggregate - they are a constant reminder to all adjacent of the fragility of our precarious balance of civilization v. itinerant tribal existence in nomadic flux. As political instability combines with transportation and economic permeability, waves of displaced join the ranks of R.C.P.
Clearly coping with the social and physical manifestations of R.C.P. through permanent managed residences, using social workers, providing health care, and establishing alternative low impact sustainable housing becomes a valuable and worthy set of related goals to meet this challenge that New York or Hawaii can profit from spiritually as well as physically. Something's got to give. Better to give than collapse.
5
I ride my bike around Denver and have been seeing the cops keep the homeless from along the bike paths. The main issue for me is the drugs and the alcohol. I rolled past one girl taking a hit off a pipe. Obviously she hadn't been moved yet because no one else was around. Drugs/alcohol is usually the underlining of their situation. The one guy in the story refused a detox program and people won't stay in shelters and camps due to "rules and regulations". For me if you're not going to take advantage of the social service opportunities to clean up and get off the street then that's your choice and along with that choice comes the unfortunate harshness from society. I'm not heartless, I just don't believe in giving up.
35
There are many comments here lamenting the "criminalization" of homelessness, especially folks from smaller cities in cold-weather cities or other less hospitable destinations. Really? What is your solution? California cities, like Hawaii, are absolutely swimming in homelessness. San Francisco and Santa Cruz, in my area, look and smell like cesspools. This is not about poor people looking for jobs, folks, its about addicts who have the basics (food, stipends) provided by social services, and they are unwilling or unable to otherwise get out of their traps. The solution decades ago was to institutionalize people until they can clean up--the ACLU (and Reagan) put a stop to that with lawsuits and budget cuts. My father was a lifelong ACLU supporter, but I won't send them my money for their continued "defense" of the indigent.
16
It's not clear from this article what the "shelters" are like.
Many shelters are run like prisons or institutions, and treat the residents as inmates who have to follow orders. At best, a shelter where people have to show up at 8pm in the evening to get a bed, and leave at 8am, is an environment that would make normal, healthy people deteriorate, and certainly doesn't help homeless people with mental problems or life problems like job loss or medical problems.
The easiest, cheapest solution, with the best track record of success, is "Housing First." http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/02/19/homes-for-the-homeless
Many shelters are run like prisons or institutions, and treat the residents as inmates who have to follow orders. At best, a shelter where people have to show up at 8pm in the evening to get a bed, and leave at 8am, is an environment that would make normal, healthy people deteriorate, and certainly doesn't help homeless people with mental problems or life problems like job loss or medical problems.
The easiest, cheapest solution, with the best track record of success, is "Housing First." http://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/02/19/homes-for-the-homeless
2
@Norman - Sorry, but providing housing would also involve rules and you'd likely lose your housing if you were always on drugs or drunk. Housing programs work when the individuals actually WANT the housing. Many homeless do not, for a variety of reasons/health conditions.
3
Hawaii, another place unworthy of my tourism dollars. Brazil, much the same. Why do I want to go somewhere they push others aside to sell me their LIES?!
3
Here is a suggestion that may be workable. If you buy just ONE (1) less Lockheed Raptor F22 jet, of the 187 on order, you will save $420 Million dollars. That is enough to solve this problem in Hawaii and have a "we cleaned fixed homelessness parade" in Honolulu.
This would require just a little compassion and refocus of scarce resources.
This would require just a little compassion and refocus of scarce resources.
10
Homelessness should be addressed on the federal level because if one state or city is nice to them, more will come. The federal government should lead a program to build small, affordable apartments in all cities with high homeless populations. Perhaps this could be a job for Donald Trump.
6
Whose rights do we prioritize? Business owners who followed the law, opened businesses, and rely on the state to provide a safe and reliable setting for commerce? Or homeless individuals who never put forward effort in school or in jobs, became addicted to drugs and refuse to attempt to get off of said drugs, and contribute noting to society? This issue is zero sum. I take the side of those who contribute to society, not those who made the decision to give up on life
38
While I don't think homelessness should be criminalized, there is a lot of visible criminal activity in the San Francisco encampments that dot the city. I have lived in SF for less than two years. I have seen crack cocaine being sold, I have seen people injecting themselves with syringes and passing out on sidewalks, I have seen someone masturbating openly on a sidewalk, I have been physically grabbed by homeless people asking for money, I have seen cars being broken into, and I have seen people having sex in public (on a freeway overpass no less). I have on several occasions seen people defecating on the streets and sidewalks. Given the visibility of these crimes, it's not a safe city for children based on the graphic nature of what they will likely be exposed to here in public. Who protects minors from seeing the acts which occur in the streets? The city also suffers an absurdly high rate of property crime, especially car break-ins. I'd like to see the city crack down hard on the criminals that plague the city streets everyday, regardless of the housing status of those perpetrating these crimes.
90
I have seen similar scenes right here in Denver. The US is starting to look like Third World countries where poverty and begging is a way of life. When it sets in it is nearly impossible to reverse course. We must find intelligent solutions to this huge problem which is more likely to increase with populations growing out of control. It has become increasingly difficult for normal people to make ends meet, our municipalities cannot simply go on increasing taxes which have not proven to make a dent on this front.
6
This is a huge problem everywhere it seems. Costs are borne mostly by the local municipalities, and paid for by "property taxes", which are the lifeblood for those services. But cities are seeing an ever increasing amount of their property turning non-profit, and therefore exempt from property taxes. That needs to change.
Pay for the homeless by levying some amount/percentage of property tax on the ever expanding, non-profit sector. This gives back money to the local governments to help manage the homeless problem.
Or keep handing out tickets to the homeless........
Pay for the homeless by levying some amount/percentage of property tax on the ever expanding, non-profit sector. This gives back money to the local governments to help manage the homeless problem.
Or keep handing out tickets to the homeless........
2
Basically, this is about the national disgrace of poverty becoming visible to corporations and how its visibility cuts into profits, blaming the poor victims of obscene income and wealth inequality in the U.S.
If we want to decrease the homeless problem, statistically two thirds of it would be solved by addressing the problems of those down on their luck (around one- third of homeless) and those mentally ill (around one-third of the homeless). The other third of those homeless are addicted to substances showing that the "War on Drugs" approach has failed.
Criminalizing of the poor went public in a big way when Ronald Reagan vilified the "welfare queen" - you know the stereotypical Cadillac-driving woman of color who collected food stamps to feed her kids. Today, we know she would no longer be able to feed her kids on the reduced welfare our Republican Congress provides and she would be driving a foreign-made luxury car, not a Cadillac. Can't wait until Paul Ryan or Donald Trump updates the stereotype for us - if they haven't already.
But don't expect them to even mention the corporate-welfare, tax-dodging "welfare kings" who are bankrolling their political campaigns. After all, that would smack of class warfare, wouldn't it?
If we want to decrease the homeless problem, statistically two thirds of it would be solved by addressing the problems of those down on their luck (around one- third of homeless) and those mentally ill (around one-third of the homeless). The other third of those homeless are addicted to substances showing that the "War on Drugs" approach has failed.
Criminalizing of the poor went public in a big way when Ronald Reagan vilified the "welfare queen" - you know the stereotypical Cadillac-driving woman of color who collected food stamps to feed her kids. Today, we know she would no longer be able to feed her kids on the reduced welfare our Republican Congress provides and she would be driving a foreign-made luxury car, not a Cadillac. Can't wait until Paul Ryan or Donald Trump updates the stereotype for us - if they haven't already.
But don't expect them to even mention the corporate-welfare, tax-dodging "welfare kings" who are bankrolling their political campaigns. After all, that would smack of class warfare, wouldn't it?
20
Somewhat said it best below about the rampant homelessness in urban, Democratic strongholds; namely that rich donors to Hillary Clinton and company gave hundreds of millions to her campaign but not a dime to help a homeless person find an affordable home or get treatment.
4
Please remember that many were likely cherished, at least for a time when they were children. It's sad, somehow they lost their way and became greedy politicians that sold our country out. They have been implementing trade deals and regulations that left us weaker and weaker.
It's simply not realistic to expect all folks to achieve highly desirable education and skills. Looked at another way, those who are well paid for their hard work and earned skills should be grateful that there are so many who lack the same qualities, otherwise they would then find their efforts worth even less.
The political debates never seem to put enough emphasis on employment issues. I have no problem discussing homelessness, gender, sex preference, birth control, walls, conservation, and the rest. To me, a robust economy would mitigate, or at the very least make more amenable those other arguments, to a greater number of people.
It's simply not realistic to expect all folks to achieve highly desirable education and skills. Looked at another way, those who are well paid for their hard work and earned skills should be grateful that there are so many who lack the same qualities, otherwise they would then find their efforts worth even less.
The political debates never seem to put enough emphasis on employment issues. I have no problem discussing homelessness, gender, sex preference, birth control, walls, conservation, and the rest. To me, a robust economy would mitigate, or at the very least make more amenable those other arguments, to a greater number of people.
7
Thank you for the photos that accompany this article. They serve as a reminder that we're talking about living, often hurting, beings. A healthy dose of compassion for everyone involved--people without homes, storekeepers, etc.--would go a long way in helping us to solve the difficult problems of addiction, lack of affordable housing, a system of incarceration that leaves people with few options afterwards, and a foster care system that too often fails to put the needs of the child first. All of those problems and more contribute to the stories of the people photographed for this article, and their suffering is palpable even through the digital media interface.
9
Andy,
Thank you for speaking on behalf of the feelings of humans we ignore because we don't want to admit what selfish, stupid people we are.
Hello! If you can't house those you insist work for slave wages, then you aren't even a reformed Confederate!!
Thank you for speaking on behalf of the feelings of humans we ignore because we don't want to admit what selfish, stupid people we are.
Hello! If you can't house those you insist work for slave wages, then you aren't even a reformed Confederate!!
2
It is not stupid or selfish to want to avoid having people who engage in anti-social behavior at your doorstep.
5
The real story has been that Homeless advocates have pushed an agenda that has prohibited local government from requiring homeless to live in shelters. The ACLU has sued multiple large jurisdictions for the right to live outside, urinate in public, build fires, etc. They contend that public spaces should be used as a common living area. Warm weather locations and these laws has resulted in places like HI where homeless congregate. Municipalities have responded with these tough laws and its understandable. Homeless should not be a crime and adequate facilities provided for homeless people. However, if adequate housing is available, then living on the street, pandhandling, urinating and defecating in public and building fires should be prohibited. (see Pottinger case from ACLU in Miami as an example)
13
Don't worry, the Donald will fix it. It will be wonderful, incredible. The homeless love him.
