Angela Thomas, 44, watched warily as the latest group of police officers and politicians crossed by her makeshift home near the Kapiolani Park public restroom.
"We don’t want to make trouble," said Thomas, who has lived on the streets of Waikiki with her husband since they lost an affordable rental and steady jobs about four years ago. "We just want to sleep."
And while Thomas’ top priority is finding a quiet place to sleep, those local policymakers, law enforcement officers, community members and service providers who recently toured Waikiki are gearing up to get her and other homeless people off the streets and moving toward a better life.
At the urging of the City Council, Mayor Kirk Caldwell has asked city Director of Housing Jun Yang and Director of Community Services Pamela Witty-Oakland to come up with a homeless action plan by May 1. The plan, which prioritizes housing before dealing with employment, mental illness, drug addiction and other issues, is expected to offer a range of options from rental subsidies to affordable housing, permanent supportive housing and transitional housing, which could include a tent city or place of refuge.
"For the near-term, we need to find a temporary solution to get people off of the streets, out of the parks, and to places where they will receive safe shelter and social services," Caldwell said in his first State of the City address earlier this month. "We need to expand our Housing First initiative and find other innovative alternatives that can serve our needs until we are able to provide more low-income and workforce housing for our people. We don’t need another study. We need to take action as soon as we can."
City Council members Stanley Chang, Carol Fukunaga and Kymberly Marcos Pine — who represent Waikiki, Chinatown and the Leeward Coast, respectively, all districts that have been heavily affected by homelessness — are among those prepared to hold the city’s feet to the fire. In addition to pushing Bill 7, which would give the city more power to address nuisances on public sidewalks, they also sponsored Resolution 13-55, calling for an action plan with deadlines and benchmarks that complement the state’s efforts and draw community support.
"We’d love to see our businesses come to the table with us to help us find a solution," Yang said. "They have a seat warm and ready for that."
It’s imperative that the community joins the discussion now, the three council members said. The clock is ticking because federal sequestration could cut some of the funding for homeless programs and because there are strict deadlines attached to some of the millions that could be made available from the city’s sale of its affordable-housing projects.
Also, the public health and safety issues of allowing thousands of people to live unsheltered merit immediate attention, they said.
"We’re experiencing a crisis in Waikiki," Chang said.
During a recent walk through Waikiki with Honolulu police, Chang saw that by 7 p.m. on a rainy Wednesday homeless people had already taken over nearly all of the district’s public beach and park bathrooms, pavilions, benches and picnic tables. Sleeping bags, tents and shopping carts filled with pots and pans, dirty laundry and recyclables dotted the oceanfront.
One man had even rolled out his own welcome mat, a Turkish carpet. But his homey touch failed to compensate for the smell of human waste in the air.
Waikiki cleanup crews say they have to remove feces from public showers and bathroom walls at least three times a week.
Honolulu Police Department Lt. Dien Shearer, who took Chang on the tour, said he’s heard similar visitor complaints.
"Imagine you spent three years saving thousands of dollars to take a once-in-a-lifetime trip to Waikiki. You finally arrive here and you see this," Shearer said as he gestured toward one of the district’s homeless encampments.
Tourists and residents seem equally concerned that on any given night on Oahu, more than 1,300 homeless are unsheltered. State Homeless Coordinator Colin Kippen, who has created five task forces on homelessness since his appointment to Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s Cabinet, said he’s optimistic that city efforts will help the state move forward, too.
Homeless policy must evolve from a crisis response into a sustainable model that improves data collection and addresses chronic homelessness, health and economic development along with affordable housing, Kippen said.
"The difficulty with the way we are doing it now is that it’s not done in any sort of coordinated way to reduce duplication and better guarantee that people will get what they need when they need it," Kippen said. "There is not a river of service for homeless folks. There are just a bunch of garden hoses and they are all over the place. The city has a huge role to play. We are glad they are working with us."
Chang said he hopes momentum will ease current frustrations. Once Waikiki’s parks and beaches close for the night, many homeless people move to Kalakaua Avenue sidewalks and the doorways of the businesses that make up Hawaii’s equivalent to Rodeo Drive. Despite public outcry and expensive government sweeps, a shantytown with about a dozen homeless residents still stands across from the $350 million Hawai‘i Convention Center, which marks the gateway to the state’s top tourism destination.
While WaikikiI draws attention because it is an important business district, Pine said frustrations aren’t limited to that area.
"Oahu’s homeless population has spread to almost all of its parks," she said. "In my district, there is a huge population at the Waianae Boat Harbor."
Fukunaga said Chinatown businesses and residents also complain about people sleeping in doorways or public malls.
"Owners have told me if they didn’t clean their doorways each morning they couldn’t conduct business," she said.
Fukunaga said the point of Bill 7, which goes to a final reading Wednesday, is to clear city sidewalks and make them passable, while helping to provide services and housing for homeless people.
"In the long term, if people see that there are other alternatives, I hope that they would avail themselves of housing choices," she said. "Their presence on the sidewalk does threaten public health and safety."
Pine, who has worked in a homeless shelter, said Bill 7 may prompt more of Oahu’s homeless to accept help, which is one of the city’s primary challenges.
"After we pass Bill 7, they won’t be allowed to do whatever they want to do and some of them may seek help," she said.
A broad effort is needed, said Chang, who is pushing a proposal to construct a place of refuge, with security and services. He is also talking to the city about deconstructing Waikiki pavilions and the rock walls along Kalakaua where some homeless people loiter.
Waikiki Improvement Association President Rick Egged said district stakeholders have met with the city and state to discuss partnerships.
"There is a lot of additional activity and discussion," Egged said. "The problem has reached a level where we want to be part of a whole communitywide solution. The potential for putting something together is there, but the effort has to make sense."
Fukunaga said she is convinced that her district will join the Waikiki community in working on solutions.
"I’m soliciting support from the private sector," she said. "We need their help to come up with solutions that are appropriate for each district. What works in Waikiki may not be the right solution for Chinatown."
While Fukunaga said a tent city might be considered as part of a neighborhood solution for Waikiki, Pine wants to focus on transitional and affordable housing with supportive services.
"We may have millions, but we need to put our money into something sustainable," she said.
