Cleanliness might be tool against homelessness

Kudos to another private partner helping to meet the relentless challenge of homelessness. Project Vision Hawaii, a nonprofit group, has brought relief to some in the homeless community through its project to bring in a mobile hygiene center. The trailer can be moved to place to place, allowing people access to toilets and showers.

It seems almost too humble an endeavor to be dubbed “Project Hiehie,” adapting the Hawaiian word for dignity. But part of the outreach is aimed at helping the homeless to retain their sense of humanity. Feeling like a clean human surely helps.

Public accommodation trumps humble abode, for now

The recent court ruling in favor of Diane Cervelli and Taeko Bufford, a lesbian couple turned away by Honolulu’s Aloha Bed & Breakfast, is momentous for rights advocates — either religious or civil, depending on one’s point of view. The case still could be appealed.

The case of the B&B, owned by Don and Phyllis Young, is chronicled in a Christian legal guide, “Protecting Your Ministry.” It describes the inn as a place where the Youngs’ guests “join them for dinner and conversation, to watch an old movie, or to sit in on their weekly Bible study with friends.” Conversation, had the couple been allowed to stay over, would have been interesting.