14
People have rights. But what about the rights of a city? A city is not just a collection of buildings and sidewalks; it is a living, breathing organism. Great cities make great nations; and a country that abandons its cities is heading for a social and cultural collapse. The beautiful city of San Francisco is infested with human wrecks who make an orderly urban life impossible. How can you have a culture of sidewalk cafes when you are interrupted by druggies or accosted by panhandlers? How can you have tourism when you have homeless urinating on sidewalks? I lived in European and Asian cities where children would walk home from school and be perfectly safe. I would not let a child out of my sight anywhere in an American city. Unles serious measures are taken to heal our cities, they'll die. I see the measures in Honolulu as an important step toward achieving this goal. Those homeless who are out in the streets because of some financial misadventure should be given help to get back on their feet. The rest should be housed in rehab or jail.
21
In our country one has rights and one has responsibility. They are the flip sides of a coin and are not separable.
If one wants to be homeless, and most do not want to go to a shelter, then one has to but up with society telling you where and when you can be homeless.
The homeless abrogation of responsibility mean that society has the the right to tell you where you can and cannot be homeless. If you give up your responsibility then you give up our rights.
Of course, we have also had a phenomenon of the creation of a "Homeless Industrial Complex" in many major cities. This "creature" will do anything to assure its survival, including pushing back on society that wants to manage the problem to the wider society's benefit.
Homelessness is and will always be with us. The larger society protects, feeds, clothes and allows the homeless to be. Because we do that, we have the right to tell the homeless when and where they can sit and do nothing.
If one wants to be homeless, and most do not want to go to a shelter, then one has to but up with society telling you where and when you can be homeless.
The homeless abrogation of responsibility mean that society has the the right to tell you where you can and cannot be homeless. If you give up your responsibility then you give up our rights.
Of course, we have also had a phenomenon of the creation of a "Homeless Industrial Complex" in many major cities. This "creature" will do anything to assure its survival, including pushing back on society that wants to manage the problem to the wider society's benefit.
Homelessness is and will always be with us. The larger society protects, feeds, clothes and allows the homeless to be. Because we do that, we have the right to tell the homeless when and where they can sit and do nothing.
26
Why don't they just criminalize dying in the street, too, so they can bill their relations for the clean up?
I watched as our Occupy movement displaced the homeless who reside at the "Otis drunk tank" we keep in Armory Park since it's close to the police station. If your climate does not kill, you should be prepared seasonally for the globe's growing refugee movement. What are the rootless to do, blow away?
I don't understand why we can't be more Roman. Even slaves were bathed and rested, unless I've relied too much on Zero Mostel for my insights.
If I were a rich man, you'd be safe sleeping under my forum.
I watched as our Occupy movement displaced the homeless who reside at the "Otis drunk tank" we keep in Armory Park since it's close to the police station. If your climate does not kill, you should be prepared seasonally for the globe's growing refugee movement. What are the rootless to do, blow away?
I don't understand why we can't be more Roman. Even slaves were bathed and rested, unless I've relied too much on Zero Mostel for my insights.
If I were a rich man, you'd be safe sleeping under my forum.
4
Why should I take a plane ride for over 10 hours and spend thousands of dollars on a vacation to see homeless people in Hawaii. For $ 17.50 I can just travel into Manhattan.
Seriously, Honolulu's tourist economy will suffer if the homeless are not moved from areas that tourists congregate. Perhaps a homeless camp on one of the less populated islands would be appropriate. But to have them right outside the hotel you're staying at is a little bit too much.
Since most of the homeless have mental illnesses it is a recipe for disaster to have them around tourists.
Seriously, Honolulu's tourist economy will suffer if the homeless are not moved from areas that tourists congregate. Perhaps a homeless camp on one of the less populated islands would be appropriate. But to have them right outside the hotel you're staying at is a little bit too much.
Since most of the homeless have mental illnesses it is a recipe for disaster to have them around tourists.
30
Oh, the homeless are so unsightly! What happened to Christ? Did he check into a 5 hotel and complain about all the wretched of the earth? I think Jesus helped the homeless. I mean, was that not his vocation? Please do not call yourself a Christian
3
@Malika - If that's your view, surely you must have several homeless people whom you've invited to live in your home, as you are apparently a Christian. So tell us about the homeless living with you.
6
I think we need to have a public debate on who has the rights. We have the laws but no one enforces because of the rights issues.
LIKE SA has said-Now their rights trump mine and 99% of the citizens who have agreed to live within our laws and the requirement of societal decency.
Government in SF totally responds to the homeless industrial complex which are non profit city, state and citizen sponsored organizations (280 million of the city budget alone). They support the 7000 homeless and have no incentive to solve the problem or they lose their jobs.
Totally has really turned even my really really liberal neighbors against homelessness rights. But the government does nothing.
LIKE SA has said-Now their rights trump mine and 99% of the citizens who have agreed to live within our laws and the requirement of societal decency.
Government in SF totally responds to the homeless industrial complex which are non profit city, state and citizen sponsored organizations (280 million of the city budget alone). They support the 7000 homeless and have no incentive to solve the problem or they lose their jobs.
Totally has really turned even my really really liberal neighbors against homelessness rights. But the government does nothing.
13
@Terry - You stated that the government supports organizations which support 7,0000 homeless people on the one hand, and then complain that "the government does nothing". You contradict yourself. Your thinking that the government should "solve the problem" of homelessness indicates you're not really seeing the problem. Chronic homelessness is very different than lower middle class working families who are temporarily in need of housing assistance until they get back on their feet. The larger percentage of the seemingly permanent homeless are often in need of substance abuse programs, health assistance for medical or mental issues, and have no family to help them. And they often choose to not use social services, and can't be forced to do so. So what do you recommend?
1
Giving these troubled souls an empty home in Hawaii is not realistic , Detroit maybe but Hawaii , come on. Also , i have been told that many of the mental ill homeless do not actually want to be in a house or apt., they do not want to be closed in, have rules , etc. The drug and alcohol addicted homeless can only be "cured" if they want to be. These people have chronic, acute and very costly to deal with problems. The Hawaiian islands are physically small land masses , there just isn't the room to let the homeless do and go whatever they want and have a thriving tourist and business economy. It's a tough problem , but if you weren't born on the island and you came there like the guy in the story from Oregon and knew you were going to live on the streets , I think the airplane ticket back to where you came from is an ok policy.
29
I notice a lot of "for shame" comments from people who live in cold places I assume because they are not living with the rampant homelessness that is at extreme numbers in the bay area. Excrement, vomit, blood, drug use, sex, violence, threats of violence, being robbed, harassed if you are female, public transit that allows unchallenged use by those who then panhandle or harass etc etc. Tourism is down because no one wants to save up their hard earned money to come visit a place and see such horrors.
57
On the contrary, we have plenty of homeless in Chicago. Not a fan - I can't go out for a cup of coffee without being pestered by at least 5 homeless people.
6
"Cold places" definitely have plenty of problems with homeless people.
2
It is a long article and I apologize if I missed it but nothing is said whether all this homeless is native Hawaiians or are they also coming from the 49 states because of the warm weather?
4
The article states that Hawaii's tourist industry put up money to cover airfare for homeless from the mainland who wanted to return home, and the article contains at least one comment from a homeless man who came to the island from Oregon.
1
Thank you Dances..but I was hoping for for info like 50% are natives, 50% are from the mainland etc. etc..
If many comes from the mainland the next question is, if they are homeless, how did they get there? Swim?
If many comes from the mainland the next question is, if they are homeless, how did they get there? Swim?
2
@paul - Here you go, one source from Hawaii that helpse the homeless.
http://hopeserviceshawaii.org/message-from-the-ceo/facts/
http://hopeserviceshawaii.org/message-from-the-ceo/facts/
2
Like many situations, this one is messy. No one really wants to go to a store or restaurant and step over homeless people, especially those who are drinking or on drugs. No one wants their children to walk through t streets where " the homeless" congregate. SO, I can't get be too self righteous about businesses wanting the streets to be open. Would I welcome strangers with substance abuse problems camping out on my suburban yard?
No, but I do want people treated with compassion. There should be places where people can be safely housed. Which leads to more issues.
Some of the homeless work, or have some other income, such as disability benefits,and simply cannot afford housing. Others have serious mental health or substance abuse issues or often, both. Mixing everyone together in one sort of shelter does not work.
Funding: Housing and services cost money. I think it should be from income taxes, and that higher income people should be taxed at a higher level. I prefer income to property taxes, because high property tax assessments, and local reliance on them, pushes lower income people out. It is obviously more difficult in the most expensive places in the country.
FYI, the homeless problem has also grown in Westchester County over the past few years - and, I suspect , everywhere -- if your own back yard, so to speak, has no "homeless problem," you're probably not looking very closely, or your municipality is driving them out.
No, but I do want people treated with compassion. There should be places where people can be safely housed. Which leads to more issues.
Some of the homeless work, or have some other income, such as disability benefits,and simply cannot afford housing. Others have serious mental health or substance abuse issues or often, both. Mixing everyone together in one sort of shelter does not work.
Funding: Housing and services cost money. I think it should be from income taxes, and that higher income people should be taxed at a higher level. I prefer income to property taxes, because high property tax assessments, and local reliance on them, pushes lower income people out. It is obviously more difficult in the most expensive places in the country.
FYI, the homeless problem has also grown in Westchester County over the past few years - and, I suspect , everywhere -- if your own back yard, so to speak, has no "homeless problem," you're probably not looking very closely, or your municipality is driving them out.
10
If I could camp out anywhere I would. And a beach in Hawaii would be ideal. However it is illegal, I have to camp in a camp ground. I have a friend who moved to Key West. The city there made all the homeless living under people's houses ( which were built to endure flooding high on pillars so there is open space below. ) At the time I felt this was harsh. But then hurricane Katrina happened. All those homeless would have perished. Creating any community requires maintaining order, protecting chldren, maintaining open spaces. It is not fare to blame those who are attempting to maintain a normal life for this problem. It's a big problem. And if I heard they were giving free or affordable housing in Hawaii I would be the first one in line myself. The human race has an overpopulation problem. And a problem maintaining any culture or lifestyle because of the endless stream of refugees, immigration and lack of resources for those in need. I have friends in New Mexico who step out of their home and find strangers sleeping on their lawn and in their car. This has been going on for 10 years. To just call people who actually own a home or have built a community selfish sounds like a call for everyone to just let their communities turn into slums. I don't know the answer to this problem. But I imagine a lot of lower class working people who struggle and work to maintain a normal civilized life for their kids would also enjoy free housing in Hawaii.
