Life on the streets is not a life as most of us know it. Lately it’s been plain that homelessness, in addition to being the cause of deteriorating hopes and prospects, can be a death trap.
In recent weeks, while most of Hawaii kept busy with holiday preparations and celebrations, two people were beaten to death where they live: on the street.
This week, a 16-year-old Palolo boy was charged with manslaughter in the beating death of 62-year-old Anthony Montero. According to initial police reports, a group of teenagers allegedly attacked Montero near the corner of South King and Punahou streets, where he had been sleeping early Friday morning.
That episode came only a few weeks after another Palolo resident, 18, allegedly killed Mamerto "Eddie" Semana, an 83-year-old homeless man near the intersection of Kukui and River streets.
Their cases may diverge on the particulars, but what these men had in common was their homelessness. The homeless aren’t always the helpless victims, but they do share vulnerabilities.
Getting definitive data about the homelessness violence problem is made difficult by the marginalization of this population: The homeless frequently keep their problems to themselves, with stories emerging only in the most extreme cases.
But spot studies around the country show some evidence that the problems are increasing. The homeless bed down in unguarded areas, and most of them have their possessions right with them.
However, the crisis stems from a deeper disturbance than mere property crime. The National Coalition for the Homeless recently issued a report, "Senseless Violence: A Survey of Hate Crimes/ Violence against the Homeless in 2012."
The coalition has tracked more than 1,300 acts of "bias-motivated violence" committed against homeless individuals. Of those documented last year, 79 percent of the perpetrators were under 30, and 72 percent of the victims were 40 or older.
Many steps need to be taken to curb this alarming problem. Better outreach to those with mental illness represents one prong; expanded treatment opportunities for those with substance-abuse problems is another. Both of these are strategies likely to be introduced in the coming legislative session.
But the real imperative is this: Homeless people need to be provided temporary shelter and care but are most in need of stable, permanent housing. This session, state Sen. Suzanne Chun-Oakland, who oversees much of the state Capitol’s social-service agenda, has bills ready for introduction along these lines, including a proposal for $1 million in rental subsidy funds.
Under this bill, working homeless individuals and their families who are ready to manage rental responsibilities would be eligible for a monthly subsidy of up to $300, if they demonstrate they are paying at least 40 percent of their adjusted gross income for rent.
In addition, the city still hopes to raise the money from the sale of its rental properties to help under write its own program of providing basic housing for the most vulnerable among the homeless. City officials must focus their efforts on concluding a deal — the current offer recently was rocked by financial uncertainty — so that this critical part of the mayor’s agenda can proceed.
Honolulu citizens must not look the other way when they pass by a homelessness enclave, but must keep pressure on officials to lead the homeless toward shelters, at least for now. The way to help the homeless is to get them off the streets. Current conditions simply can’t be tolerated.
