State sweeps homeless from Nimitz viaduct area
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARADVERTIESR.COM
Shirley Torres, with her dogs, Gurley, left, and Trouble waited for help to remove belongings from under the Nimitz Viaduct.
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARADVERTIESR.COM
Lon Cockett waited near her belongings for a ride as crews cleaned the area under the Nimitz Viaduct from the vicinity of Moanalua Bridge to the viaduct off-ramp.
CRAIG T. KOJIMA / CKOJIMA@STARADVERTIESR.COM
Lisa Chandler, left, spoke with DOT officials during this morning’s sweep. Chandler had been living in the area for four months.
State sheriff’s deputies this morning began breaking down one of Oahu’s most entrenched homeless encampments — below the H-1 freeway viaduct — scattering the estimated 120 remaining occupants and their dogs.
None of the people interviewed by the Honolulu Star-Advertiser this morning had any intention of moving into a shelter. And all of them said they had no idea where they will go next. “To the park (Keehi Lagoon Beach Park), I guess,” Nina Nasau, 42, said when asked where she will go next.
Scott Morishige, the state’s homeless coordinator, said four social service agencies counted 180 people living homeless below the viaduct last Monday. By Friday, they had counted fewer than 120 people. Morishige said. At the same time, at least 60 dogs and 24 cats had been placed in four animal adoption agencies.