61
Why not implement a small additional tax on houses valued at $1 million or more that is dedicated to building permanent low income housing?
Alternatively, we could criminalize having too much property, say over $10 million total assets, rather than criminalizing having too little property. That would correct the inequality problem in the US.
Alternatively, we could criminalize having too much property, say over $10 million total assets, rather than criminalizing having too little property. That would correct the inequality problem in the US.
7
This is sad for our once great country. The Banks own thousands upon thousands of homes that site vacant due to the financial crisis that THEY caused. As another comment suggested, the homeless should be placed in those homes temporarily while they sit vacant. I am ashamed to read on a daily basis about CEO compensation and Hedge Fund Managers deciding which East Hampton home to buy next while so many people in our country don't have food, shelter and clothing. I am disgusted.
5
What happens if the homeless are placed in vacant houses? Would they be required to seek substance abuse treatment (if that is a problem)? Would they be required to maintain the houses? Who will pay for food, furnishings, utilities, transportation, etc?
4
Let's call these people what they really are, IDPs ( Internally Displaced Persons) ... That's what the State Dept calls them in any other country and coordinates for camps to be built to house and protect them.
12
Just letting people sleep on sidewalks or beaches isn't compassionate either. It isn't helping them get to a better place. Everyone deserves shelter and access to social services. But if they reject those, let's not kid ourselves that allowing them to sleep on a sidewalk is doing them a favor. It's just the path of least resistance.
40
The democrats solution. Hide the problem which they created with their bad economic policies. All their government handouts cannot mask the big failures of decades of bad policies. Look at all the cities with problems like Chicago, Detroit and Baltimore. All these cities with decades run by democrats. Just like Obama and Hillary, they give great speeches but are clueless in actually solving these problems.
8
Democrat politicians are certainly not perfect, but there can't really be a worse economic policy than cutting taxes for the rich and hoping the bounty will trickle down to the rest of us. Compound that idiocy with slashing government spending and saying "no" to any and all proposed solutions from the President or the Democrats, and you have identified the core of our problems. I wish we could legislate that Elizabeth Warren would give YouTube speech aimed at all this lunacy every week.
9
What better place to be homeless than Hawaii? Who even needs a home in Hawaii? The weather is beautiful year round and the rich volcanic soils mean there's always food in the forest. Relocate them to the sparsely populated big island and let them roam free.
4
The vast majority are either mentally incapacitated, completely irresponsible, or have given their lives to alcoholism or hard drugs. That is why the homeless is such a difficult problem for society to solve. The more a city gives to the homeless, the more that'll come and overwhelm its resources(think San Francisco).
I've traveled all over Western Europe(just recently returned from France)... The homeless isn't a problem just in the US.
34
If you think that there's no homelessness issue in all of Europe, you're not paying attention.
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1061
http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=1061
4
I enjoyed the term "compassionate disruption." Orwell would have too, I suspect.
20
Is this the best America can do ? Drag the homeless out of sight down an alley where tourists won't see them?
12
Not good enough for my tourism dollars.
We have a significant problem here because the weather is divine most of the time, but we have committed as a city to end homelessness for vets, and we have enough land to figure out how to keep our citizens clean and resting safely with dignity come the hell of summer or high water.
We also do a great job of welcoming refugees who find the trees are full of what we think are ornaments. OMG, those are fantastic jellies, olives and dates and the mesquite flour is already sweetened! Who knew? Folks who know how to survive, and they teach us, too!
We have a significant problem here because the weather is divine most of the time, but we have committed as a city to end homelessness for vets, and we have enough land to figure out how to keep our citizens clean and resting safely with dignity come the hell of summer or high water.
We also do a great job of welcoming refugees who find the trees are full of what we think are ornaments. OMG, those are fantastic jellies, olives and dates and the mesquite flour is already sweetened! Who knew? Folks who know how to survive, and they teach us, too!
2
http://playpbs.azpm.org/video/2365731965/
We have no idea what we throw away when we assume no one can use it.
We have no idea what we throw away when we assume no one can use it.
We live in a society with a lot of abundance. That abundance is concentrated at the peak of society. Few businesses service lower end markets. It doesn't make a lot of business sense to build products for people who are unemployed, unemployable, underemployed, and fully employed but not making a living wage. The public utilities and transportation systems are subsidized by local or State agencies because a private commercial business model is not going to include this group into their pricing structure.
As businesses increasingly concentrate on the top 10% (here in America, in the EU, China, and India) the common public goods like housing become increasingly out of reach for a lot of people. If you don't have a family to move in with--that is a problem. If you have substance abuse and can't keep a relationship--that is a problem (and since these are the people excluded from the new healthcare system--getting treatment is a double problem). If you live in a "Red State"--that is an even larger problem given the attitudes toward care, education, healthcare, and austerity measures.
The solution for homelessness is to resolve the rapidly expanding inequality; shed the "Do-Nothing" Congress, and bring back those often expressed "Christian values" of helping thy neighbor--regardless.
Or we could just start electing people to office willing to represent growing groups of people without representation. It is a Democracy--remember. Anyone can be elected... right?
As businesses increasingly concentrate on the top 10% (here in America, in the EU, China, and India) the common public goods like housing become increasingly out of reach for a lot of people. If you don't have a family to move in with--that is a problem. If you have substance abuse and can't keep a relationship--that is a problem (and since these are the people excluded from the new healthcare system--getting treatment is a double problem). If you live in a "Red State"--that is an even larger problem given the attitudes toward care, education, healthcare, and austerity measures.
The solution for homelessness is to resolve the rapidly expanding inequality; shed the "Do-Nothing" Congress, and bring back those often expressed "Christian values" of helping thy neighbor--regardless.
Or we could just start electing people to office willing to represent growing groups of people without representation. It is a Democracy--remember. Anyone can be elected... right?
6
Dave from Cleveland pinpoints the fundamental problem. All of big city municipal government, normally run by Liberal Democrats, is in the pocket of real estate development, corporate landlords, and tourism commerce. None of these are interested in urban affordable housing and the transportation system required to achieve it. An enormous share of urban land in California cities is occupied by an original single family housing stock that is expected to be serviced by automobile. You simply cannot provide affordable urban housing on the back of the automobile.
6
I have two responses to this. 1: A country is not truly "free" if it is illegal to live as one "chooses." 2. Is homelessness always a "choice"? How much "choice" do we have over the escalating and increasingly unrealistic cost of housing?
12
This is not only a problem in Waikiki, Honolulu or on O'ahu. It is also a problem on all of the islands. Having served as a priest for 10 years in Hawai'i, I can attest that the problems of homelessness are many and complex. Hawai'i has one of the highest cost of living in the U.S. especially affordable housing (which is so scarce it seems non-existant). It seems like a place with investment banker prices and entry level hospitality industry wages. Even teachers are paid less than in the continental U.S. For all too many homelessness is losing a job and having no family to take you in.
Another large part of the problem is homelessness that is a result of alcoholism and/or drug abuse. This is often associated with mental health issues. Many people come to the Islands from the mainland with these problems. These cases are resistant to help and overtax the resources of the State and local communities. It is not that the people who are from the Islands lack compassion. It is more the case that their compassion is tested by the lack of resources to address the issues and the laws and lack of political will to do what needs to be done.
In many ways I think we can look to Hawai'i as a harbinger of the future here on the mainland given our own current economic and political policies.
Perhaps
Another large part of the problem is homelessness that is a result of alcoholism and/or drug abuse. This is often associated with mental health issues. Many people come to the Islands from the mainland with these problems. These cases are resistant to help and overtax the resources of the State and local communities. It is not that the people who are from the Islands lack compassion. It is more the case that their compassion is tested by the lack of resources to address the issues and the laws and lack of political will to do what needs to be done.
In many ways I think we can look to Hawai'i as a harbinger of the future here on the mainland given our own current economic and political policies.
Perhaps
174
@Fr.Bill - "future here on the mainland"?? Are you really unaware that this issue already exists across the country? Perhaps you're a bit isolated in Cambridge?
6
@Fr. Bill
There's a disconnect when one sentence states Hawaii has one of the highest costs of living in the U.S. and another states there is a lack of resources to address the homeless problem.
If Hawaii, or any city, is so wealthy that luxury housing is standard, they can allocate resources for affordable housing for working poor and homeless; they simply choose not to.
This is yet another problem attributable to unfettered capitalism and abdication of governmental responsibility to work for solutions for ALL citizens. They're using taxpayer funds to monitor, police, and ticket homeless people instead of funding useful programs to help them off the street.
Granted, there will always be some homeless who don't want to enter detox or live in permanent housing where they must follow rules. However, the majority of homeless want to be secure in a home.
There are cities that are successfully addressing the issue (i think Portland is one), why doesn't Honolulu adopt those programs?
There's a disconnect when one sentence states Hawaii has one of the highest costs of living in the U.S. and another states there is a lack of resources to address the homeless problem.
If Hawaii, or any city, is so wealthy that luxury housing is standard, they can allocate resources for affordable housing for working poor and homeless; they simply choose not to.
This is yet another problem attributable to unfettered capitalism and abdication of governmental responsibility to work for solutions for ALL citizens. They're using taxpayer funds to monitor, police, and ticket homeless people instead of funding useful programs to help them off the street.
Granted, there will always be some homeless who don't want to enter detox or live in permanent housing where they must follow rules. However, the majority of homeless want to be secure in a home.
There are cities that are successfully addressing the issue (i think Portland is one), why doesn't Honolulu adopt those programs?
2
"Investment banker prices and entry-level hospitality industry wages" ... this is a problem in every major metro area in the country, and many that are smaller, too.
5
Some of the commenters here apparently did not read the article. Homeless advocates had mixed opinions about the programs, with some stating they provided incentives to get people into shelters and treatment. Hawaii ought to take the next step and begin a "housing first" program, but Hawaii is not Utah, and the effort will be more complicated.
In any case, a tourism dependent economy can't simply let retail and tourist areas become homeless encampments. I'll assume that none of you who live in pleasant suburban neighborhoods have offered up your front lawns for this purpose, either.
In any case, a tourism dependent economy can't simply let retail and tourist areas become homeless encampments. I'll assume that none of you who live in pleasant suburban neighborhoods have offered up your front lawns for this purpose, either.
252
Thank you for the nuanced analysis. There are laws that basically equate to punishing the poor for their poverty, but this doesn't seem to be one of those cases.
