A city crew from the Department of Facility Maintenance accompanied by police arrived Wednesday morning in Kakaako, where for a second day they cleared tents and tarps on the Ewa end of Ilalo Street near the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine.
Enforcement of the city’s sidewalk nuisance and stored property ordinances was continuing after a group of homeless people moved a short distance away from where they had been cleared from sidewalks 24 hours earlier near the Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center.
The two days of enforcement followed the indefinite closure of Kakaako Waterfront, Gateway and Kewalo Basin parks Sunday after park officials said they could no longer ensure the safety of park users following a series of dog bites, fires and vandalism attributed to an estimated 180 homeless people who were living along the Kakaako shoreline.
Illegal campers moved to Ilalo Street on Tuesday after the city cleared Ohe and Olomehani streets, which are under the jurisdiction of the state and the Hawaii Community Development Authority. The city negotiated a “right of entry” to enforce the ordinances, and spokesman Andrew Pereira said the city will continue to closely monitor Kakaako for illegal encampments.
About 30 homeless people relocated from Ilalo Street around the corner to the makai side of Forrest Avenue on property owned by the Hawaii Community Development Authority.
According to state homeless coordinator Scott Morishige, there is no “right of entry” agreement between the city and state for the makai side of Forrest Avenue.
Alvaro Olivares, 52, who has been living in Kakaako on and off for the past three to four years, was among the illegal campers who removed their belongings from the Ilalo Street sidewalk.
Olivares said he had previously lived at shelters at Sand Island and Barbers Point but eventually returned to Kakaako to be closer to The Queen’s Medical Center, where he gets treated for Guillain-Barre syndrome, a disorder in which the immune system attacks the body’s nervous system.
He noted he was told about three months ago that he would be placed in a shelter. “We don’t want to be here,” Olivares said.
Morishige said he and fellow outreach workers assisted homeless people Wednesday, placing a couple and a man at the Next Step Shelter.
In the days leading up to the Sunday sweep at Kakaako Waterfront, Gateway and Kewalo Basin parks, social service providers helped four adults into permanent housing and 28 people into various shelters including the Institute of Human Services, Next Step Shelter, Onelauena Shelter at Barbers Point, Family Assessment Center in Kakaako and Waianae Civic Center.
IHS spokesman Kimo Carvalho said a family of three and a man who were placed at the shelter from Kakaako are still there.
IHS is working with six other homeless people to acquire identification cards and documents. Two forms of identification are required to apply for housing. It could take months to process documents, Carvalho said. “The good news is that they’re engaged.”
Correction: About 30 homeless people relocated from Ilalo Street around the corner to the makai side of Forrest Avenue on property owned by the Hawaii Community Development Authority, not the Department of Transportation. IHS is working with six homeless people to acquire identification cards and documents. Two forms of identification are required to apply for housing. A previous story incorrectly stated identification cards and documents are required to stay at the Institute for Human Services.