Question: If the city’s response to homeless camps on Oahu is complaint-driven, how do we report complaints?
Answer: There are several methods, which vary according to the type of complaint. Here is information confirmed by Ian Scheuring, a spokesperson for Mayor Rick Blangiardi.
>> Report a homeless encampment that impedes access to city property to Honolulu’s Department of Customer Services at 808-768-4381, via the Honolulu 311 app or by email to complaints@honolulu.gov. Download the Honolulu 311 app at your favorite app store or use the online version at honoluluhi.citysourced.com. The Department of Customer Services tracks complaints to ensure that the responsible agency responds in a timely fashion.
When someone reports that a homeless camp blocks a city sidewalk, for example, the complaint will be referred for enforcement of sidewalk nuisance and stored property ordinances, and the Department of Facility Maintenance will clean up the area. Scheduled enforcement of SNO/SPO violations is posted at www8.honolulu.gov/dfm/sno-spo-stipulation-notice.
>> Call 911 to report a medical emergency or a crime in progress, including violence or threats of violence by or against homeless people, drug dealing, drug overdoses, indecent exposure and other incidents readers say they’ve witnessed near or in homeless encampments. Provide police as much detail as possible, including the location of the incident and a description of the people involved.
>> For urgent, nonviolent homeless-related concerns, call the Honolulu CORE hotline at 808-768-2673 to connect the person with services to improve their situation. Readers have asked for alternatives to 911 to report homeless people who are not necessarily violating SNO/SPO, but who are committing other infractions. They’ve expressed various reasons for not wanting to call the police, including the fact that doing so in the past has not been effective, and also that they want to help the person, not have them arrested or cited, but don’t know where to turn. Some outreach services are listed on city’s Office of Housing website, at www8.honolulu.gov/housing/homeless.
“I want to emphasize the CORE hotline … our Crisis Outreach Response and Engagement team fields those calls and responds accordingly, doing everything they can to help those individuals find bed, shelter or respite space. You can remember the CORE number by thinking 768-CORE. By continuing to add new shelter and respite beds, along with tiny home kauhale, the city is increasing CORE’s capacity to help get homeless individuals off the streets and into places where they can get the treatment and support that they need,” Scheuring said in an email.
Some readers were incensed to read last week (808ne.ws/4dBVuRJ) that the city relies heavily on complaints from the public to drive cleanups of neighborhoods beset by homeless encampments. It’s been that way for years, and not just regarding complaints about Oahu’s growing unsheltered homeless population — residents who report problems in their neighborhoods are crucial to getting things fixed, whether it’s graffiti, abandoned vehicles or potholes.
Mahalo
Mahalo to the fine young lad who found my car key fob with his metal detector on the beach near Haleiwa Jodo Mission on Sunday. Many thanks to the ladies at the mission who helped look for my key, too. Thank you to the police for not towing my car while I retrieved my spare key. You all saved me a lot in replacement and towing costs and restored my faith that there are many honest, caring people around. — L.K.N.
Write to Kokua Line at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Suite 7-500, Honolulu, HI 96813; call 808-529-4773; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