4
No, we didn't offer up our front lawns, but we did offer our dumpsters, and the bums refused! Unbelievable.
1
I am one of the tourists who refused to return to Honolulu due to the homeless problem. It was not a matter of people not wanting to look at the homeless, it was the aggressive panhandling and (for me) homeless people attempting to enter my car more than once. Honolulu has made services and shelters available but the homeless turn up their noses at these offers, so I believe the city is justified in rousting them from the streets. I'd like to live at The Four Seasons but it won't happen and if I camped out on the hotel property unbathed and with a cart piled high with my unsanitary belongings, the hotel would be well within its rights to have me hauled away.
257
The homeless turn up their noses? What an awful generalization. And then unbathed and unsanitary belongings? As if people prefer the travails of homelessness. You demonstrate a sore lack of understanding, not to mention compassion.
3
You should probably skip San Francisco too.
4
Really? I've never heard of the homeless in Hawai'i behaving that way. Furthermore, the Four Seasons is located on Ko'Olina, a very large, gated, heavily policed private property enclosing multiple hotels including a Marriot and Disney's Aulani that can only be accessed by road. Few locals go there let alone the homeless because of how deliberately isolated, exclusive and inaccessible the property owners have made it.
2
Why would Hawaii be immune to the Obama legacy?
There are just as many homeless Black people sleeping on the streets and in front of stores across the street from the White House.
There are just as many homeless Black people sleeping on the streets and in front of stores across the street from the White House.
5
Just because you don't have a home does not mean you are not a citizen. Not what the founding fathers intended, I admit, but it what our democracy has evolved into.
More and more of us have to travel farther and farther as the uber wealthy buy out the centers of our cities and we subsidize the value of their homes through long commutes...and homelessness.
Here's a novel idea, housing to live in, not vacation, not invest.
I would be happier if part of the "treatment" included voter registration for those on the streets as well.
More and more of us have to travel farther and farther as the uber wealthy buy out the centers of our cities and we subsidize the value of their homes through long commutes...and homelessness.
Here's a novel idea, housing to live in, not vacation, not invest.
I would be happier if part of the "treatment" included voter registration for those on the streets as well.
3
We are fighting the wrong bathroom wars. Transgender people are merely inconvenienced by not being able to go to the bathroom of their choice. Homeless people have no place to go to the bathroom.
4
They do have a place to go. There are homeless shelters in every large city.
But the homeless won't go. Cause they don't like being around all those other homeless people.
But the homeless won't go. Cause they don't like being around all those other homeless people.
4
@C.C. Kegel - One has nothing to do with the other, why would you even bring that up? And homeless people in urban areas have use of showers and toilets at shelters, both with day programs and overnight, but many decline due to rules at shelters.
9
Imagine you have lost your money, your home and your support systems. Get back to me when you can find a place to shower, stinker!
1
This is a disgrace in our wealthy country. We should stop spending so much money on our military and policing of other countries and start focusing on the poor Americans in our midst.
2
There are free social services and temporary housing available for the homeless. And being poor does not mean your're also homeless. Chronic homelessness is a different issue than poverty.
6
I don't blame Hawaii for trying to change the situation. As a resident of Florida we have some serious problems also. At times (usually winter) we have had packs of panhandlers at every intersection, not only is it intimidating but also a traffic hazard not to mention freaking out the tourist. If we lose the tourists many jobs will be lost. Do homeless rights supersede others rights to make a living.
The mental illness and addiction that drive many to become homeless is a complex problem that is not easily solved. But just ignoring the problem and letting them do whatever they want is not the answer. Hawaii's carrot and stick approach is worth a try.
The mental illness and addiction that drive many to become homeless is a complex problem that is not easily solved. But just ignoring the problem and letting them do whatever they want is not the answer. Hawaii's carrot and stick approach is worth a try.
35
We have visited Honolulu twice in the past year to visit our son who is attending college there. It felt a little like our hometown, Portland, Oregon: there were many homeless people on Waikiki, and several were surprisingly aggressive. Portland has now become a haven for the homeless, including a staggering number of youth, in part because the mayor and city council have supported a policy of non-enforcement encouraged by some homeless advocates. In addition, city government and the business community have left the true homeless support network up to non-profits and faith-based organizations that are simply not up to the task. I would propose a blend of well-funded community and government transition efforts and a transition-based enforcement effort. What Honolulu is attempting with their efforts may need additional crafting and adjustment, but it appears to be a model to study and build on.
15
Would it be possible to take an old city with lots of vacant homes like Detroit or Gary, Indiana and make it a national refuge for the homeless? Cities across the country could pay to take their homeless there and the federal government could pitch I too. There would be housing, support services, food and medical care. The homeless might even help prepare and serve the food and rehab the houses as part of a self help program. Rather than rousting folks and encouraging to move along, give them a home to go to.
8
I am not sure I support the idea of warehousing the homeless away from sight, but leaving that aside....
Where do you think all the money to implement your scheme would come from?
Do you think politicians would actually do some work, compromise and find some money for this? What about the current inhabitants of Detroit and Gary?
If you had proposed Mars, your proposal might actually have some chance.
Where do you think all the money to implement your scheme would come from?
Do you think politicians would actually do some work, compromise and find some money for this? What about the current inhabitants of Detroit and Gary?
If you had proposed Mars, your proposal might actually have some chance.
It's a huge problem. I used to work in Honolulu and would find people camping in my front door alcove every morning. Honolulu is small, space is limited. Homeless people were moved off beaches, and now they fill the parks. Some shelters were opened on the west side, but drug testing was part of admission, so not everyone qualified. I really don't know what the answer is, but am sympathetic to both sides of the issue.
7
Frequently cited reasons why people end up homeless:
Loss of home due to medical costs. Even with the affordable healthcare act - this is still the case.
Working at a job that pays the current minimum wage which is not a sustainable Living wage.
Living in Cities where property rents soar and little is done to really address affordable living (see news stories about NYC and San Francisco).
These are causes that we can and need to fix. Heaping more penalties on people who have already lost so much -now that is truly criminal.
Loss of home due to medical costs. Even with the affordable healthcare act - this is still the case.
Working at a job that pays the current minimum wage which is not a sustainable Living wage.
Living in Cities where property rents soar and little is done to really address affordable living (see news stories about NYC and San Francisco).
These are causes that we can and need to fix. Heaping more penalties on people who have already lost so much -now that is truly criminal.
4
Every case history in this article seems to have issues that go far beyond a lack of housing. In that respect, I think the article does a good, fair, representative job of picking its anecdotal evidence. 'If I wanted detox, I would have been there already' says one, apparently an alcoholic. Nothing wrong, per se, in Honolulu giving that man a dwelling--provided the tourists and their money keep coming. But that alone is probably not going to keep him off the streets.
7
You know what the sad and scary irony is with articles like this? They pretty much disprove every single thing that liberals on here work to defend. Just to name four cities out of the many that suffer from staggering amounts of either crime or homelessness. There continues to be one universal common denominator: they are all Democrat strongholds. Chicago and Baltimore deal with high levels of homelessness and epic amounts of crime. San Francisco and Honolulu have perhaps some of the most widespread homelessness for places of their size anywhere on the planet. New York City is rapidly catching up as there are homeless people by the hundreds of thousands adding up. I should clarify when I say Democrats; I mean Clinton Democrats. Neo-liberals who funnel massive amounts of wealth to their elitist cronies and leaving just a carcass for everyone else (all the while telling American's they're all for the people, bla, bla, bla..) Then you have places like Seattle, parts of Oregon, definitely Denver, places in Texas (like Austin), that are thriving and far more modern and this Democratic voter base tends to favors Sanders. Does anyone else see the connection yet? It's blatantly obvious for all to see, if you choose to open your eyes and maybe listen. But some of you want 4 more years of the same.
It's just odd that the Times, stomp and kick their feet like spoiled toddlers with their defiance and support for Clinton, then go on to publish factual and necessary articles like this.
It's just odd that the Times, stomp and kick their feet like spoiled toddlers with their defiance and support for Clinton, then go on to publish factual and necessary articles like this.
17
Oh come on, give me a break! Seattle and Austin have their own problems with homelessness too. And don't let me get started on the rural poverty in Republican stronghold states. Don't cherry pick articles.
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/02/us/seattle-homeless-jungle-camp.html
http://www.nytimes.com/2016/03/02/us/seattle-homeless-jungle-camp.html
5
While some people in Seattle are " thriving" the homeless problem is huge. $49 million a year is spent on services yet children continue to live with their parents under freeways. No one can agree on how to go forward. Indecisiveness reigns supreme.
2
Having lived in both NYC and Austin, I would bet the homeless problem there per capita in the downtown area of Austin far outweighs that of NYC. But it sounds like that fact wouldn't support your Clinton bashing.
5
Three years ago, I had an internship and lived in Oahu for 6 weeks. The homeless problem was really bad. Sometimes on my morning jog, the sidewalks would be partially blocked by homeless tents.
I saw a homeless man on Kalakaua Avenue, he reeked of feces and flies were buzzing around him. He was wearing a blue paper smock, and it was clear he had just left a hospital facility. It was hard not to retch as I walked around him.
Most of the reader comments here fail to realize the depth of the problem, especially for an economy where over 70% of the population is economically dependent on tourism.
Its clear from this article that the real problem is mental illness and substance abuse (which is true for all cities with homeless populations). Yes, everyone has rights, and the ACLU can certainly be concerned, but I don't see the ACLU questioning one's right to decline detox or rehab. Of course not, that would be ridiculous, but my point is that that at least efforts are in play to offer assistance.
Its a complicated problem with no easy answers. I applaud the city for at least trying to do something.
I saw a homeless man on Kalakaua Avenue, he reeked of feces and flies were buzzing around him. He was wearing a blue paper smock, and it was clear he had just left a hospital facility. It was hard not to retch as I walked around him.
Most of the reader comments here fail to realize the depth of the problem, especially for an economy where over 70% of the population is economically dependent on tourism.
Its clear from this article that the real problem is mental illness and substance abuse (which is true for all cities with homeless populations). Yes, everyone has rights, and the ACLU can certainly be concerned, but I don't see the ACLU questioning one's right to decline detox or rehab. Of course not, that would be ridiculous, but my point is that that at least efforts are in play to offer assistance.
Its a complicated problem with no easy answers. I applaud the city for at least trying to do something.
