Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s latest campaign against the Waikiki homeless presents numerous challenges.
Since I know the individuals who were arrested and mentioned in the article ("Mayor goes on offensive," Star-Advertiser, April 13), I thought I’d bring them the piece to see what they thought.
"Big D," from Indianapolis, heads a group of five or six who can often be found at one of the Waikiki beachfront pavilions. He’s 40, Afro-American and a big, imposing guy, well over 200 pounds. His daily wear is a pair of black shorts — to my knowledge, his only clothes.
Big D has a high school education. I don’t know what he did after that. He’s been on the streets here for seven years. He’d like to turn his life around.
"I don’t want to grow old homeless," he said.
His friend, Nicole, and a male friend of hers, were trying to catch some sleep on the pavement at our feet. She’s 30-ish, from San Francisco, and said that she’s had jobs that paid well, but she’s choosing not to work. The two sprawled on soiled sheets sprinkled with sand and listened to our conversation. It was obvious that they all had alcohol problems.
"Why don’t they stop harassing us?" asked Big D. "They said the mayor was coming and sent us off to jail on some old warrants. Why didn’t they just ask us to move to the park? We don’t bother nobody!"
"Sure, but look at this," I said, pointing to the sleepers. "Nobody dares sit here because they’re afraid of you. And this looks like hell."
They stared at me like it hadn’t occurred to them that the area was a filthy mess.
"If you don’t clean this up, the mayor’s going to make this into a culture and arts center. And he can do this, legally. You’ll have to go."
Big D was unmoved.
"Years ago, (then-Mayor Mufi) Hannemann tried to get rid of us. Nothing happened. Besides, the cops are our friends. They come by and give us money and stuff."
"Not this time," I told him. "The mayor’s under a lot of heat to get rid of you. He’s got this guy … posting videos, and he’s going to keep that up until you go."
They were aware of the videos, and the media attention. I detected a bit of the "Wow!" factor, like, "We’re the bottom of the ladder, and we’re front page news!"
In a Disney movie, the downtrodden would leap to their feet and pledge to change their lives forever. But this is reality, of what it’s like to be homeless.
"What about a shelter?"
"Too many bedbugs!"
They all nodded.
Groan.
It’s unlikely that the group is going to move anytime soon. Directly across the street, St. Augustine’s Church offers a free meal, Monday through Friday, at 11 a.m. Today it was chili dogs. Besides that meal, they can use their food stamp allocation to get by. And they have a great beachside location. Life might not be great, but it’s good enough.
The mayor is on the right track. If he doesn’t push, the homeless just aren’t going to get the help they so badly need. And Big D and friends need help.
They just don’t know it.
