Editorial: Waianae homeless must foster trust

Pu‘uhonua O Waianae, the self-styled homeless community searching for a new home on the Leeward Coast, has a long road ahead to achieve its goal — but at least there is forward motion and no small measure of determination.

This doesn’t suggest that just any ad-hoc “safe zone” style of encampment would work as a stop-gap solution for Oahu’s homeless- ness problem. In fact, the Pu‘uhonua seems more like a one-off, something unique that could succeed in this case.

But it hinges too much on the commitments made by specific individuals to be easily reproduceable elsewhere.

So if this grassroots innovation does manage to provide stability for at least one entrenched homeless encampment — a sizable one at that, with 270 occupants — it will be because its leaders and general population continue to demonstrate a willingness to work collaboratively and earn the trust of public and private sponsors.

Dynamic Community Solutions, a nonprofit organization formed by this community, have reason to celebrate a substantial gift that moves it toward the goal of a new home.

For years it has been ensconced at the Waianae Small Boat Harbor, which long ago became an unacceptable arrangement for boaters. Some sensitive shoreline environmental issues came to light as well, underscoring how this location was simply never suited to the strains imposed by long-term residential use.

Under pressure to vacate — lest state enforcement “sweep” the encampment and scatter its residents to the four winds — community leaders such as Twinkle Borge and James Pakele decided negotiation was the better course than an aggressively resistant stance.

That was the pragmatic choice, because it led to a cooling-off period in which the Pu‘uhonua was given a chance to avoid further upheaval while residents agreed to the ultimate move from the harbor.

Last week a private foundation called the REIT Way Hawaii Community Giving Campaign donated $150,000 toward the Pu‘uhonua’s fundraising drive for purchase or lease of a new site.

Added to the $6,000 in contributions already collected and leveraged by an offer from an anonymous donor to match up to $500,000, that means the group ultimately may be able to claim $312,000 toward its objective to raise $1.5 million.

It’s still unclear what the community will be able to secure for that goal amount, but members are dreaming big. A large complex of simple residential clusters gathered around areas for gardening and other communal purposes is envisioned as the future home.

There is a “transitional” area for tents pitched on platforms, suggesting that accommodating new residents awaiting a more long-term space as others move away is part of the vision.

But the Pu‘uhonua won’t be suited to everyone; it’s persisted as long as it has because there is a semblance of self-governance. Plainly, those unwilling to abide by the community rules can’t be allowed to destabilize things.

Some have compared this community to a “safe zone,” a term generally applied to stop-gap shelter offering security and a minimum of sanitation and utilities to the homeless. But it seems more closely akin to Pu‘uhonua O Waimanalo, the self-governed village established by Hawaiian sovereignty activist Bumpy Kanahele. It’s far less politically oriented but still is more like a gathering of people with cultural affinity than of random strangers.

That’s why it would be difficult to replicate this somewhat radical experiment of Pu‘uhonua O Waianae: Almost by necessity, such groupings have grown organically.

But ultimately state officials and the public have to hope its members keep working to foster trust among the larger community, and thus to continue forward in their private fundraising effort.

Even for a one-off, success here could improve the lives of many poorer residents and keep them off the streets, a desirable outcome for everyone.