381
I own a small house in Honolulu and am currently working on the mainland. I would like to add some additional information about the demographics of the homeless in Honolulu and this is little known outside of Hawaii. About 50% of the homeless are people from the Compact of Free Association (COFA) comprising Micronesia, Palau, and the Marshall Islands. After WWII, from 1946 to 1958, 67 separate nuclear weapons were exploded by the US in these islands. COFA is a deal made to enable migrants (older and younger generations) from these islands to reside in the US. Most of the migrants, now older are in Hawaii and in poor health because of radiation exposure and unable to work. In 1996, Congress denied COFA migrants access to Medicaid despite nuking their islands. Yes, they're homeless. Yes, they also suffer from mental health issues and substance abuse. All combined, this makes for even more complexity to the homeless situation in Honolulu.
5
I recall a situation in North Carolina, about 20 years ago. An aleged criminal was hiding is a ramshackle shack. The police surrounded it. After a short wait, they opened fire. "We had to do something." As it happened, several police officers were wounded by bullets that went through the shack and out the other side. But they did something.
Of course, anyone who understands project analysis knows that one option must be do nothing. Sometimes that is the best answer, even if not a good result.
Of course, anyone who understands project analysis knows that one option must be do nothing. Sometimes that is the best answer, even if not a good result.
1
> He was wearing a blue paper smock, and it was clear he had just left a hospital facility.<
Minus the flies and what was attracting them, it reminds me of a recent tableau in the morning commute in downtown Berkeley. A man perhaps in his 50s meandered around the bus stop, not panhandling, engaging others, or really doing anything in particular, just smiling beatifically at the sky and holding a paper shopping bag that I'm imagining contained his worldly goods. He was dressed in a hospital johnny, though mercifully someone had managed to get a pair of sweat pants onto him, and still had his wristband on. One had serious doubts about his ability to fend for himself in an apartment, never mind on the street, but plainly he'd been discharged to make his own way in the world as best he could.
At least he was at less imminent risk than another man with that recently discharged look in nearby Oakland, who stopped in mid-jaywalk on a busy downtown boulevard to rant and shake his fist at a bus.
The worst part is that there is really nothing unusual about what you or I have described. For a generation or more, all but the most frighteningly mentally ill have enjoyed freedoms that often include the right to live under a blue tarp on a steam grate and/or refuse treatment. Those who do not have considerable resources or family and good friends at their back -- preferably both -- often end up doing exactly that...
There's got to be a better way in the middle somewhere...
Minus the flies and what was attracting them, it reminds me of a recent tableau in the morning commute in downtown Berkeley. A man perhaps in his 50s meandered around the bus stop, not panhandling, engaging others, or really doing anything in particular, just smiling beatifically at the sky and holding a paper shopping bag that I'm imagining contained his worldly goods. He was dressed in a hospital johnny, though mercifully someone had managed to get a pair of sweat pants onto him, and still had his wristband on. One had serious doubts about his ability to fend for himself in an apartment, never mind on the street, but plainly he'd been discharged to make his own way in the world as best he could.
At least he was at less imminent risk than another man with that recently discharged look in nearby Oakland, who stopped in mid-jaywalk on a busy downtown boulevard to rant and shake his fist at a bus.
The worst part is that there is really nothing unusual about what you or I have described. For a generation or more, all but the most frighteningly mentally ill have enjoyed freedoms that often include the right to live under a blue tarp on a steam grate and/or refuse treatment. Those who do not have considerable resources or family and good friends at their back -- preferably both -- often end up doing exactly that...
There's got to be a better way in the middle somewhere...
1
Criminalizing homelessness makes no sense. Homeless people do not have the means to travel to another location. Saying that, I am reminded of the ancient myth of the Ship of Fools who wander aimlessly, which seems to be our elected leaders who cannot - or will not - find solutions to pressing problems. Making homelessness illegal is an idiot's answer. People without housing have nowhere to go and making their lives of misery worse does nothing to address the problem.
Housing First programs have been very successful as shown by research on their outcomes. They provide efficiency apartments and social services to people who are homeless without insisting on sobriety as a precondition. Housing gives people dignity, and it improves their health. Housing is necessary for all others forms of stabilization and supports recovery from addiction. It is money well spent.
America, we pay trillions for endless wars. We build roads and bridges in Afghanistan and Iraq and then blow them up days or months later. We CAN afford to address our social and infrastructure problems. We chose not to. What does that make us? At the best, nothing to brag about.
It's our priorities, stupid.
Housing First programs have been very successful as shown by research on their outcomes. They provide efficiency apartments and social services to people who are homeless without insisting on sobriety as a precondition. Housing gives people dignity, and it improves their health. Housing is necessary for all others forms of stabilization and supports recovery from addiction. It is money well spent.
America, we pay trillions for endless wars. We build roads and bridges in Afghanistan and Iraq and then blow them up days or months later. We CAN afford to address our social and infrastructure problems. We chose not to. What does that make us? At the best, nothing to brag about.
It's our priorities, stupid.
16
@Nora01 - You seem to be confusing temporary homelessness due to job loss or other financial stress, and chronic homelessness where people are not seeking a solution to exit poverty. The two are far from the same.
4
Here in Singapore, we have no homeless. The crazy are institutionalized, the ill, disabled, and elderly with no families are similarly cared for in state (but not mental) institutions, and the down-on-their-luck are given a living stipend until they can find work and income. Alcoholics and drug users for whom rehab has failed, and the otherwise healthy are given time to find work/income, then are jailed for vagrancy if still living on the street. Seems fair to all.
394
In the US, we cannot institutionalize even the most seriously mentally ill, as our Liberal judges have ruled that they must be allowed to 'choose' if they would prefer to live on the streets.
2
We had residential mental hospitals across the nation prior to the 70s.
The lefty liberals (ACLU) sued and sued for "patient rights". Well, crazy people don't want to be in a hospital taking meds. They want to be out on the street getting high on drugs and alcohol.
The lefties said "that's their right -- to take drugs, and live on the street".
So that is what we now have.
The lefty liberals (ACLU) sued and sued for "patient rights". Well, crazy people don't want to be in a hospital taking meds. They want to be out on the street getting high on drugs and alcohol.
The lefties said "that's their right -- to take drugs, and live on the street".
So that is what we now have.
2
Genius, most of the means used by the government in Singapore (working well, I know) would've be illegal or financially impossible in the US.
2
If Hawaii provided free housing, 10,000 new homeless would show up next year. And, smart poor people would stop paying rent and take the free housing to save money. Utah's housing plan worked because there were 300 homeless in a metro area of 2 million, and real estate is so cheap that housing declines in value there as people build newer fancier homes.
Every city needs a place for the indigent who droit by to camp. It doesn't need to be in the city limits. It needs to be in a bad enough place that it doesn't encourage more homeless to come or the poor to stop trying to support themselves. Tent cabins with perimeter chain link fencing for each unit and 2 squares a day will do it. These tent cabin encampments need to be small and widely scattered.
Every city needs a place for the indigent who droit by to camp. It doesn't need to be in the city limits. It needs to be in a bad enough place that it doesn't encourage more homeless to come or the poor to stop trying to support themselves. Tent cabins with perimeter chain link fencing for each unit and 2 squares a day will do it. These tent cabin encampments need to be small and widely scattered.
35
Instituting a basic income as Switzerland and Finland has would avoid that scenario and also help the homelessness problem - which can also be alleviated by alloting more money to mental health and the VA.
1
@Glenn Fink - I doubt that would work in Hawaii. Several homeless interviewed in the article have been homeless nearly all their lives, and have been offered free shelter and social services to help them get on their feet. Most of them decline even a visit to shower, and get clean clothes & food. Some may have substance abuse or mental health problems. Others may have only known homelessness and aren't comfortable trying to change that lifestyle.
5
I would bet a lot of those situations would be found to be mental-health based. I think you are also describing some adaptation to a set of circumstances since you're not really allowed to start off as homeless, and you usually don't just get there without a reason that's usually economic in nature.
Homelessness is a national problem, and needs a national solution. This is because homeless people are quite mobile, and will relocate to where they receive the most benefits, overloading local communities.
Hawaii offers generous social services and medical care in addition to its obvious resort destination appeal. Many homeless in Honolulu fly there from the mainland specifically intending to be homeless in paradise. About a third of Hawaii homeless are from out of state.
If Hawaii houses and cares for all its homeless, it will receive an infusion of tens of thousands more homeless from the rest of the country. Only a national approach to the homelessness problem will solve Hawaii's homelessness epidemic.
Hawaii offers generous social services and medical care in addition to its obvious resort destination appeal. Many homeless in Honolulu fly there from the mainland specifically intending to be homeless in paradise. About a third of Hawaii homeless are from out of state.
If Hawaii houses and cares for all its homeless, it will receive an infusion of tens of thousands more homeless from the rest of the country. Only a national approach to the homelessness problem will solve Hawaii's homelessness epidemic.
279
North Carolina has made a habit of bussing the homeless to Asheville - the most liberal city in the state by far. There's a hint of vengeance in that action, I believe. Your proposal would not just help Hawaii but all US locales, and also help curb such petty practices by spiteful politicians.
3
Force people to work for the benefits they get. Problem solved. No one should get anything for free.
2
The only problem with Lilikoi's opinion is that it is based on anecdote and an urban myth about hundreds of homeless people flying from the mainland to Hawaii with the intention of being homeless here. Not actually a fact.
Here in Vancouver we face this problem too. Large crowds of drug addicts erect makeshift tent cities on once attractive city lawns, effectively creating a no-go zone where once people of all stripes could once walk and enjoy the view. Ironic.
As long as there is mental illness and drug addiction, homelessness will be a problem that needs to be addressed. But it does not follow that these people have the right to occupy whatever space they choose, regardless of the imposition on others.
As long as there is mental illness and drug addiction, homelessness will be a problem that needs to be addressed. But it does not follow that these people have the right to occupy whatever space they choose, regardless of the imposition on others.
124
Doug: I wish you'd stop back here and address this. HOW can Vancouver have this problem? I know their housing is among the costliest in North America -- but you guys are CANADIAN. You have single payer health care. I am sure you have the mental hospitals and treatment centers that we Americans lack.
So HOW can you have this problem too?
So HOW can you have this problem too?
2
This is a national problem and should be addressed as such. When Hawaii sends the homeless back to the mainland, where do they go? Just shooing them away doesn't help them or get rid of the problem. Here in Western Massachusetts we also have homeless on the streets of Northampton and Amherst. Some of these are folks were born here, but there are others who have filtered through big places like Honolulu, NYC and SF. We need more funding to support programs to end homelessness, not hide these people out in the provinces where small towns and people with big hearts are expected to tackle the issue alone.
