Honolulu’s Chinatown is still a unique neighborhood of shops, temples, eateries and interesting places to visit — but it is changing.
It’s no longer just a place to go for Chinese dim sum. One also can eat Vietnamese pho, Laotian larb, Japanese sushi, Filipino adobo, Korean kim chee, Thai red curry, even Italian pizza.
On Hotel Street, entertainment venues like Club Hubba Hubba have been supplanted by trendy restaurants and bars.
Our senior population — 65 and older — in the greater Chinatown area also is changing. The numbers have increased.
According to the 2014 U.S. Census Bureau, Hawaii’s senior population is growing four times faster than the total population.
In 2014, it accounted for more than 16 percent of our population and is growing.
We are simply living longer.
Given that, the proposed affordable senior project on River Street, Halewai‘olu, will hopefully meet some of their housing needs.
But what about our seniors’ other needs? Many are on fixed incomes, have no cars and while away their days in their apartments (except for the occasional trip to the market).
Is there a place for them to exercise, learn new things or just “talk story”?
More than seven years ago, the city administration proposed that a Housing First project for the homeless with mental and drug problems be located at the end of River Street.
The Chinatown community rallied against it and the project was not built.
The Chinatown Community Center Association (CCCA) then initiated efforts to have a community center and an affordable senior housing complex built at that same location.
The proposal awaits final approval by the City Council.
As the successor organization to Concerned Citizens of River Street Housing, CCCA helped cast the vision and worked closely with the City Council and the mayor’s office and its departments to bring the project closer to reality.
CCCA represents a cross section of the Chinatown community and is supported by more than 95 Chinese and non-Chinese organizations, with representatives from Neighborhood Board 13, the United Chinese Society and the Chinese Chamber of Commerce.
Its board members serve pro bono and have a deep commitment to the long-term preservation of Chinatown’s culture and heritage in the project area.
The affordable housing proposal was easily accepted because of the critical need for more affordable housing for seniors in Hawaii.
In fact, some proponents might view the space allocated for the community center as unnecessary compared to the need for additional affordable housing or for shelter for the homeless.
We say, “No.”
Keeping our seniors physically and mentally active would help them live longer and remain independent, and keep them out of long-term care homes. (Being a past president of a long-term care home, I know how expensive it is.)
A greater number of our seniors cannot afford the expense, especially those living in Chinatown, and, if needed, they become wards of the state via Medicaid.
Helping to keep our seniors out of long-term care homes would be financially beneficial to not only them, but also to their families and the state of Hawaii.
Although not exclusively for seniors, the proposed Chinatown Community Center would provide a venue for our seniors to be physically and mentally active.
It would help provide a better quality of life for them as they live independently.
