Regarding the ‘sweep’
As I read the article about the Kona-side sweep of the houseless, I was shocked that two entities that exist to support the vulnerable had very strong objections to the county’s actions.
Hope Services used the word “violence” in describing the sweep. By all eye witness accounts, that is inaccurate and misleading.
The ACLU stated that “the houseless have no safe place to go without being subjected to the county’s laws that punish sheltering in public spaces.” This statement should be analyzed.
Feeling “safe” is relative. Victims of violent abuse will oftentimes go back to their abusers because they feel it is a “safe” alternative to the outside world.
Houseless persons who refuse services, and there are many, do that because they feel “safe” to continue engaging in the behavior that is very destructive not only to themselves but also to those around them.
They feel “safe” to engage in substance abuse. They feel “safe” to commit theft (breaking into vehicles while major events go on at the Palace Theater). They feel “safe” to deal drugs (most times to other houseless persons downtown). They feel “safe” to panhandle for money and food. No one is there to stop them.
As a downtown Hilo merchant for the past 12 years, I have cleaned blood off the sidewalks from terrible fights, cleaned up drug paraphernalia, watched drug deals go down with my security camera, and retrieved a slim-jim tool used to break into cars during downtown events. I have called for police help countless times. I have read about the murders of houseless persons that have occurred downtown.
It is actually inhumane to allow an at-risk person to engage in harmful behavior. Our community needs to make it hard to sleep in public spaces so that these particular individuals will soon find no other choice but to be willing to receive services.
If we have any compassion, we will not stand by and let them make choices that will surely lead them to greater harm. If these humane sweeps ultimately make this segment of our community agree to receive help, I am for it.
Deborah Beaver
Hilo
Out of propane gas
Dear Gov. Josh Green: Please force propane gas utility workers back to work. You would not let electrical union workers not work, and we go without power.
Propane is a power source for many families on the Big Island — for hot water, cooking, etc.
This is a health and welfare issue that needs to stop now. There is no propane on the Big Island available to buy. There is propane being stored in tanks. We just don’t have access to it.
Stacy Disney
Waimea
