Dawn Fraser Kawahara, a frequent contributor to the Guest Opinion section of the Garden Island implored readers to brainstorm and submit ideas for creative solutions to homelessness on April 15. I am submitting this piece in response to her request.
Viktor Frankl wrote in his 1946 book “Man’s Search for Meaning” about the horrors of German concentration camps during World War II. He noted that no matter how difficult life was, that it was the choice of each individual to focus on either the positive or negative aspects of his situation.
I reflected on the significance of this as it pertains to the homeless issue. A fundamental mistake we are making is promoting personal choice over social welfare. We Americans seem to value the sanctity of personal choice above everything else.
Personal choice is more important than the effect those choices have on others, because individual “rights” are sacrosanct. I have not heard one positive effect of being homeless. Not on health, physically or mentally. Not on public safety or sanitation. Homelessness is already immoral. I propose making homelessness illegal.
It has been said many times that the reasons for homelessness are as varied as are the number of homeless. To propose singular solutions to such a varied causation is useless. The answer is not more homes, higher wages, education, encampments, money, welfare, charity, or religion.
The answer is for our government to gather the political will and resources to declare homelessness not an option for anyone. Only government can do this, and it will only happen when those that govern accept their responsibility to solve the problem of homelessness and take the actions necessary to eliminate it.
Here on Kauai, we have an island with a homeless population of 300-400, depending on who’s counting. We have a new mayor who has said “We’re a new generation that’s willing to do things differently because we understand to reach some of these solutions is going to require a different approach. Nothing changes if nothing changes.”
So, the first step, Mayor Kawakami, is to declare homelessness not an option. By doing this, you will recognize the need to provide other options to those that are presently homeless. That will require resources that do not exist now and need to be created. Personnel to assess, direct, and counsel. Shelters to feed and house those in transition. Laws to enable enforcement and compliance. Facilities for the mentally ill. Drug and alcohol treatment centers.
It can be done. Witness another island in the world: Singapore. This city/state/country is known for transitioning from a developing country to a developed country in one generation under the leadership of a “benevolent despot”.
On any night in Singapore, a city of 5.6 million, there are about 180 people sleeping in the streets. Most of these have disputes with family members or co-tenants, or wish to be closer to their workplaces due to lack of transport options from home, according to the Ministry for Social and Family Development, the agency charged with eliminating homelessness. If we were as proportionately successful on our own island, our homeless population would be two husbands in the doghouse for the night.
In order to solve any problem, it is necessary to have two factors in place; willingness, and ability. Either that exists without the other will lead to failure. The most willing that is incompetent will fail. The most able that is unwilling will fail. As it regards the homelessness issue, it appears that willingness is high, but ability is low.
We dance all around the problem by shutting down areas for homeless rather than shutting down homelessness. We have homelessness directors in DLNR. We post signs of no camping. We just move the problem instead of solving it. Let’s be willing and able. Let’s end homelessness on Kauai.
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Nolan Ahn is a resident of Lihue.
” So, the first step, Mayor Kawakami, is to declare homelessness not an option. ”
Nope, looks like the first step is to give everyone in government on island a raise.
Those words are pretty empty, look around, it is everywhere that people want to be. It has to come from the individual to want to change. Then hard work. There are so many programs now to help people who truly want to change.
yes, homelessness should be illegal;
we treat stray dogs better than stray humans;
folk on the street should be picked up by law enforcement and moved to the hospital or jail, depending on the results of a basic physical and drug test, at the medical facility;
they should be given a good cleaning and processing;
RK
Quit feeding the Beast! just like the undocumented immigrants cross our nations borders,they are given medical,housing,food stamps,Social Security? Free stuff,why not Come?
RK…Your hair is on fire…illegal immigrants are NOT eligible for housing, food stamps or social security.
Local bums on the other hand do get those benefits.
Alas, this the way of Western society. Take medicine for instance. We treat the symptom not the cause.
Sounds like a typical Democrat response to an extremely complex problem? First, let us ask what percentage of homelessness is drug related? Most people are homeless because of poor choices made by them. So we throw large sums of money at this problem and it will go away? Wrong! It will only result in more homelessness as drugged out fools realize “homelessness” isn’t all that bad. Free house, free food, free healthcare, blah, blah. Didn’t Obama spend 8 years with his only solution to anything was throwing other peoples money in mass quantities to fix everything? That was a total failure.
Singapore is not a good example because 80% of the people are helped by the government with housing (HBD).
The county and previous administrations have pushed for a M.E.R.F (materials recovery facility) to save our islands landfill and be more responsible to the environment. I believe a solution is to build a dual-use facility that can house, feed a percentage of homeless, and have them earn a living by having them work at the MERF. You cannot pay a standard wage to sort trash for recycling because there isn’t much value or profit in most of it. By employing these homeless people we give them a job and some value and a sense of worthiness in our community, but you are also keeping them off the streets, doing drugs, committing petty crimes (or worse!) They work they get a place to sleep & bathe and clean healthy meals. Our community gets a work force to run our trash/recycling center. This isn’t a perfect solution but a concept to formulate a new direction because what we’re doing now isn’t working!
That is actually a quite original and sensical idea. Part of the problem of the drugs and mental illness and apathy associated with homelessness is the lost connection between community and serving some sort of purpose. This would keep them busy, and have a sense of responsibility and contribution to their community. This may not work for all, but it can work for some and I think that is how we have to approach this. One solution won’t solve everything, but collectively maybe something can be done? One thing we can’t be, is indifferent.
I know that 300-400 of Homeless is a large amount of people, but before the Mayor/Gov’t writes more laws & spends a couple of hundred thousand dollars it would be time well spent if a non-profit group could “ survey” the majority of the Homeless & ask them some very basic questions ( how long have you been Homeless, do you WANT to work, what caused you to become homeless? Many people are homeless because they are ill & most drug addicts are homeless by choice! I have a very close family member that has been repeatedly taken in by good, caring people & she has stolen from ALL of them & ended up back on the streets because her brain seems to have been permanently damaged! My heart breaks when I see a homeless person, but making another law is NOT the answer!
What a brilliant solution. Make homelessness a crime, arrest, charge & convict those people and they will have a place to live! Jail!
Singapore May be a model example for homeless people, but look at their stance on drugs. https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Misuse_of_Drugs_Act_(Singapore)#Thresholds Beaten with a cane in public, life in prison, or the death penalty. While in America we want to legalize drugs. We cannot have it both ways. Legalize and then forced to clean up with social welfare.
Why not follow traditional Hawaiian methods by creating an outcast community that lives separate from the people who participate in society. Drop them off high up valley and give them a bundle of crops to plant. I agree, arrest and process unless we want Kauai will look like Waikiki with disruptive dirty bums covering every square inch of public space. My relative is homeless and it requires dramatic interventions. Free handouts enable.
How about the churches take in the homeless??? There are loads of them on island, they have the space, and they have the money! Isn’t that what they are all about?