1
Homelessness needs a national solution. The federal government needs to step in and provide housing and services for those who truly cannot take care of themselves. Note that this does not mean the homeless get to live wherever they want. Your new home may be rural Ohio, or wherever's cheapest.
Bravo! Let's offer these "RCP's" a chance at jobs on farms. It's an honest day's work, feeds our nation and I'd be willing to support a government stipend to the farmers who employ them.
1
Please, no "national solution". You want a TSA for the homeless?
My little daughter saw a new, fancy housing development being built next to the undesirable sewage treatment facility in town. She immediately said "why isn't the homeless shelter next to the sewage instead of near our tourist area?"
Each town can supply bunk beds, shower, beans and rice for the homeless in an area no one wants to live in. Drug-sniffing dogs can patrol. Each town will have few takers. Those who need it will be grateful. The mentally ill need to be in a mental institution.
My little daughter saw a new, fancy housing development being built next to the undesirable sewage treatment facility in town. She immediately said "why isn't the homeless shelter next to the sewage instead of near our tourist area?"
Each town can supply bunk beds, shower, beans and rice for the homeless in an area no one wants to live in. Drug-sniffing dogs can patrol. Each town will have few takers. Those who need it will be grateful. The mentally ill need to be in a mental institution.
1
We have affordable housing for the homeless in Denver run by local poverty barons. Often said barons are using religious charity designation to get unknown and untaxed parsonage allowances for themselves and their top executives. These buildings are crime centers. Drugs, prostitution et al. This with the Denver Police serving as private security. Until someone figures out how to sober up and straighten out most of our lowest homeless bums BEWARE.
6
This is all so sad. People should not be homeless in paradise. And the lovely soft-climate places in this country, not only Hawaii, are really the only reasonable places they can try to live -- they are so much better off there than depending on heating grates in northern US cities. Unlike a previous reader/writer, I *do* know what I think about this: we all need to do more to prevent people from being homeless and to help people who are to move out of that terrible situation. Maybe if tourists see homelessness right in front of their eyes they will be moved to think about these people and maybe think with both intelligence and compassion. Making them invisible will not really help, either them or, in the long run, the society that ultimately will have to pay for the abusive conditions in which they live. In the shorter term, of course, moving them away *will* help the tourist industry, but that will not in the longer term be enough to balance the harms.
2
It's a crime to sit on the sidewalk, but millionaires can take down the economy and get away scot-free.
12
You can't deal with the homeless problem by arresting the people. Take care of them instead. They are part of our society. It's shameful how we deal with the weakest members of society.
3
We need to bring we need to bring back the government camps that Steinbeck wrote about in "The Grapes of Wrath " to help these people. Funny how we can spend trillions of dollars to rebuild Iraq, but we can't spend any money to rebuild America.
8
I'm confused. Exactly what law gives people "the right" to sleep on sidewalks or in doorways? San Diego has a huge homeless population but you never saw them during the day. Just because you are homeless doesn't mean you have those rights. Frankly they should round them all up, in every state, and drop them on Congress and Wall Street so they can finally realise the consequences of their behavior.
9
Sweeping drunks and addicts underneath the umbrella term "homeless" (or R.C.P.'s, if centuries worth of the perfectly straightforward English language is just too shocking for your delicate sensibilities) with people who are just plain broke because of economics forces the discussion about this issue onto the wrong path which then inevitably ends in the incorrect conclusion that the core problem nationwide is the "lack of affordable housing." There is no housing on this planet that a full-blown drunk or addict can afford because they are never going to actually hand over their own money to their landlord for that purpose. That means the only housing you are going to be able to keep them in is "free" housing subsidized by the rest of us. And, ask any landlord or local police force with experience with this particular demographic, and they will tell you that (aside from the catastrophic damage these people do the actual apartment you give them and squalid day-to-day living conditions they are capable of sinking into) there are still going to be no end to police responses to their new fixed location. For a huge subset of these people, providing "affordable housing" to them in order to address their "homelessness" is no more of a solution than providing someone with a steady stream of "affordable replacement cars" as a means of addressing their "Sobriety Challenged Driving Habits. (S.C.D.H.s)"
31
Good for Honolulu, and good for the NY Times for publicizing the fact that Hawaii, especially Honolulu, is not a good place to land up on the streets. This is a tough problem, but signing over your city streets to a permanent population of troubled transients is not a good solution. Why are many of the homeless drawn to Waikiki? Because the hustling opportunities are the greatest and there are plenty of places to by alcohol and drugs. And detox is not the solution either by itself; you can't take away their means of dealing with their pain and leaving them with nothing.
5
I can recall once hearing the then mayor of the affluent city of Santa Barbara, CA explain a similar situation there. The homeless poor tended to migrate there because the mild climate enabled them to sleep out of doors at night during winter. The city had an agreement with them that they would not bother tourists with panhandling. They never did, I then observed. They quietly gathered in groups late in the evening in the city parks or grounds before the library. During the day they managed to make themselves invisible.
6
Hawaii is ridiculously expensive to live. There is a teacher shortage because teachers cannot afford rent there on their salary and have to work 2-3 jobs to make ends meet. You are 1 paycheck away from being homeless there. If these ordinances doesn't work what's next? Will David Ige will bring back the practice of human sacrifices to the volcano to appease Pele? When you criminalize the poor such measures are not usually that much far behind.
9
"The Department of Housing and Urban Development announced this year that it would steer homeless assistance funds away from cities that use various prohibitions that it says make homelessness illegal. “We are strongly against such measures..” Rings of NCLB. Punish the challenged states by making them more challenging and not offering any contribution to a solution.
Notoriously missing from this article is any kind of any hint of any whiff of a solution.
The governor proffers affordable housing with a sad whisper at the end of the article. Nope. A stop gap solution at best and a failure in cities where even free housing, with the any kind of public safety stipulations, have failed to stem the tide of homelessness.
It is not a simple problem solved by sympathy and earnest liberal outrage (in a 140 characters). This is where I put the lion's share of my charitible contributions because I'm sad, sympathetic and I want to go to the library and not be harassed.
Notoriously missing from this article is any kind of any hint of any whiff of a solution.
The governor proffers affordable housing with a sad whisper at the end of the article. Nope. A stop gap solution at best and a failure in cities where even free housing, with the any kind of public safety stipulations, have failed to stem the tide of homelessness.
It is not a simple problem solved by sympathy and earnest liberal outrage (in a 140 characters). This is where I put the lion's share of my charitible contributions because I'm sad, sympathetic and I want to go to the library and not be harassed.
3
I live in Santa Cruz, one of the places mentioned in this article supposedly getting tough. Downtown is overrun by homeless people, they urinate and defecate in doorways and on sidewalks. There is a major heroin problem here, Mexican cartels bring it to Santa Cruz and people come from all over the state to buy it. There are homeless encampments in the woods next to the University, students hiking run into camps of men shooting up drugs. Our beaches are littered with syringes, thanks to the mobile needle exchange. Kids are picking up dirty needles on the beach. This is a real problem not just for the homeless people but for the whole community. I am a liberal, but not a fool.
278
Flown out of Hawai'i? Leaving SFO last week was the first time I saw what looked like down and out indigent folk in SFO's international terminal.
I would like to hear more about how Hawai'i is able to serve the indigent population since we have failed in the Bay Area.
I would like to hear more about how Hawai'i is able to serve the indigent population since we have failed in the Bay Area.
5
Adam Nagourney is the best reporter on your staff. I love to read his stuff. Everything is there all laid out for me to see. All the complexities laid bare. Clearly this is a problem beyond most of our city officials. They need help from professionals and they are not getting it.
4
If you're throwing them in jail (for the horrible crime of being homeless), then why not just build them housing? Isn't it the same thing (without the criminalization of a non-crime)? Taxpayer dollars? Other cities in other states have done it, and they've found that it costs them less to do that than to jail people--and it actually helps some of the homeless to get back on their feet because they now have an address.
3
I agree that we need to vastly expand low-income and supportive housing. What I can't countenance is the "freedom" of people to appropriate public places to live, store personal items, and set up shop (panhandling). This is essentially a theft of public space by private individuals. I can go to Prospect Park any time I like, but I cannot wall off a ten foot space to grow tomatoes.
As the population ages, the country becomes more crowded, and inequality rises, we'll have to face this head-on or sink.
As the population ages, the country becomes more crowded, and inequality rises, we'll have to face this head-on or sink.
43
"I can go to Prospect Park any time I like"
Not true - the park is closed from 1AM to 5AM mainly to keep out the homeless
Not true - the park is closed from 1AM to 5AM mainly to keep out the homeless
1
The story mostly showed pictures of old people. The homeless problem in Honolulu is bigger than that. Several families with children sleep in tents pitched on the sidewalks outside my Chinatown home. I've watched authorities throw the tents of homeless families in garbage trucks during sweeps through the neighborhood. The aloha that once made Hawai`i special is in short supply these days.
3
I've read these well thought out comments and haven't seen a solution. Is there a solution? I really don't know. I will be absolutely honest, I haven't the slightest idea of how to solve the homeless problem. As an abstract thought, Hawaii being a rather remote island, how did so many homeless end up there?
2
I have lived in Hawaii for 47 years, and have sadly watched it's deterioration . The population has doubled and the cost of housing has tripled. People can not choose to disreguard societys laws for safety and sanitation and abuse the rights of citizens who work,pay their taxes and take responsibility for their lives.
I fault our city and state government for giving themselves pay raises,investing in financial hellholes like HART,giving building permits for luxury high-rises,and ignoring the very serious issue of mental health services and affordable housing. Compassion for the homeless means enforcing the laws of society and making all citizens take full responsibility for their lives. ALlison Roscoe
I fault our city and state government for giving themselves pay raises,investing in financial hellholes like HART,giving building permits for luxury high-rises,and ignoring the very serious issue of mental health services and affordable housing. Compassion for the homeless means enforcing the laws of society and making all citizens take full responsibility for their lives. ALlison Roscoe
3
Having lived on the Big Island for three years, I can attest that Hawaii is the most over rated state in the country. Methamphetamine is burning out the brains of Hawaii's youth, a loss of mental faculties that residents can I'll afford to live without.
Before I left the country to become an expatriate, I called a plumber to fix a problem. The plumber was a neighbor in Leilani Estates near Pahoa. I was struck by his inappropriate behavior but could not discern whether it was drugs or mental illness.
14 years later I saw a news report that this same man had shot his wife and two children to death and was arrested in front of his house trying to drive away with his wife's body.
