Twinkle Borge died Monday at the age of 54 after fiercely fighting for the members of her homeless community at the Waianae Small Boat Harbor and, along the way, helping to change the way that Hawaii thinks about addressing communities of homeless people who are willing to help themselves.

Borge, known as “Mama,” showed love and compassion to the hundreds of people who moved in and out of what is now known as Pu‘uhonua o Waianae, while simultaneously enforcing strict rules against violence or substance abuse that could lead to eviction.

In 2019, Hawaii had the highest per capita rate of homelessness in the nation when then-Gov. David Ige faced pressure to sweep the boat harbor in response to complaints of vandalism, trash and increasing water bills that exceeded the amount that harbor users paid.

After a meeting at the Nanakuli home of legendary waterman Buffalo Keaulana, Borge and Ige reached a detente, and donations began pouring in to relocate the encampment to 20 acres of state land mauka of Farrington Highway between Waianae High School and the boat harbor, where new homes continue to go up for a permanent Pu‘uhonua o Waianae.

“She took it upon herself to solve the problem and inspired the Bishop Street guys with money to get involved,” said former Mayor Kirk Caldwell, who admired Borge’s tenacity and helped raise money to build a permanent home for Pu‘uhonua o Waianae after Caldwell left office. “She didn’t ask for anything. She pulled herself up by the bootstraps, and then she pulled others up with her. That attracted the Bishop Street guys.”

Caldwell compared Borge to Hawaii’s beloved Queen Emma, who raised money to build what is now The Queen’s Medical Center out of love for her people.

He called Borge “someone who does not talk about herself. She was someone who did not focus on herself and instead talked about the people around her and solutions.”

Borge was born Sept. 15, 1969, and attended Kaimuki High School, but spoke little about her past to the media after the homeless encampment began attracting attention and concern over potential environmental damage to a rare “Waianae lineage” of half-inch-long red shrimp called opae ula that lives below the encampment. There was also concern about damage to ancient burial sites and pre- and post-contact rock walls.

Asked about family survivors, a spokesperson for Pu‘uhonua o Waianae told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that “Twinkle had a lot of extended family and was ‘mama’ to many.”

Borge found a mentor in Hawaiian sovereignty leader Dennis “Bumpy” Kanahele, who runs the nonprofit organization Aloha First.

Between 1993 and 1994 Kanahele led an occupation of Makapuu Beach Park that included 300 people, mostly Native Hawaiians. As the occupation generated international attention and tensions rose, in 1994 Kanahele signed a 55-year lease on undeveloped, state-owned mauka lands for $3,000 per year, or $250 per month.

Kanahele named the site Pu‘uhonua o Waimanalo. “Pu‘uhonua” means “refuge.”

“Her loving compassion for her love for her people was beyond boundaries,” Kanahele said. “She had no boundaries for helping people.”

Kanahele said his advice to Borge was to focus on helping her people without focusing on the broader issue of Hawaiian sovereignty.

“I said, ‘Auntie, if you get one chance, work with them, work with them and keep sovereignty out of it. It has consequences.’

“She had good people around her and support that was genuine,” Kanahele said. “She was no nonsense. She enforced the rules. She could talk real stern and be really hard because she was helping them. She took a problem and turned it into something positive.”

Borge’s work building a permanent Pu‘uhonua o Waianae has now drawn military plumbers, carpenters and electricians, said John Mizuno, Hawaii’s homeless coordinator.

“Auntie Twinkle raised the bar,” Mizuno said. “She makes sure the kids go to school — it’s the law of the land or else. This is the right blueprint. It’s a winning lottery ticket.”

Borge always treated the people she welcomed into Pu‘uhonua o Waianae with dignity, Mizuno said.

Her message, Mizuno said, was, “No, you’re not throwaway people. Everybody has value.”

In a statement, Waianae legislators Rep. Cedric Gates (D, Waianae-Makaha) and Sen. Cross Makani Crabbe (D, Nanakuli-Waianae-Makaha) said Borge’s death was unrelated to the Honolulu Police Department’s investigation of an apparent shooting Tuesday morning that left a man dead at the Waianae Small Boat Harbor.

Gates and Crabbe said the term “pu‘uhonua” “means a place of peace and safety … and we believe that every part of our community should reflect and honor this meaning. Yet, it is sincerely heartbreaking that our community has experienced another senseless tragedy due to gun violence today.”

Mayor Rick Blangiardi called Borge a “visionary, steadfast leader … a beacon of hope and a powerful advocate for our houseless community.”

“She was more than just a leader; she was an inspiration and a relentless advocate who believed in every person’s potential. Her legacy of kindness, resilience, and community building will continue toinspire us all,” Blangiardi said in a statement. “Her loss is felt deeply by all who had the privilege of knowing her.”

Gov. Josh Green said in a statement that Borge had an “inner belief that anyone, houseless or not, can be a community leader. A visionary, advocate and activist who made the impossible a reality by bringing people together, her Pu‘u­honua o Wai‘anae kauhale is actively being built and will put roofs over the heads of her Wai‘anae Boat Harbor neighbors for generations to come. Her closest loved ones, her community and all whose lives were touched by her, have Jaime’s and my sincerest condolences. Hawai‘i mourns with you.”

Ige said, “Hawaii lost a very special person in Twinkle Borge. Twinkle lived aloha for everyone. She was passionate about being part of the solution to houselessness. She did not want a handout, but a hand up. She created a community founded on the best values of Hawaii: caring for each other, taking responsibility for our actions and our natural resources, and recognizing that everyone has a role in making our community stronger. She was a friend to me and a friend of Hawaii. She will be missed.”