Visitor assistance agency holding fundraiser to support growing needs

It’s been more than a year since Australian visitor Gizelle D’Souza was assaulted and robbed by an escaped inmate in front of the women’s restroom at Kailua Beach Park.

Kamaka Villegas fractured D’Souza’s jaw and eye socket before absconding with her purse. Despite the resulting hardships, D’Souza agreed to fly back to Honolulu at the Office of the Prosecuting Attorney’s expense for her attacker’s spring trial in part because of the care and encouragement she received from the Visitor Aloha Society of Hawaii or VASH, a nonprofit agency that responds to visitors in distress.

Villegas, who is scheduled to be sentenced July 16, pleaded guilty to second-degree escape, second-degree unauthorized entry into a motor vehicle and second-degree robbery.

D’Souza was just one of 1,644 visitors helped last year by VASH, which has seen its caseload climb along with the number of visitors to the state. Through April, VASH already had assisted 607 visitors in 264 cases.

The organization, which celebrates its 20th anniversary this year, benefits from regular funding contributions from the Hawaii Tourism Authority, the Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association and the Kosasa Foundation. Charley’s Taxi has been among the in-kind contributors, providing many free rides to stranded tourists.

But VASH President and CEO Jessica Lani Rich said more resources are needed to meet growing demands. That’s why VASH, in conjunction with the Waikiki Improvement Association and the Hawaii Lodging & Tourism Association, is holding a fundraiser June 20 at the Sheraton Waikiki Hotel.

Rick Egged, WIA president, said, “VASH represents all of us providing aloha to our visitors who have experienced misfortune. That service is critical to the well-being of Hawaii as a destination.”

Rich said money raised will go toward providing visitors with transportation, clothing, food vouchers and assistance with accommodations.

“We’re hoping to raise at least $10,000 to carry us through the summer, which is a time of more need. Our budget has been the same the last few years, but as more visitors come to Hawaii, we do see more incidents,” she said. “There’s been a recent rash of crimes against our visitors but there are just more calls in general.”

Honolulu Ocean Safety and EMS spokeswoman Shayne Enright said the city also has seen a rise in calls for preventive actions, rescues, first aid and drownings. Enright said not all cases are tourist-related but in the last month more than a few high-profile incidents, including one fatality, have involved visitors.

“We do anticipate busy summers at our well-known beaches that are highly frequented by visitors,” Enright said.

In recent times, Ocean Safety personnel repeatedly have responded to areas where there are no lifeguards stationed, she said.

“Where it used to be visitors would go to popular beaches, they now look for the secluded beaches, ledges where they can jump off from,” Enright said. “Social media has played a big role in this shift, leading the visitors to these remote locations. For some, the risk of their safety is worth the ‘perfect picture.’”

Within the last month, EMS has responded to at least five hiker-related injuries and a fatality involving visitors, Enright said. On May 5, a boulder fell on a pregnant 34-year-old female tourist who was hiking at Makaua Hidden Valley Trail, killing the Utah woman and her unborn child.

On May 7, a 26-year-old female hiker from Australia fell on the Koko Head Crater Trail, where a 56-year-old Canadian man was injured May 26. Other rescues included a 20-year-old Washington man injured May 14 while hiking on the Haiku Stairs and a 22-year-old man who fell at Crouching Lion May 26.

The organization also assisted a Japanese couple who were brutally assaulted in a public rest­room at Mother Waldron Park. That incident prompted the Consulate General of Japan in Honolulu to issue a warning to Japanese visitors to stay out of certain areas.

Rich said VASH partners with other organizations to inform the public about crime trends and criminal hotspots and offer safety tips, especially about visiting Hawaii’s natural attractions.

“To many people this is paradise and they let their guard down,” Rich said. “If they use safety tips, most of them will have a wonderful vacation, but if they do things that they would never do back home, that’s a risk.”

For instance, last week VASH responded to two incidents at Shark’s Cove on Oahu’s North Shore where visitors went swimming and left their keys on the beach.

“When they came out of the water, they found that their cars had been stolen along with all their belongings,” Rich said. “The suspects took advantage of a crime of opportunity. We are here to try to prevent these incidents from happening and to respond when they do.”