• The war against the poor The war against the poor When I first tell someone about what I know is occurring within DHS, and especially within the Housing Department here in Hawai‘i, most people are incredulous and rightly so.
• The war against the poor
The war against the poor
When I first tell someone about what I know is occurring within DHS, and especially within the Housing Department here in Hawai‘i, most people are incredulous and rightly so.
I get totally shocked reactions form people, who frankly don’t or won’t believe me and think I have finally gone off the deep end. They cannot believe that such actions would be taken against those least able to defend themselves or even speak up for them selves for fear of retribution and swift actions taken against them.
The oppressed and persecuted individuals fear even the slightest utterance of discontent could mean that they will find themselves on the beach, subjected to rousting by officials and herded into facilities. Even their right to fresh air is taken away, and especially freedom of movement.
They are rousted from their homes where they have lived peaceably, paying rent and following the rules and forced back out onto the street, where they will be rousted yet again and forced back into institutions that again are not conducive to feeling safe or comfortable and again their freedom of movement is curtailed.
Their services having been drastically cut, both in medical benefits and in food allowances. They are a hated and despised group. They are virtually blamed for every ill, and all of the fiscal shortfalls are being places squarely upon their backs.
At the same time, they are required to work whatever jobs may come their way whatever the job is. Refusal to agree to perform the job and they will be cut off from food rations and assistance of any kind. Failure to comply will have swift retribution.
A well-thought-out war plan has been conceived, planned and is being methodically carried out by government leaders and officials, to create a final solution to the problem of the poor in Hawai‘i. That final solution is to psychologically impose a belief on the people that they are not wanted, are a burden, and are the cause of all of the ills of this state, and that they have a moral obligation to either become wealthy somehow, find housing food and medicine somehow without the aid of the state.
If you still have the audacity to hope for care, then you had better understand that your lives and the lives of your children rest in the fickle hands of department heads who are gleefully making rules and regulations made to break your spirit, break your will, and break you.
Here in Hawai‘i, however, the picture looks serious and very bleak for Hawai‘i’s public housing residents. According to recent statements made at the March 19 meeting of a legislative informational committee, a Democratic representative said: “Of course we are going to bring the rich into public housing. We know that if we do this, the poor will emulate the rich. It has been proven.
“We have plans to evict all of these intergenerational families that have been living in housing far too long. Why, there are mothers there who are living there with children and even their grandchildren!
To say that the room, full of DHS workers, who are about to lose their jobs were extremely shocked, but nobody was more shocked then I was. I had been investigating and trying to decipher the new five-year plan for housing, which I was told was a one-year plan, to find the things I knew were not right.
There was something inherently sinister about this years plan. The plan was full of cleverly written statements, to the effect that “Bringing in higher incomes is a priority. In order to do this, we will be offering special incentives, such as cable, electric and phone hookup allowances for them, as well as special landscaping and maintenance”.
I had to fight hard to get my testimony in regarding the proposal, when it was discovered that we were supposed to have a resident board representing us but that Kaua‘i actually had none. I read the RAB reports, which showed that RAB members had serious concerns about the proposal.
I came up with solid and fail-proof methods of solving the collection issue which they were using as a basis for evictions. This was included in the final draft, but it was approved without any final input form anyone.
No suggestions were ever considered, they were merely recorded for forms sake. The final tally was nine persons had testified statewide on the proposal. I was the only one at the Kaua‘i meeting. Just me. By myself.
With the double whammy of offices closing, and possible evictions of thousands of public housing residents for doing nothing wrong, it became clear to me that this was not just a normal thing. This was a war. A persecution of an entire class of people, whose utter destruction was the goal of government officials and leaders.
Later, a few days we heard about further cuts to welfare benefits, the displacement of people who are holding down essentially minimum wage jobs and need the assistance just to feed their families , and the cutting back of medical services to quest beneficiaries.
When the entire state looks to the poor to carry their fiscal burdens, rousts them like chickens in shameful acts of inhumane mistreatment, trying to herd people into facilities they do not want to go to, and take away social workers, benefits and housing, what, I ask you, does that sound like to you?
No one wants to believe that this horrible event will take place. No one.
But perhaps after reading this letter your eyes may be opened. You may finally be willing and able to find your voice and stand up and fight this. You may find some shred of pride left. Let the world know of our plight here in Hawai‘i, and what they want to perpetuate against us, the class of people that they think have no power, no voice, and should just shut up sit down behave and be quiet.
If you find this as appalling as I do, and if you are sick of being treated like this and subjected to this sort of a brutal regime, then I urge you to help stop this persecution. I call on each and every one of you with a shred of humanity in you to help stop this abominable war against the poor.
Anne Punohu, Kalaheo
Kaua‘i Fair Housing Law Coalition
Kaua‘i DHS Clients Coalition
