Act now on Waikiki homelessness

There is one ray of hope to be extracted from the usual storm of woe delivered with any report about homelessness — specifically in Waikiki. The visitor industry is showing resolve to help pursue solutions this city so desperately needs.

Now for the woeful part: So far, any such show of resolve has been met with dithering from the City Council, which so far has not grasped how critical it is to adopt a unified plan of attack in addressing Honolulu’s homelessness crisis.

That simply has to change. Discouraging encampments and associated ills — aggressive panhandling and visual blight, for starters — is especially important in a community that’s the heart of tourism, the state’s economic engine.

The business sector there should be enlisted in the project, but they’re unlikely to sign on to assist the chronically homeless with housing if they lack confidence that the city will do its part, supporting enforcement and services.

Instead, the Council seems hesitant to embark on a full-scale launch of a homelessness initiative patterned after successful "Housing First" programs elsewhere. Its response to the administration’s request for $3 million was to cut back funds needed to get the program going.

There seems little sense of urgency in Honolulu Hale to match the deplorable conditions on the streets in Waikiki. Some of the business leaders have spoken at public hearings on the subject recently, and to Star-Advertiser tourism writer Allison Schaefers in her chronicling of the worrisome problem.

HOMELESS PEOPLE have been reported as defecating and urinating in streets and hotel gardens, stealing towels and other supplies, panhandling and blocking access to parks and beaches. The slowdown in tourism traffic largely has been attributed to rising airfare and hotel costs making Honolulu less competitive among destinations, but anecdotal reports about homelessness in Waikiki — and the word has gotten around, via the Web — surely isn’t helping.

Among similarly sized cities, Honolulu topped the list for the size of its homeless population — 4,556 — tallied in last year’s annual "point-in-time" count. Of that number, 1,465 were unsheltered.

Some in the business sector have suggested helping the city keep at least one public restroom open around the clock, and assisting with the outreach efforts needed to keep the public spaces open to all.

These would be beneficial steps. The business interests in Waikiki also could help with identifying available units that could be part of the Housing First initiative and with transportation to get the homeless to shelters and more stable housing options.

IN PARTNERSHIP with business, the Council must move promptly to fund the initiative fully — and no, it shouldn’t wait until members know precisely where all the units will be located, as has been suggested.

The mayor’s team should have the security of funding appropriated so it can contract with a nonprofit and find the housing capacity. In this particular chicken-or-egg proposition, it’s the money that should come first.

The city also must accelerate enforcement of existing laws barring storing items on sidewalks, panhandling and other nuisance behaviors, directing those on the streets to an expanding list of accommodations.

And lawmakers should consider erecting new barriers against vagrancy. Courts have struck down broad vagrancy laws, but some cities have attempted to restrict sitting or lying on sidewalks (a similar bill introduced here last year has stalled in Council committee).

Such laws have been controversial and have drawn legal challenges. However, it’s still worth having the conversation about whether there is a constitutional means to keep public spaces from becoming campsites.

Whatever the range of tools Honolulu can assemble, it had better include one more element that’s been in short supply: political will to tackle this problem.