Hawaii tries desperately to keep its problems out of the news to protect tourism, but the story always gets out!
Before I left the country to become an expatriate, I called a plumber to fix a problem. The plumber was a neighbor in Leilani Estates near Pahoa. I was struck by his inappropriate behavior but could not discern whether it was drugs or mental illness.
14 years later I saw a news report that this same man had shot his wife and two children to death and was arrested in front of his house trying to drive away with his wife's body.
Hawaii tries desperately to keep its problems out of the news to protect tourism, but the story always gets out!
9
Homelessness of the sleeping on the street and packing belongings in a shopping cart variety is primarily a mental health and substance abuse problem. It is not an outgrowth of gentrification or housing costs. Unless the Salt Lake approach is taken where free housing and services are provided there isn't an affordable housing solution. Living in Boise, I can tell you the shelter beds go unfilled because the shelters don't allow drinking or drug use. As I see it there are two solutions: free housing, or bus tickets.
16
Ticketing and arresting the homeless isn't a solution, albeit it may "clear" the streets of the more popular tourist areas. The state of Hawaii -- and the United States -- has the wealth and resources to provide decent housing for every citizen, and it has a moral obligation to do so.
3
Even in Maine now on every street corner someone stands with a sign asking for money. First it was the right of free speech now it is the right of signing.
It is begging pure and simple. Some people take pity and give dollar bills. Some earn hundreds a day. It is a nuisance and should not be allowed. I am all for programs to help them get out of their misery. jobs can be created, cleaning streets, clearing trails in woods. Jobs that go to immigrant, when no one will do the work they do.
It is begging pure and simple. Some people take pity and give dollar bills. Some earn hundreds a day. It is a nuisance and should not be allowed. I am all for programs to help them get out of their misery. jobs can be created, cleaning streets, clearing trails in woods. Jobs that go to immigrant, when no one will do the work they do.
8
Salt Lake City is like that, too. I stopped going to McDonalds and Dunkin Donuts because I hated running the gauntlet of beggers on the drive out.
No doubt there are worthy cases, but then I remember how we shipped our jobs offshore. Who needs manufacturing jobs? Those are for emerging countries. We're all going to sell real estate and life insurance to each other.
No doubt there are worthy cases, but then I remember how we shipped our jobs offshore. Who needs manufacturing jobs? Those are for emerging countries. We're all going to sell real estate and life insurance to each other.
7
Hawaii is smart to take preemptive measures. If the homeless and their advocates don't like the situation now then just wait until tax-revenues for programs decrease due to decreased tourism.
My wife & I are about to graduate our last son from college. We're *finally* in a position to be able to travel. For years we had planned to visit Europe and the U.K. but with the "migrant" crisis---forget it. We'll spend our tourist dollars in the U.S.; there's so much of it that we haven't seen. And unlike Europe we know where the trouble spots in the U.S. are.
My wife & I are about to graduate our last son from college. We're *finally* in a position to be able to travel. For years we had planned to visit Europe and the U.K. but with the "migrant" crisis---forget it. We'll spend our tourist dollars in the U.S.; there's so much of it that we haven't seen. And unlike Europe we know where the trouble spots in the U.S. are.
15
Hawaii sets up detox centers, alternate housing, and help for RCP's and even pays to fly 182 of them back to wherever they came from and, as if on cue, a chorus of boos from the usual suspects demanding rights for these folks to pile massive heaps of stinking rubbish in the center of everyone's dream vacation. Is it any wonder Trump is so popular? The PC Left (not the pro-Union, hard working, salt of the earth Left) would turn Honolulu into a refugee camp for any 18-35 male fleeing the Muslim experiment if they could. How utterly sad it is that instead of working to improve the lives of people working for Progress (pun intended) they're patting themselves on the back for defending RCP dysfunction. You can bet they are also pro-feral-cat, anti-spay, and decry mosquito control as unnatural.
10
"Book-em Danno!"
Glad we have our priorities straight. Make America Great Again - indeed...
Glad we have our priorities straight. Make America Great Again - indeed...
1
I think there is some merit to making homelessness illegal. Not joking. Not wanting filth and vagrants in your community is not the same as being heartless. Everyone else works to put a roof over their head. No one gives the homeless in Hawaii a "right" to live in paradise without paying the cost. The article goes astray when it refers to a shopping cart as Anna Sullivan's. More likely than not, she stole it and police would be right to seize it.
Where people are not capable (not the same as not willing) of putting a roof over their heads and getting a job, the government or other non-profits should do more to assist or offer to move them to where it's cheaper and they have more opportunity.
We also need to bring back a form of forced institutionalization for the mentally ill to keep them off the streets. If they are not of sound mind, shouldn't they have a legal guardian?
Love when I see communities trying to get rid of homeless encampments so everyone else can enjoy the space without fear of attacks, crime, disease, urine everywhere. There's a band of people living out of RVs near me that I'd love to see banished - it's not like they can't drive to a more affordable place - but they get to live here for free so they do - taking advantage of everyone else (and nearby businesses) who pay to live here. The huge vehicles on the street and people living out of them are a nuisance. I decided I didn't want to live in a trailer park - but the trailer park came to me anyway.
Where people are not capable (not the same as not willing) of putting a roof over their heads and getting a job, the government or other non-profits should do more to assist or offer to move them to where it's cheaper and they have more opportunity.
We also need to bring back a form of forced institutionalization for the mentally ill to keep them off the streets. If they are not of sound mind, shouldn't they have a legal guardian?
Love when I see communities trying to get rid of homeless encampments so everyone else can enjoy the space without fear of attacks, crime, disease, urine everywhere. There's a band of people living out of RVs near me that I'd love to see banished - it's not like they can't drive to a more affordable place - but they get to live here for free so they do - taking advantage of everyone else (and nearby businesses) who pay to live here. The huge vehicles on the street and people living out of them are a nuisance. I decided I didn't want to live in a trailer park - but the trailer park came to me anyway.
124
Don't try to boot out homelessness in downtown San Francisco. Rather, encourage it by providing out-in-the-open unshielded urinals, like the one recently unveiled at popular Dolores Park, and which I'm sure the good Mayor of New York will seek to copy for his City as soon as he knows about them.
By the way, NYT, why didn't you/don't you still, send your SF reporter to Dolores Park to take some pictures and report on how things are going.
By the way, NYT, why didn't you/don't you still, send your SF reporter to Dolores Park to take some pictures and report on how things are going.
7
Here in Seattle, I heard that Hawaii was giving homeless people tickets back to the mainland, sending them elsewhere so as to get rid of them. Thanks, Honolulu. Maybe we can reduce our homeless numbers by giving them free tickets to Hawaii...
11
@Bob - Read the article. That's not what they're doing. They're offering airfare back for those who are not native residents, and have flown to Hawaii from mainland states. Now that Hawaii is insisting on rules for the homeless, some out of staters want to go back to their home states. Like the 49 year old guy in the article from Oregon who's been homeless since flying to Hawaii over a year ago -- he should go back to Oregon.
10
I do not blame 'gentrification' to scapegoat people. Its failed govt. housing policies and even more important, a growing population in this country that has to live somewhere.
@Edward - There are shelters and social service programs for the homeless in Honolulu. However, many of the homeless do not want to make use of them.
8
Homeless people such as described in the Hawaii article is a NATIONAL problem. Cities need to set aside homeless free zones that contain old but still safe structures like old schools, hospitals, or old hotels. Social services need to be in those free zones and well as medical assistance, and police to keep order. Mental illness, drug addition, and geriatric conditions that plaque homeless people are mostly a fixed permanent condition. There is no magic cure. Homeless people urinating and sleeping on municipal sidewalks is a sign of a failing society like the very ill canary in the mine shaft cage.
6
What about the neighbors of these old schools, hospitals and hotels? Would you want a homeless camp across the street from your home? And if someone thinks having homeless live in bank-owned property -- who is paying the utility bills, mowing the lawn, and making sure it doesn't turn into a crack den? Perhaps you might want to foster that homeless person and let them set up a tent in your backyard. That way you'll directly contribute to the solution. Will you?
10
When the offer of a place to stay and medical / psychiatric treatment is refused by an individual who then returns to sleeping on the street and defecating and urinating on public property what should be done? Nothing? Should such people be allowed to virtually take over a neighborhood? How about the lady in New York with her train of shopping carts full of junk, a train that stretches for half an avenue block. Does she have a right to block multiple stores or residences with her rolling junk pile? Rousting these folks without being able to make a serious offer of a humane alternative situation (not a crime-ridden shelter) isn't an answer but neither is allowing them to occupy public facilities, driving others away by their odor and/or behavior and the volume of their clutter.
97
At what point does the urination and public defcation not become a public health issue?? Drawing rats, vermin, becoming ripe incubators of disease? These unsanitary conditions are a threat tomeveryone.
1
All these laws criminalizing homelessness in Hawaii were passed under a democrat super majority in the senate and democrat David Ige.
Even if there were enough beds for these people there’d be no way to force them into shelters.
Hawaii’s government doesn’t care about its people, only the almighty military and tourist industry. There’s high income taxes, only federal minimum wage, a monopoly on shipping. Millions of dollars have just disappeared funding projects that went nowhere. Hawaii’s a corrupt, broken island nation.
Even if there were enough beds for these people there’d be no way to force them into shelters.
Hawaii’s government doesn’t care about its people, only the almighty military and tourist industry. There’s high income taxes, only federal minimum wage, a monopoly on shipping. Millions of dollars have just disappeared funding projects that went nowhere. Hawaii’s a corrupt, broken island nation.
Honolulu has nothing on San Francisco, where one can't walk in the financial district without tripping over homeless people who have taken over the entire, and I do mean entire, sidewalk. Even the über progressive San Francisco Chronicle editor complained recently when a couple in a tent pitched on Union Square were having sex with the tent flaps open mid day. Homeless people have rights, but so do the rest of us who work and pay a lot of tax to support all of us.
299
the side walks are public through fares and should not be blocked.
3
You’re wrong. My home of Honolulu has one MAJOR difference--there’s no place to go! We are the most isolated archipelago in the world. 2,000 miles from any land mass (California) or Japan and Southeast Asia or Australia.
You can’t just get on a bus or drive to another county. Plus Hawai’i is unlike every other state in culture, food, and language. Ok, every state has its particular culture, but when isolated for so long from the rest of the world, we developed a true island spirit. I’ve been gone for six years and how I yearn to hear slack key guitar, the music, speaking in pidgin, and the food that you just cannot get here.
