According to a Star-Advertiser article, the city relocated the Sand Island Treatment Center in 2021 and is now charging it rent of $20,000 per month (“Program addressing Oahu’s chronically homeless seeks help,” Star-Advertiser, April 12). Energy and other charges bring the total occupancy costs up to $36,000 a month.
The center is a 501(c)(3) public charity that treats chronic homeless who need drug and mental health rehabilitation and related services. These types of services have been touted by the city as very much needed, due to overburdened emergency services and crimes in our neighborhoods.
Why is it, then, that this organization is being treated differently than many of the other tenants of city properties?
The city has granted leases of $1 per year for terms up to 75 years across the island, including, for example, the Hawaiian Humane Society.
Given the magnitude of this problem and the millions the city spends on trying to solve it, it would seem wise to offer these tenants the same deal others have received.
Natalie Iwasa
Hawaii Kai
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