One photo shows a homeless man lying face down on the cement just steps away from a school bus. The door to the bus is open. The man is unconscious — sleeping or passed out. The children had to shuffle past him that morning to get on the bus to go to school.
In another series of photos — photos too graphic for the newspaper — taken one afternoon at the same Hawaii Kai bus stop, a homeless woman is pulling up her underwear after relieving herself onto the cement bench around a planter. This happened in broad daylight, in full view of everyone and anyone, just minutes before the school bus returned the children at the end of the day.
East Honolulu does not have the notorious homeless troubles that some other Oahu communities do, but the area does have homeless troubles; and not just petty annoyances or eyesores, but threats to health and safety, both for the people who live in houses and those on the streets and in the bushes.
The City’s “Kiss and Ride” bus stop on Keahole street in Hawaii Kai across City Mill has been beset by problems for years. Besides the notorious colony of feral cats, the area is place where homeless go to sleep at night to take shelter from the rain under the covered benches. When the City bus starts service in the morning, they’re often still there, still sleeping. During the day, the area is usually deserted except for the bus coming and going, though remnants of overnight tenancy remains. One day this week, somebody’s bedroll and supply of water was stashed under a bench in preparation for the night’s stay, and wads of toilet paper were strewn around the parking area.
Recently, Kamehameha Schools changed their morning pickup location to the Costco parking lot for the students’ safety. By the afternoon, the homeless people have left the Kiss and Ride location, so that’s where the bus brings them home.
“At one point the area was power washed because of the odor of vomit, urine and feces,” one person who uses the area said. “We understand why the homeless like to go there — shelter from the rain.”
The situation may be understandable, but it is untenable.
People who use the bus stop as an actual bus stop have tried all the usual channels: calling police, trying to clean up the area themselves, contacting elected officials in their area. One person got a response from their state representative’s office suggesting they contact their neighborhood board, like that was a new idea. They’ve gone to their neighborhood board. They’ve called the police. The police come and sweep the area of homeless people, but they come back again, sometimes the same day. It’s just an endless circle.
It’s gotten so bad that some residents are suggesting a compromise: just designate an area of the lot, maybe closer to the dog park or near the recycling truck, where homeless are welcome do to as they please so that the bus stop can stay clean for the people who rely on the bus. Imagine that: people are so frustrated, they’re willing to cede whole sections of public property to the homeless just so they can get on the bus or get their kids to school without having to walk over vomit, urine and feces.
Of course, situations like this happen all over the island, not just in Hawaii Kai. But it shouldn’t happen at all. That’s no way to live, not for the bus riders or the school kids or the people stumbling around on the streets.
