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Now that the work to clear the Kakaako homeless encampment is complete, we need to work together and focus immediately on the rest of Oahu.
The public health and safety threat in Kakaako demanded the highly publicized effort it received, but each of the nine City Council districts is dealing with large pockets of people struggling to find shelter and the services they need to build a better life.
Tent cities are thriving on the banks of Lake Wilson, on the islands in Keehi Lagoon, and in the bushes near the Waianae Boat Harbor. Homeless people need help all over Oahu, many in seldom- seen areas far away from our urban core.
We cannot move the homeless from one neighborhood to another. Each area of the island must take responsibility for this issue.
A poll conducted in July by the Honolulu Star- Advertiser and Hawaii News Now revealed that 62 percent of Oahu residents would support a temporary shelter in their neighborhood. We need to work with each community to ensure that their concerns are addressed before government takes action.
The Council is working with the state and city administration to identify a safe zone in each Council district where the homeless can gather and government and social service providers can consolidate city and state services to create a one-stop shop.
Each area would include a hygiene center that includes laundry facilities, restrooms and showers. Seattle and San Francisco have embraced hygiene centers and Honolulu should, too.
Council members are meeting with community leaders and state lawmakers to identify parcels of land and buildings that could serve as safe zones, future sites for shelters or workforce housing developments.
We need the business community in each Council district to step up and support these efforts. To date, the majority of the private sector is absent from the homeless discussion.
These zones are meant to be a temporary transitional point where we can identify those with the most need and provide assistance with the goal of moving everyone out and into permanent housing or one of Oahu’s 53 homeless shelters.
Our priority should be getting families with children off the streets, then the elderly and finally the chronically homeless. Families deserve the bulk of our effort to find shelter and affordable housing.
The Council is also reviewing the sit-lie ordinances and looking for ways to amend them so they are applicable islandwide. We need to be compassionate but firm. Oahu’s public spaces should be enjoyed by all who live and visit. No one, regardless of their circumstances, has the right to claim ownership of the people’s space.
We are also working with the city administration to develop an affordable-housing strategy that more closely reflects the reality of Oahu’s housing market and wage scale. The city Department of Planning and Permitting will soon release its proposed Affordable Housing Requirement (AHR) for developers and the Council is likely to support it, and, if need be, strengthen it.
If we do not address the severe shortage of workforce housing, through policy, legislation and funding, we will squeeze the middle class right out of Honolulu and our children will grow up to deal with Oahu’s homeless population.
As government collaborates with our constituents and the private sector, we would be wise to listen to 75-year-old Lloyd Pendleton, Utah’s homeless guru whose work has inspired municipalities across the country. He recently shared his advice for Honolulu with the Star-Advertiser’s Dan Nakaso:
"Start doing it now. You can analyze yourself to death. Just start doing and learning as you go."
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