West Hawaii Today published an opinion piece in January that complained of the unsightly and unhealthy conditions that rampant homelessness has brought to our community. The article appeared to ask our community to get tough on the homeless and move them on. This is not a very well-thought-out remedy, nor is it a very compassionate one. Homelessness in this community is caused by three issues:
1. Mental Illness.
2. Drug addiction.
3. The very high cost of housing and the very low pay for typical service jobs in Hawaii.
The first two of these issues involve illnesses. It does not seem to us tha getting tough on folks suffering from ailments is an appropriate response. Lending them a hand, finding them a solution, and getting them to a safer environment and life should be our goal.
The article that was written states we are a community full of Pollyannas. If Pollyannas believe we should care for the ill and unfortunate amongst us, you can certainly call us Pollyannas.
The third issue that leads to homelessness is equally heart-wrenching. If you work full-time in this community at $12 per hour you will make $2,080 per month. After withholding, you will likely take home less than $1,715.68 per month. A studio apartment in this town rents for $1,100 per month plus 4.712% GE tax ($1,151.83), not including utilities. Add $150 for electrical utilities and you are at $1,301.83 per month before you have eaten, paid any amount of health care or insurance, done laundry, paid for medication, driven a mile, or bought clothing.
If you are working at the bottom of the economic ladder in this town, you can’t afford a home. Those in our community who are working the least attractive jobs at the lowest pay levels are priced out of shelter. They can be working full-time and even add a part-time job and be unable to afford a rental home. Is that really how we want our society to work? What happened to working to get ahead in life?
Instead of berating the victims of these issues, we should find some solutions. Housing first with access to health and mental services works. People in other communities by and large only need short stays in these types of facilities to get themselves back on their feet. We have plenty of state- and county-owned land in this community that could easily be used to create inexpensive and clean housing for these folks.
We could create a 10-year project whereby a multi-unit building is built and provides housing for these folks and services are offered to help them return to society. During this time, the county could collect Section 8 housing assistance and whatever other assistance is out there to help them pay for the cost. At the end, the housing project could be sold to further defray the total cost. This overall investment is likely to be less than we now spend on police, emergency services, and health costs.
Alternatively, some of the myriad of nonprofit trusts in this state could step forward to assist these folks. These trusts have land and resources which could be utilized. Mini-housing, dormitory housing, or the above mentioned multi-family plan could be undertaken.
We agree, homelessness is unsightly and a health issue. But, no person should be tossed in the heap simply because they are ill or down on their luck. Housing costs are far too high here for many. How many pay checks are you away from making drastic choices yourself? Drug and mental health problems are not character flaws. They are illnesses. Let’s quit kicking these people from place to place. Let’s boldly confront our homelessness problem. But let’s do it in a way that actually solves the problem and allows ourselves to look in the mirror and be proud of ourselves. All we need is the will to solve this.
R. J. Kirchner is a resident of Kailua-Kona.
