Hawaii has the nation’s second-highest number of homeless people per capita, according to the National Alliance to End Homelessness. There are more than 7,600 people statewide who are homeless, with about 4,900 homeless living on Oahu, reported AP.
Following complaints of tourists, the Honolulu City Council voted on Aug. 5 to expand the sit-lie ban from Waikiki to city streams and malls, prohibiting people from sitting or lying on sidewalks, according to AP.
Concerning the expanded sit-lie ban, Noelle Oldham, a freshman studying the arts from Florida, said, “I don’t see how it’s a good idea to have that. A lot of times, especially with homeless people, they have nowhere else to go. They need some place to stay.”
Sutton Kredt, a freshman from Texas studying marketing, said she saw a lot of homeless people when she stayed in Waikiki. “Around the beaches and parks, they’re just gathered there. It didn’t bother me, but it makes me feel really sad for them that they don’t have a decent place to go inside and get some food.”
Students and faculty said they sometimes do what they can to help out. “This last Christmas, my family and I decided to do a service project,” said Maria Fonoimoana Feagai, who works at the Academic Multimedia Lab. She said her family gathered food in stockings and went to Kaka’ako.
“It was so overwhelming. We all wanted to bawl by the time we left. ... What we discovered is a lot of homeless people who travel here—more of the loners—are from other states like New York. A lot of them have tickets purchased for them or they’ve saved up a one way ticket here from other states, because Hawaii has become the homeless Mecca.”
Kimo Carvalho, development and community relations manager for Hawaii’s Institute for Human Services, said there is a mix of people who “made a choice to become homeless, as well as people who became homeless shortly after arriving in Hawaii,” having originally intending to live in Hawaii off the streets.
As it progresses, homelessness becomes more and more of an issue. “It’s a mounting issue when tourism is our main industry and homelessness is this huge monster now,” said Feagai. “We try and find a balance between compassion, tolerance, and patience, and yet there needs to be a good solution.”
Organizations such as Housing Now, a coalition of organizations that advocate Hawaii to provide affordable housing, have organized rallies to demand more housing be provided for the homeless people, according to AP.
They have suggested setting goals such as preventing residential housing changing into vacation rentals and setting money aside for housing developments, reported AP.
Students and faculty also said they hope there is a program for homeless people to get back on their feet and be able to provide for themselves. “There should be more homeless shelters to help people get back on track,” said Oldham, “to help them find a job, secure a job, find a place to live, find an apartment, and take steps with them.”
The existing shelters are mostly full, said the Honolulu Star Advertiser, which is why the city has gone forward with a Sand Island transitional housing project using “modified shipping containers” that is expected to be ready for “27 to 36 residents in early November,” said Mayor Kirk Caldwell on Aug. 14.