Question: Can somebody look into a case of elder abuse? A man and his wife live in a filthy, dirty house because he feeds the pigeons all the time. Besides the pigeons, there are roosters and stray cats and rodents, inside and outside. His wife is coming down with dementia, and she’s left alone a lot in that filthy house and he doesn’t want anybody to know. I cannot give you my name or phone number. But if someone would go over and investigate, you’d see what I’m talking about.
Answer: We first contacted the Honolulu Prosecuting Attorney’s Office, which has an Elderly Abuse Justice Unit, and was told that this appeared to be more a case of neglect, rather than criminal abuse.
But in either case, the agency to contact is the state Department of Human Services’ Adult Protective and Community Services Branch.
Among its responsibilities, it investigates cases of "vulnerable adults who are reported to be abused, neglected or financially exploited by others or seriously endangered due to self-neglect."
A vulnerable adult is defined as someone 18 years and older "who because of mental, developmental, or physical impairment, is unable to: communicate or make responsible decisions to manage the person’s own care or resources; carry out or arrange for essential activities of daily living; or protect oneself from abuse."
Based on information you provided, the case has been assigned to the Adult Protective Services unit. You are asked to call the Adult Abuse Reporting hotline at 832-5115 to provide details. Your name will be kept confidential.
When reporting suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation, provide as much detail as possible and "whether the victim is a vulnerable adult or not," said Michael Keaney, section administrator for Adult Protective Services on Oahu.
Interestingly, many of the calls to the hotline come from the people suffering from "self-neglect."
"A big part of our caseload are self-neglect issues," Keaney said. "You think Hawaii is an ohana type of state, but there are a lot of people out there who either don’t have anybody (to help them) or if they do, they’re not involved. … That’s a lot of our cases."
Callers can remain anonymous. "If they do give us their name, we do not disclose that to anybody unless we have a court order," Keaney said.
He said certain people, such as doctors and nurses, are mandated to provide their names when reporting suspected abuse or neglect cases, "but we still don’t divulge that to anybody."
Question: Isn’t there a law that requires drivers to attach a flag (or something like that) when transporting items that extend beyond the vehicle? Lately I’ve noticed a lot more of this (stand-up paddleboards and kayaks, in particular), and it seems very dangerous. It’s hard to determine how far back they extend, especially when it’s dark.
Answer: State law requires that a red flag, cloth or light be attached to the end of anything protruding 4 feet or more from the rear of a vehicle that’s traveling on a public roadway.
Section 291-28 of the Hawaii Revised Statutes requires that if the vehicle is traveling at night or in darkness, the protruding object specifically have a red light displayed "at the extreme end of the load" that is "plainly visible under ordinary atmospheric conditions at least two hundred feet from the rear."
At all other times a red flag or cloth at least 16 inches square has to be displayed at the "extreme rear of the load."
Mahalo
To the kind and generous person who blessed my brother with a random act of kindness at the Waipahu McDonald’s drive-thru last month. Needless to say, my brother was very surprised, happy and excited. Thank you for making him feel so special on, of all days, his birthday! God bless you! "What the world needs now is love, sweet love." — Grateful Sister
Write to "Kokua Line" at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
