Column: Homeless may force center to close

Newton explained it best: For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.

In the case of the homeless on Oahu, when the city forced the homeless people from other beaches, sidewalks and parks around the island, they migrated to the only place where the city, it seems, does not remove them: the sidewalks around the Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center.

Drug dealing, intimidation, violence, crime, filth and an overriding disregard for others are not the elements that make up a healthy environment for children. How can I blame parents for not wanting to subject their children to the worse aspects of homelessness in our community?

More importantly, it goes against all the enriching elements that we’ve worked so hard to provide within the center itself.

When we were invited by then-Gov. John Waihee to become the anchor tenant in the newly developing Kakaako Waterfront Park, his vision, and ours, was filled with promise.

Since its opening, the center has captured the imagination of Hawaii’s children, their families and visitors from around the world. It’s a place as unique as the community it serves.

In recent years, that promise has been compromised.

For years I have remained relatively quiet about the plight of the homeless, out of empathy for those who find themselves in such a devastating situation, out of respect for their legal rights, and out of our sense of aloha impressed on all of us here in Hawaii by our parents.

But, over time, we have learned to make the subtle but clear distinction between those who truly want help and those who scoff at it — between those who desperately want a helping hand, and those who readily slap it away.

What we are dealing with in Kakaako are those who use our walls, doorways and steps as toilets, who openly deal in drugs, who are mentally ill, and ignore those outreach officials who want to get them into transitional housing, rehabilitation and jobs programs. They are the “hard core” homeless who really need tough love.

We have tried to set an example for our children. And yet, we also know how impressionable and vulnerable young children are to harsh realities — and how being honest with them about the “real world” needs to be tempered and measured so that they are able to put it all into a perspective that is healthy as much as it is honest.

We have tried to give others — who have more expertise and resources at their disposal to do what is in the best interest of the greater community, as well as the homeless — time to do their job.

We have tried to be fair to them — and they have failed, not us, but our children.

Given the unsupportable loss of attendance, I will be meeting with our board of directors about the possibility that, unless the problem is resolved swiftly, we might have to close the center. It pains me to a degree that few may comprehend. I have devoted over 30 years of my adult life to the realization of a children’s museum that truly reflects Hawaii and one that sends a message of hope and optimism. To those who have supported us over the years, my unending thanks for your kindness and goodwill.

Loretta Yajima is CEO and board chairwoman of the Hawaii Children’s Discovery Center.