I had a flower lei delivered to a friend in Utah who had also left her home in the islands. I wish I could post her picture with the lei...she said it smelled like Hawai’i! I miss just plucking a flower and tucking it behind my ear as I walked to work, of being outside ALL the time when I wasn’t working or sleeping. Wearing flower lei of pikake, tuberose, orchids, ginger; lei you could make yourself from the trees or shrubs in your yard.
Memorial Day, at the National Cemetery of the Pacific and in the state Veterans Cemetery, in addition to the little American flags the million residents of Honolulu made enough lei to place on every headstone. My husband’s headstone lies there with a view of the Pacific Ocean. I can never return---just too far away.
Oh God I miss my home. I understand why people will stay there homeless..it’s our home!
You can’t just get on a bus or drive to another county. Plus Hawai’i is unlike every other state in culture, food, and language. Ok, every state has its particular culture, but when isolated for so long from the rest of the world, we developed a true island spirit. I’ve been gone for six years and how I yearn to hear slack key guitar, the music, speaking in pidgin, and the food that you just cannot get here.
I had a flower lei delivered to a friend in Utah who had also left her home in the islands. I wish I could post her picture with the lei...she said it smelled like Hawai’i! I miss just plucking a flower and tucking it behind my ear as I walked to work, of being outside ALL the time when I wasn’t working or sleeping. Wearing flower lei of pikake, tuberose, orchids, ginger; lei you could make yourself from the trees or shrubs in your yard.
Memorial Day, at the National Cemetery of the Pacific and in the state Veterans Cemetery, in addition to the little American flags the million residents of Honolulu made enough lei to place on every headstone. My husband’s headstone lies there with a view of the Pacific Ocean. I can never return---just too far away.
Oh God I miss my home. I understand why people will stay there homeless..it’s our home!
5
There's an expression that goes something like this:
If a country cannot take care of its' weakest and poorest citizens, then what does that say about the country?
I agree with the many readers who mentioned that it would be better to offer shelter and food to those in need, rather than criminalize the people who live on the streets.
Of course, the offer of shelter and food does come with rules and regulations that may not be for all, but still, it's much better than prison or hefty fines, that most homeless people could not afford to pay.
As an aside, just looking at the small numbers of readers who did comment, says much about the homeless situation both in Hawaii and on mainland USA.
If a country cannot take care of its' weakest and poorest citizens, then what does that say about the country?
I agree with the many readers who mentioned that it would be better to offer shelter and food to those in need, rather than criminalize the people who live on the streets.
Of course, the offer of shelter and food does come with rules and regulations that may not be for all, but still, it's much better than prison or hefty fines, that most homeless people could not afford to pay.
As an aside, just looking at the small numbers of readers who did comment, says much about the homeless situation both in Hawaii and on mainland USA.
30
Prison is where we take care of our weakest and poorest citizens.
1
To the benefit of the folks who fund such punitive projects. We got so many near my town, you wonder what else they will come up with to keep the poorman down.
I know how to deal with homelessness:
1. Give homeless people homes.
Ok, too simplistic for you? How about this then:
1. Allow homeless people to stay, rent-free, in currently vacant properties, provided that (A) they may be forced to leave if the home is sold or rented to somebody else, and (B) they must maintain the property to the best of their ability.
I don't know about specifically Hawaii, but in a lot of places we have vacant bank-owned property, and a bunch of homeless people. Putting the two together would solve both the homeless' people's problem of no home, and the bank's problem of keeping an eye on the property.
1. Give homeless people homes.
Ok, too simplistic for you? How about this then:
1. Allow homeless people to stay, rent-free, in currently vacant properties, provided that (A) they may be forced to leave if the home is sold or rented to somebody else, and (B) they must maintain the property to the best of their ability.
I don't know about specifically Hawaii, but in a lot of places we have vacant bank-owned property, and a bunch of homeless people. Putting the two together would solve both the homeless' people's problem of no home, and the bank's problem of keeping an eye on the property.
35
Dave,
I love your suggestion. I am afraid it makes too much sense. Homeless people seem to exist for us to punish. They function as our scapegoats and goads to those of us just lucky enough not to have joined them - yet.
I love your suggestion. I am afraid it makes too much sense. Homeless people seem to exist for us to punish. They function as our scapegoats and goads to those of us just lucky enough not to have joined them - yet.
They don't want homes. They want drugs/alcohol. Or they are so mentally imbalanced they don't know how to participate in society. Most of these people are not the working poor, there is a major difference.
20
i think cleveland would be a great place for many homeless people to go to
1
Great, they cleaned up their streets. Too bad the dustbins are just going to be emptied on someone else's.
Criminalization is the laziest, most ineffective route to dealing with social issues. The city doesn't want to help these people. They just want to pass them off somewhere else. Hey, out of sight, out of mind, yeah?
Criminalization is the laziest, most ineffective route to dealing with social issues. The city doesn't want to help these people. They just want to pass them off somewhere else. Hey, out of sight, out of mind, yeah?
129
With respect, its a bit rich to accuse the city of being lazy while the vagrants, who have essentially opted out of any form of responsible lifestyle, sit on the street and do nothing. Oh, and pretty sure most of them are not native to Hawaii - they found a way to get there in order to recline in tropical comfort.
17
Yeah Lauren, exactly. Why do we hate politicians, because they just come up the the lazy way. Never addressing the problem.
2
With respect, as well - I'm not sure being homeless in Hawaii qualifies as living in "tropical comfort." And to say the homeless opted out of a responsible lifestyle ignores the many factors that not only contribute to initial homelessness, but perpetuate it.
1
I guess Mr Obama really has fundamentally changed America.
20
Yes, he failed to punish the people who caused this economy to meltdown and put millions of people out of work. The jobs that have replaced the ones lost are mostly minimum wage. Therefore, people cannot afford apartments in large cities even if they are employed. Time to punish the bank fraudsters who caused this mess.
3
Oh, right. It's the fault of the Democratic President. Not of all those GOP elected officials who cut taxes for the wealthy while passing laws that demonize and/or penalize the poor, the infirm and the homeless. Please put blame where it belongs.
12
The recession started under G.W. Bush, and the roots of it have been traced back to market deregulation that began under Reagan and was continued during Clinton.
5
Utah has shown the way, be human AND save money, house the homeless. They are NOT criminals.
153
Oh yes...most of them are criminals. Just pull their arrest records.
3
Utah ships its homeless to California!
1
There is actually a difference between having an arrest record and being a criminal. Many people have records for petty, life style offenses that endanger no one. they there are whose who have records for rape, robbery, arson, murder, etc. Do you really think that someone who litters is the same as someone who used a gun to rob a senior citizen?
2
It's absolutely disgusting and heartbreaking to see a country where the numbers of millionaires and billionaires increase by the second, we can't afford modest housing for our homeless. Let's criminalize greed before we take a shot at the poorest and most vulnerable!
264
These people don't want homes. That's the fundamental issue. Drugs and alcohol are more important to them than food or shelter. Or, as often is the case, schizophrenia or other mental problems. We as a society decided in the 60s and 70s to not lock up the mentally disturbed so this is the outcome.
41
i like that idea ... take away land and property from rich people and distribute it to the poor. some other countries have tried it.
2
@Shihtzu - If the homeless are allowed to live anywhere they want in Hawaii, that will simply make the problem worse. Homeless people will have no motivation to take advantage of shelters and social service programs, and more homeless from the mainland will find a way to fly there to live. What excuse does the guy from Washington state have for moving there, other than it's warm all the time? When there is no longer a thriving tourist business in Hawaii most of the population will lose the related jobs, along with those who work in retail and restaurants, throwing them into poverty and eventual homelessness. Some economies are largely built upon tourism, and Hawaii is one of them. Allowing full rein to those who are homeless is not the answer.
10
The people who run the shops and restaurants, whose livelihoods depend on tourism...they have rights too.
But hassling the homeless is only a temporary solution. In Hawaii and on the mainland we need something more fundamental.
But hassling the homeless is only a temporary solution. In Hawaii and on the mainland we need something more fundamental.
70
Homelessness is related to the housing crisis of cities becoming unaffordable for even the middle class as rents are pushed up by speculators and the 1%, coupled with stagnant or falling wages. We are becoming a country like Brazil with gigantic slums on the edges of cities. The differnce is that we could afford to house, feed, and educate - not to mention provide universal health care - to all our citizens but we chose to allow giant corporations snd the 1% to dictate our laws and our distribution of resources. Shame on us!
Don't look for change any time soon. Trump has no clue, snd Mrs. Bill has already said "no, we can't". Some candidates we got there.
Don't look for change any time soon. Trump has no clue, snd Mrs. Bill has already said "no, we can't". Some candidates we got there.
2
@Nora01 - Actually that's not accurate. The type of chronic homelessness referred to in the article is not all all similar to working class people who end up temporarily homeless due to loss of a job or financial recession. These individuals do not choose to use the shelters and social services in Honolulu, they want to sleep in the parks, on the beach or on the sidewalks. Some of them suffer from substance abuse but don't want to enter detox programs, and others are physically/mentally in poor health.
8
government should come with a proper solution. keeping on eye on homeless will not going help to grow. they are already in trouble, they dont have house to live in and police are keep on them running. where they supposed to go when they dont have home. they are human too and they need to take rest and some sleeps to. you me and they all are same. only difference is we are luck enough to have house to live in and they don't. i hope government comes up with a proper solution. hope more NGO'S come forward and make a move to help this people. http://akaka.in
12
I don't really know what to think about this article. Without enforcement of the sidewalk laws, this will hurt the incomes of local businessmen. At the same time, the homeless have to have a place to rest. In Las Cruces, NM our city has a tent city for the homeless that is also located on land that houses our soup kitchen and homeless shelter. I've talked to some homeless people who avoid tent city and they say they won't stay there because of the rules. Apparently you are not allowed to consume alcohol or use drugs in the tent city
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Smart policy. Criminalize homelessness and poverty, giving those without housing a good night in the local jail.
Out of sight, out of mind, is working wonders solving poverty in America. Maybe we can ship the homeless to less tourist friendly destinations.
Out of sight, out of mind, is working wonders solving poverty in America. Maybe we can ship the homeless to less tourist friendly destinations.
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The article highlighted the criminalization efforts but if you read all of it then you saw that the state is taking other, more humanitarian measures, as well.
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So much misinformation in these comments.
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Wish it were possible to criminalize heartlessness.
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So what do you propose we do? Should we just let the homeless just take over public spaces so that the rest of us cannot enjoy them? That seems unreasonable.
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